Finished Baby Room

Here it is- our finished baby room!  The room has some major sweat equity built into it.  All the furniture was used and previously a variety of mismatched colors, so to create the uniform look we wanted Taylor sanded down and  painted the crib, bookcase, and walls.  My mom painted the rocking chair (which I was rocked in as a newborn) and the changing table.  I sewed the basket liners and the argyle sock monkey, and my mom helped me in sewing the sprocket pillows and quilt that hangs over the rocking chair.  I also made bumper pads for the crib which I'll use in six months or so.  I  hand made the needle art verse, button letter "E" art, banners on the crib, and the owl mobile.  Pinterest was a huge help in inspiring ideas for this room.  All of the vintage toys and books were purchased at various antique shops in town, and we splurged and purchased baby art through Etsy.  I didn't really have a vision for what I wanted the room to look like ahead of time- I just knew a general color scheme and that I wanted a variety of funky fabrics and vintage feel.  I am super happy with the finished product, and will be even more happy once there's a baby to call this room home!  p.s. We've pretty much decided on a name...Ezra Joseph.  Ezra after the biblical prophet (the needle art is a prayer for our own son's namesake, as the Bible repeatedly states that the gracious hand of the Lord was upon the prophet), and Joseph after my grandpa.

Progression of The Bump

Well, I've made it to week 30! I feel great, but am definitely in "cross-as-many-things-as-possible-off-the checklist" mode. There is a lot to prepare for and learn, and it feels like every day I am tackling a new task. This approach would probably stress most of you out, but for me, well, I'm a planner and it's actually calming me down!

 Week 5 (definitely no visible bump!)

Week 13 (still really pathetic)

Week 17 (looking a little pudgy)

Week 20 (half way and still giving me nothing....are you even in there???)

Week 21 (that's better!)

26 weeks (BAM!)

Hugging Ingrid didn't really work.  Our mid-sections were just too big!   This was taken when Ingrid thought she still had 6 weeks to go. Little did she know she'd be giving birth in 2!

28 weeks (we have a MOVER in there! The activity is nonstop, especially when I'm getting ready for bed.)

30 weeks (our last official vacay without a babe in tow and people can FINALLY tell I'm pregnant!)

Big Changes on the Horizon

I think this picture will explain why I haven't done a blog post in months.  I never thought that a side effect of pregnancy would involve a complete apathy to achieve.  For the first trimester almost all my hobbies and interests brought little "WOW" power.  Things are feeling a little more back to normal now, thank goodness!  I cleaned the house last weekend for the first time in months, and I decorated for fall this week, so I think my energy is returning.  I still feel weirded out about having to share my body with someone else (I'm only at 16 weeks and my midsection just feels crowded), but on the flip side I love the excuse to wear sweats 24/7!  Taylor and I are excited to embark on this journey of parenting!  We feel ready to accept this big responsibility, and are trusting God to help guide us through, well, the next 20 or so years of bringing up a family!  Keep us in your prayers, and I'll try and do a good job of posting more pictures as our pregnancy progresses.

Spring Break 2011

We just returned from a very mellow and relaxing mini vacation along the Oregon Coast.  While it rained a fair amount of the time, we were still able to get in quite a few hours of sunshine and beach time.  I don't know what it is about the ocean, but I could just watch the the tide go in and out for hours.  I will miss those grey blue waves and sandy beaches.

We stayed in a yurt in Nehalem Bay State Park, which is about 25 min south of Cannon Beach along the prettiest stretch of Highway 101 I've ever seen.  We had the luxury of heat, electricity, hot showers, and a modest arrangement of furniture.  The trip was pretty much flawless except for one minor detail- it was too wet to create a cook fire, and we realized once we arrived that we didn't have an attachment on our cooking stove to hook up to the propane.  We tried to make macaroni and cheese one night on our space heater, of which I refused to eat after one bite because the texture of the noodles was mush.  Lucky for us, we brought along plenty of food that didn't require cooking!

White Rock on a nice spring night

 Last Friday afternoon we decided to head up to White Rock, B.C. for a couple of hours.  It only took us 20 minutes to get from our front door to our parking spot in front of the beach.  It was a great night to cross the border!  We spent a couple of hours on the beach at low tide, just before the sunset, and had fun playing with a vintage camera app on our phones.