The time that's left

I think I might start counting backwards next week when I hit 25 weeks.

Because there's only 15 weeks to go after that.

Those 15 weeks will include birthdays and baby showers, halloween, thanksgiving, christmas and new years.

In those 15 weeks I have a lot of projects I want to accomplish for the nursery as well as obvious shopping to be done for christmas.

In those 15 weeks we'll be spending 6 of them at a childbirth class. I'll be spending another couple hours at a breastfeeding class. And hopefully then we'll know a lot more than we know now.

In those 15 weeks, my tummy will have grown to hold a baby the length of an ear of corn to the size of a watermelon. I already feel like I have a watermelon, so this is going to be interesting.

In 15 weeks, I'll start to get my body back (though i'm sure that'll be a longer process then I can currently imagine).

15 weeks from now I'll be holding a baby in my arms instead of in my tummy. I'll feel her kick with her limbs out in the world instead of feeling them on the inside. I'll hear her little voice cooing (and obviously crying). Alex will get to hold her instead of feeling her kick and punch.

I can't believe I'm growing a tiny human!

Crock Pot Chicken Chili

I did not take this picture. Click Here.

I saw this on Pinterest (where else?) and it looked yummy, so I pinned it.

I put all the ingredients into the crock pot last Friday morning. We ate it for dinner that night (obv). I had two large bowls (that I really could not fit) and it was delicious. Possibly the best chicken chili I've ever had. Couple that with the easy factor and it was a hit for me (us). I even bought the ingredients at the store the next day so that I can make it again soon.

Try it, you won't regret it.

Check it!

Ever spend 10 minutes shredding chicken that you needed for a recipe? Me too. I actually hate shredding chicken but sometimes it has to be done.

Well, thanks to Pinterest (of course) and whoever actually came up with this. I will never shred chicken by hand AGAIN!

{pin}

Did you know you can shred chicken in your stand mixer in just a couple minutes flat?

NOW YOU DO!

24 weeks

This is the start of month six.

Things still going well, nothing new to report.

Lots of movement now that I can often feel on the outside.

She's kicking as I type.

Guess that means she loves my blog already??

Last week we signed up for our childbirth classes. They begin the 3rd week of October.

Yesterday we visited Erin, David and baby Addilyn. She is ah-dorable. It was awesome to hold her and it made me realize I should start working my arms out now. She slept so peacefully the whole time we were visiting.

I can't wait to hold our little sweet pea in my arms in 16 more weeks!

The Nursery {Part 2}

Let's talk about furniture, shall we?

My parents were generous enough to lend us the crib and changing table from when we were babies. My niece used the same crib and changing table when she was a baby as well. (I'm aware of the current crib safety standards). They both started out a vintage yellow gold. We decided to spray paint them white. I don't have a picture of the crib yet because we can't figure out how to put it together, but when we get it together, I will post it. In the meantime, here is the before and after of the changing table.

This next piece, I found while shopping at a consignment sale with Erin. I couldn't believe it was still there when I arrived because I got there rather late and it's a very nice piece. I need to redo the drawer liners but it will definitely hold a lot. We weren't planning to buy a dresser so this is going to work out perfectly! And it fits right inside the closet.

We bought this shelf from Ikea and Laurel lovingly helped me put it together. I need to figure out what's going to go in the shelf holes but I think it's going to fit really nicely in the room overall. Plus, you can't have enough storage, right?

Please ignore the changing pad, it obviously won't be going on this.

And last but not least is the rocking chair we just got off Craigslist for a steal! It's such a nice chair. I'm actually sitting in it right now bc our computer chair is broken. I thought for a minute about painting it white as well but I just can't. Regardless of the fact that it doesn't really fit into the room, I just can't disgrace it like that. I'll be putting a nice cushion on it though for comfort, hopefully that'll tie it to the room a little bit better.

This weekend I went to AC Moore and Michaels to get some supplies to make a mobile. That will probably be featured in part 3 of this nursery series along with another craft I plan to do for one of the walls. Still on the list of things to do is sew crib sheets, curtains, a crib skirt and recover a bumper for the crib. I also want to recover the bassinet that Jess is letting us borrow. It's frilly and white and I don't really like the styling. Lots more to do but it will all definitely make the nursery more cozy for the little one.

Updated to add the Crib image on 10/9/11:

Here is the crib all put together with a little help from my parents! It looks great in the room and I'm very excited to sew the crib sheets, recover the bumper and eventually put the quilt on it. Eeeee!

Halloween Fun via Pinterest

In preparation for the month of October, I thought I'd share some cool things I've seen on Pinterest lately.

The perfect party invitation! {pin}

Serve up some bevies in a pumpkin! {pin}

Be creative with those little guys! {pin}

Who doesn't love a chevron pumpkin? {pin}

Or using your favorite cookie cutters instead of making a jack-o-latern? {pin}

Or heck, a complete pumpkin fireplace setup! {pin}

Feeling crafty?

Make a wreath out of tulle {pin}

Or paint some pieces of wood {pin}

Easy peasy!

23 Week Update

Old Image Removed due to Disgust

Here we are at 23 weeks! I may or may not have photoshopped this image.. so sue me! Maybe it's this ipad camera.. yeah, let's blame the camera bc honestly, I don't see that when I look into that mirror (and by that, i mean what you would've seen, had i used the actual original image).

Anyway!! We're still feeling great!

We had a doctor's appointment on Monday and baby girl's heartrate was around 150bpm. The midwife couldn't get a super accurate reading due to a wiggling little one. Funny that her heartrate is only going up, when they told me a couple appointments ago that it would start going down. We're measuring right at 23 weeks which is good and I'm assuming my BP and other levels are doing well.

Alex had a major milestone Sunday morning, he felt her kick for the first time! We'll be working more and more on that since the more she moves around now, the more I can feel it on the outside.

Our next appointment is in another 4 weeks and we'll be doing the Glucose screening as well as a normal OB appointment.

Things are definitely feeling bigger these days. I did play volleyball last Wednesday, which left my thighs a little bit sore but felt really really good to do some sweaty exercise. I hope to continue to play for another month or so until the bump really starts getting in the way. Sleeping is a little bit harder than before but nothing too serious. And the throat burn seems to have subsided which is good.

I'm thinking about teaching myself to crochet a baby hat, which could be interesting. This is the one that I like and also this little hat/cocoon set (though that's knitted, maybe I could just use the pattern from the left hat to make a longer hat to use for a cocoon). It can't be that hard, right?? Update: I believe Charmayne will be making these for me, so no need to teach myself something new! Ha! Just kidding, I still might do it. It's nice to have a trick up your sleeve every once in a while and would come in handy for baby gifts for my friends who just had or will be having a baby soon!

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As per last week, nothing too crazy to report. Just counting down the days until we meet our little one!