Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Zoey's nursery reveal!

Okay, okay... I can't wait any longer. I am SO ready to show off my work on our baby girl's room! Like I said in my last post, it's almost done... save for just 2 more projects. I decided today that it is done enough to finally show off! So, here it is!

Photobucket

Photobucket
The crib! We got her crib at Target for $300, and it converts into a toddler bed, day bed, and full sized bed. We also got the matching dresser! I still need to finish sewing her crib skirt, which will match the curtains.

Photobucket
Her mobile! I saw this idea on a few blogs, and just had to do it for Zoey's room. It's made with tissue paper and yarn. The tutorials I used are here and here! The "Shhh.... baby dreaming" wall decal came from Michael's.

Photobucket
These 3D flower canvases were my most recently completed project. I found 3 big flowers at Joann's that matched the colors of her nursery, and I popped the stems off. I painted 3 8"x8" gallery canvases in coordinating colors, and used the end of a paint brush to  paint white polkadots. Then, I poked a hole in the middle of each canvas, and hot glued the flowers onto each canvas! 

Photobucket
Her closet! We opted to take the doors off (because sliding doors are not very nice to tiny fingers!), and we painted her closet a pretty avocado green! 

Photobucket
The frame collage. This is one of the projects that needs to be completed. I'm going to paint a tree for the bottom right frame, and I'm working on a cross stitch birth announcement for the bottom left frame. As for the top 3 frames, they're still to be decided on. The big funky mirror in the middle was purchased at Target for $20, and painted white. The oval frame on the bottom has my hand print and Thomas's hand print, and will be finished off with Zoey's little tiny hand print after she's born. I would love to take credit for that wonderful idea, but I totally jacked it from Kate! I fell in love with her sweet African-themed nursery for her baby girl... Who just so happens to also be named Zoey!

Photobucket
Dresser/changing table. The blue flowers came from Michael's. The canvases were decorated by me.... The birds were pulled from her crib quilt fabric (which you'll see in a minute), and the letters were done with my Cricut Expression 2 and the "Straight from the Nest" cartridge. The letters came from Hobby Lobby. They were unfinished wood, and I painted them with the same paint used for the closet.

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket
Curtains were made by me with 2 of the coordinating fabrics from the collection that I used as inspiration for her room. The collection is called "Baby Birds" from Joann.

Photobucket
Crib pillows! I used the nursery fabric, as well as some odds and ends that I had laying around the craft room. I found the tutorial on Pinterest... You can find it here!

Photobucket
Crib quilt, made by mommy! Also, the shaggy rug came from Target!

Photobucket
Bow board! My friend Krystal and I found the frame for $7 at Goodwill.. We de-constructed it, spray painted it, covered the cardboard backing with bating, fabric, and ribbon, and hot glued the crap out of it! I also made all of her flowers... I think she needs some more! :)

Photobucket
And her shelves. I bought them in a set of 3 at Target. The bird houses came from Joann for $1 a piece, and I painted them in the coordinating nursery colors. The green bird came from Michael's, as well as the block Z. The cute Ultrasound picture frame came from Hobby Lobby... It says "Love at First Sight". I still need to put one of her pictures in it!

A quick note about the paint colors, in case you're wondering how I got the perfectly-matched colors.... Paint samples at Lowes! They're $3... Krystal and I took the crib quilt to Lowes, matched up some paint chips, and got paint samples in the coral, baby pink, mint green, and sky blue! They have definitely come in handy! 

I hope you love her sweet, girly room as much as I do... I'm really proud of the way it turned out! As my mother in law says, "It's done... No room for anything else but Zoey!"

Sunday, June 24, 2012

32 weeks pregnant!

Photobucket

How far along? 32 weeks
Baby is the size of a: A large jicama
Total weight gain: 19 lbs
Maternity clothes? Yep, and lots of dresses!
Stretch marks? I found a few new ones on the insides of my thighs, but like the ones on my hips, they're very light. 
Sleep: Pretty good, for now.
Best moment this week? Getting more done on Zoey's nursery... only 2 small projects left! It looks so precious... I can't wait to show you all! 
Miss anything? Bending over. Lol
Movement: Lots and lots!
Cravings? Strawberry cheesecake ice cream. :)
Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope!
Labor signs: Nada, though I'm having more braxton hicks recently.
Symptoms: My feet have been very swollen lately, so I invested in some compression socks to wear to work. Also, my hands are now tingly when I wake up, which I've heard/read is pretty normal. Still freaks me out though.
Belly Button in or out? Out for sure.
Wedding rings on or off? Off.
Happy or moody most of the time? Happy!
Looking forward to: Finishing Zoey's nursery, my last day of work in just 25 days, my baby showers in a few weeks, and our little girl's big debut! 

Sunday, June 17, 2012

31 Weeks Pregnant

Holy crap! Can you believe there is only 9 weeks left??! (Well, hopefully just 9 weeks... I'm being hopeful. She'll probably come fashionably late. "It's an estimation, not an expiration.") I really can't wait to see her!

