Approaching the Finish Line

We're getting close to baby J's arrival, and I wish I could say we were more prepared. I am very (very!) ready to not be pregnant, but a little nervous about bringing home a little life and all that follows that. We are super excited to meet the baby, call the baby by name and watch each other become parents, but impending parenthood is suddenly real and scary. The nursery isn't ready, I haven't packed a bag and we definitely aren't close to settling on a name. So, we're excited yes, but definitely not ready.

Ready or not, baby is scheduled to arrive in six weeks or so, so we're kicking it into overdrive around here. We've had a little fun along the way, too. We took what is likely our last road trip before baby to see a dear high school friend get married. I'm so glad we were able to go, but a three hour road trip at eight months pregnant was rough. Sheesh.

Lavender macaroons at the dessert bar were worth the drive alone!

Sarah was a stunning bride!

And even though the nursery isn't ready, we are making progress. The crib is up and we're just waiting on the bedding. The room is painted and we're both happy with the color. I've made progress on the built-ins since I first posted a photo, but most of it will need to wait until we know boy or girl. And a name for that matter. I have no idea how we decided not to find out the gender, because I am itching to monogram something. Anything! For now, the letter J will have to do.

 

 



With our time as a family of two rapidly drawing to a close, we've been taking advantage of as many spontaneous movie nights and getaways as possible. A few weeks ago we decided to head to Dallas for the night for a little change of scenery. We stayed at NYLO Dallas, a boutique hotel we'd both highly recommend if you're ever in the area.

It was the perfect mini getaway, even if we were just 20 miles up the road. While we're mourning the end of our "just the two of us" phase, we're a lot more excited about what's to come...

 

 

 

Nursery Inspiration

We have finally started to work on the nursery and, it turns out, there is a fun part to pregnancy - nursery design! The family we bought our house from had a little girl and a baby boy and subsequently baby blue and baby pink bedrooms. Neither color is really our style, and we didn't have kids then anyway, so the pink was the first to go. We knew the blue room might someday be a baby room, so we didn't rush to paint. No one has used that guest room since we bought the house in September 2013, so it hasn't been a big deal. I was so sick for so long that nursery planning was the furthest from my mind. Probably because it felt like I would be sick and pregnant forever, so what was the point in working on a nursery?! Ha. Miserable pregnant woman logic at it's finest.

Anyway, with the nausea nearly gone, we've been working in the nursery for the past couple of weeks. Justin finished my shiplap wall (he did such a good job) and we cleared out the closet thanks to last weekend's snow day. We're getting a couple of quotes from painters and hope to get the room painted this month. Here's the color scheme:

Walls and built-ins = white (Probably Sherwin William's alabaster).
Ceiling and back of built-ins = Sherwin William's sea salt.

 

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Here's what the room looked like a couple of weeks ago:

And here's the shiplap wall in progress:

 

 

The wall is done, it's just waiting to be painted. I can hardly wait! Here's some of my inspiration:

 

 

 

 

 

We're going for a fresh take on a classic look. I'll let you know how it turns out...

 



Livin' On a Prayer

We officially hit the halfway mark last week (PTL!), and I've been humming that Bon Jovi song ever since. Some days I really do feel like I'm livin' on a prayer, but I am happy to report that I am feeling better. At least on the nausea front. I have since acquired nasty heartburn that no TUMS chewable can conquer, joint pain that brought on my early waddle and acne. Plus a few other unpleasant symptoms not made for blog mentioning. All of that to say, we're so ready for pregnancy to be over and to meet our baby! And we really do feel so fortunate to be experiencing all of this and for this incredible gift we've been given. The process just hasn't been as ideal as I had over-romanticized it would be in my head. (Story of my life).

Anyway, here are a few answers to questions we get asked pretty often:

• Do you know what you're having?
• No. We decided to keep it a surprise! The suspense is hard, but we're excited for that surprise sometime late spring.
• Do you have any names picked out?
• Sadly, no. We're working on it though. We are at pretty opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to names, so we'll see what happens. Stay tuned.
• What colors are you doing the nursery if you don't know the sex of the baby?
• White! We had already chosen that scheme anyway, so it really doesn't have much to do with boy or girl. We just wanted something fresh and airy and, well, neutral. We will accent with a few things once baby is here that will reflect a more feminine or masculine feel depending on what we have!
• Are you going back to work?
• Yes! I love my job and my career and I can't imagine leaving it right now.

And here's a "bump" pic. It was taken over a month ago at 16 weeks, but I rarely feel like posing for a picture, so it will have to do for now. Perhaps I'll get more motivated to document the last half of this journey! Perhaps...

Well...

I've been meaning to start blogging again, but didn't have a lot of inspiration. Until now that is. I'm hoping to get back in a routine, if nothing else to look back and remember moments through this journey. I love looking back at my wedding posts and know I will want to do the same for baby. Although, if I'm being honest there isn't much so far I care to remember. In fact, I really hope to forget all of the nausea, vomiting and exhaustion. For all of you that promised me that once I hit the second trimester I would feel amazing - you lied. Two weeks in and no end in sight. In fact, so far in my second trimester I've gotten sick at McLane Stadium and in front of City Hall. Just to name a few. It is true what they say though - it's all worth it and we're amazed at this little miracle.

So, here's to less puking and more frequent blogging in the coming weeks and months.

2013

2013 was not my favorite year. In fact, I'm pretty stoked it's over. To be fair, it never really stood a chance compared to 2012, the best year (so far) of my life. At any rate, J and I are ready for the new year and all of the excitement that brings. (i.e., lots of traveling and NO moving ;)

And because 2013 wasn't all bad, here's a look at some of my favorite moments.

January:

Fun day at the rodeo!

 

February:

celebrated the super bowl with our small group friends

Justin's birthday dinner with Robert and Kelly



Vegas trip

celebrated Kelly's 30th with a kidnap birthday surprise ;)

celebrated six months of marriage in Vegas

March:

first married Easter

mini getaway to San Antonio

dinner on the riverwalk with dear friends

April:

girl's weekend with keira

Baylor vs TCU baseball game in Fort Worth

fun spring happy hour with friends

May:

celebrated Keira's fourth birthday

and spent time with our nieces

June:

celebrated Furr's bachelorette!

a fur themed bachelorette for our Furr!

celebrated Furr's lake wedding!

July:

 



spent July 4 at our city event (BEST fireworks)!

August:

 

went to March of the Bears to meet the 2013 team (historic team)!

  

dinner at our rehearsal dinner restaurant

September:

 

spoke at a national conference in Scottsdale



 



closed on our second house together

trip to the Riviera Maya to celebrate our one year anniversary

October:

took the girls to the pumpkin patch

spent lots of time in Waco cheering on my Bears!

 

November:

watched Baylor beat OU (blackout game)

December:

traveled icy highways to watch Baylor beat UT to become Big XII Champs!

celebrated Christmas in our new home