Photobucket
(Does this shirt look familiar? That's because I have it in 3 colors. ;)  )

How far along? 31 weeks! Single digit countdown!
Baby is the size of a: (the weight of) 4 naval oranges! Almost 3 and a half pounds and over 16 inches long.
Total weight gain: almost 19 lbs
Maternity clothes? Yep!
Stretch marks? Still just a few, but nothing on the belly.
Sleep: Actually sleeping really well... I doubt this will continue for much longer, so I'm enjoying it while it lasts!
Best moment this week? Lots of fun things this week... Thomas woke up in the middle of the night and got to feel one of Zoey's 2 am parties... It was the first time he got to REALLY feel  her jump all over the place! I woke up at 4 and both of his hands were on my belly. He was so excited!! I also have started making the thank you notes for my shower with my Cricut... They're SO cute! I will post pictures of them AFTER I send them out! And one more fun thing, we went to Build-a-Bear and made Zoey a buddy!

Photobucket


After we took our sweet little bear home, it was only appropriate to dress her up in some of Zoey's clothes! :)

Photobucket
See more pics on Instagram... Elbylol
Miss anything? Not really, other than the usual (like sleeping on my belly!) I'm enjoying being pregnant!
Movement: She's all over the place! Thomas got to feel her hiccups last night!
Cravings? Nothing weird... 
Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope!
Labor signs: Nope!
Symptoms: The swelling has worsened in the last week, especially in my feet! I officially can't wear my Toms anymore (wahhhhhh!) but my awesome MIL bought me some Mary Jane Crocs to wear to work for the next month. Ugly as hell, but they'll give me plenty of swelling room so hopefully my feet won't be SO miserable!
Belly Button in or out? Out, and getting more "out" day by day!
Wedding rings on or off? Off. :(
Happy or moody most of the time? Happy!
Looking forward to: Painting her closet today, my baby shower in about a month, and not working anymore in a month! And of course, I can't stop thinking about meeting our little Zoey!

Sunday, June 10, 2012

29 and 30 week pregnant, and some maternity photos!


I'm really sorry that I missed last week's post... I had a picture taken and everything, but I didn't have my SD card in my camera, and I couldn't find my cable. Luckily, today I figured out how to copy them from the camera to the card, so I was able to get it! So, today's post is a double post... a 29 week picture, along with the 30 week picture and questions. Also, at the end of the post, you'll see a few of my beautiful maternity pictures taken by my lovely friend Anna! There will be a link to her blog below with all of the pictures that she took for us on Friday!


Photobucket

Our 29 week picture was taken on the day that we celebrated the Queen's Diamond Jubilee... the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. My husband's family lives in England, and since my MIL is in town visiting with us right now, she missed the big celebration over there... so we had a party here instead! Complete with British-esque foods, tacky British decorations, and good fun with family and friends! It was really a blast!

Now, for 29 weeks. Here's one of our maternity pics... I'll include a few more at the end!


Photobucket


How far along? 30 Weeks... Only 10 weeks left! I can't believe it!
Baby is the size of a: head of Cabbage... 3 pounds, and almost 16 inches!
Total weight gain: 17 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Yes, and loving it! I don't think I'll ever wear regular pants again!
Stretch marks? Still just a few, but nothing on the belly.
Sleep: Sleeping well! For the last week or so, I haven't even woken up to go to the bathroom! Whoa!
Best moment this week? So many good ones this week! My MIL is in town, so we've had fun with her. I have also gotten a lot of work done on her nursery, with only a few small projects left until it's all done! Also our maternity pictures on Friday were a blast!
Miss anything? Wine, and sleeping on my belly.
Movement: After taking a few breaks, she's been SUPER active! A few people have gotten to feel her roll under their hands, and my cousin and step-sister-in-law got to feel her hiccups!
Cravings? Nothing out of the ordinary. (My husband swears that I've been craving Choco-Tacos, but I think that was more "power of suggestion" than anything, because he just wouldn't shut up about them until he found a box and brought them home. Maybe HE is the one having the cravings!
Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope!
Labor signs: Nothing out of the ordinary... still a few Braxton Hicks here and there, but nothing super uncomfortable.
Symptoms: I've started swelling up if I stay outside or on my feet for too long... My hands and feet get very swollen very quickly, followed by my ankles, which have now learned a nifty disappearing trick.
Belly Button in or out? I think we can call it officially OUT! The bottom part is still flat-ish, but the top half is definitely out. I'm going to have an outtie by the end of this!
Wedding rings on or off? I retired my wedding rings to my jewelry box just a few days after my last post. It was just getting too hard to  get them on and off, and I didn't want to take the chance of them getting stuck. I did get them on for my maternity pictures, but they were SCARY tight by the end. I had been wearing my husband's "engagement ring"... a silver band that I got for him to wear while we were engaged, but even that got tight. My mom gave me a pretty fake one that she had to wear while her rings were in the shop recently, and they're very loose, so I'll be sticking with these hopefully until the end!
Happy or moody most of the time? Happy!
Looking forward to: Finishing up her nursery, my shower in about 5 weeks, my career change in about 6 weeks, and of course, my sweet baby girl's arrival! Here's hoping the next 10 weeks go as fast as the last 30 have!

As promised, here are a few more maternity pictures!

Photobucket
Photobucket
Photobucket
Photobucket
Photobucket
Photobucket
Photobucket
Photobucket
Photobucket
Photobucket

You can see more of Anna's beautiful work, as well as the rest of the pictures from our maternity session, at www.annamichellejohnson.com. Also, I joined Instagram this week! Follow me, elbylol! 

See you next week!