Finally starting on the nursery!

Okay so talk about slackers. haha. Yes Seth and I have finally stared on the nursery! I mean I was hoping to have it close to finished aound the middle of April, so lets hope we get to moving on it pretty quickly! we got the crib and changing table and dresser, but it is still in pieces in the floor in the room. But Ali came over yesterday and started putting the initial coat of paint on the wall. She did two walls and I think once we move the crib peices she will be able to do the other two! And that is a big start. Then all we have to do is the designs I have picked out for the other two walls!!! And then also this weekend I washed two loads of clothes and blankets and what not. There are sooooooo many its almost impossible to know what to do with them all. But I did get all the hanging clothes up in the closet and I got all the onsies and other things clean and folded and organized. So hopefully when we get done with the crib and everything I can just put it all away!

I also told Seth he neeed to get started on putting one of the pieces together this week. It has been sitting there for 2 weeks and nothing has been done! haha. So its time to get moving. Anyways, that is my update for the day! Happy Thursday! :)

8 month appt. and all is well!

Well I got up bright and early this morning to be at the doc by 8:00am to get Mr. Elem all checked out! And it looks like everything is perfect. They said my blood pressure was a teeny bit high but that everything was okay. I measured 30cm from the top of the ole uterous to my pelvic bone, which falls a little smaller than the number of weeks I am, but they said I was cool. :) And his little heart beat- which is the most awesome sound to hear every single time that I go in!!! Was right at 140. So everything was fabulous! Oh and I thought I was going to have another one of those enormous weight gain months, but luckily I didnt! yay! I gained 6 pounds!!! Which is about average. I think they say you are still supposed to be gaining about a pound a week. I honestly dont know how anyone does it with out gaining at least 40 pounds throughout a pregnancy. I have still been working out at least 5 days a week and I mean like really hard working out, and I have now gained 35 pounds. Which is cool, I mean dont get me wrong, I am so glad I have not gained like 60 pounds or something already, but its weird to think of those peeps who gain 25 pounds. I dont know how they do it!! :) Anyways, I am just super happy that he is healthy and everything is on track! We go back in two weeks and then two weeks again after that. then its every week, which is CRAZY! That means it will really be close.

Geez...we have gOT to get going on that room, no paint donw, no crib set up....geez!!! But I did go through all of the clothes that we have been given on Saturday with the help of Seths mom and sister! Thank goodness! And I got the first load of 0-3 months washed and then i got the blankets all washed! So that is at least one step closer. AND this weekend is my baby shower! I am so pumped. Super super excited. I just gotta find something to wear! :):)

Peas-

my favorite pregnancy pic so far!

I just had to post this pic because I think it is so beautiful. Okay now that I said that I do realize that it sounds a little conceited, but I really dont mean it that way! It is just the kind of photo that I wanted to have you know! Like I feel like it kinda captures the whole "what pregnancy should be like" kinda feeling! Anyways, I love it, and it just focuses on Elem and nothing else. :) And the best part is, it is courtesy of my girl Kim! She apparently has this awesome photography talent that she just hasnt told anyone about and she just takes the most beautiful photos! So I made a little deal with her and we are going to take a trip to the river here in a couple of weeks and take some belly photos. Well me and my belly. Me and my Elem. haha. And then after little Elem comes she is going to hook me up and take some post pregnancy photos of the little man! So I cant wait! She is seriously so awesome!

SO major shout outs to Kim and her amazing photography skills. I love a good picture. Nothing can make you smile quite like a peaceful photo! :) Thanks Kimmy!

Our weekend!...we finally got some major things done!

It was soo beautiful outside again this weekend that Seth and I decided we had to get moving on some major tasks! Mostly that would be referring to the flower bed in our front yard. Which technically, you couldnt call it a flower bed, because I dont think it had been touched in like 3 or 4 years, and it mostly consisted of grass, weeds, roots, and more weeds. It was just awefule. LIke it looked like our yard went all the way up to our house. So...we made that famous trip to Home Depot and got to spendin some major money! haha.

But it turned out to be so worth it. We got mulch, and soil, and flowers, and even a lawn mower! We are offically yard peeps now. We spent about 5 hours on Saturday and then Seth spent another 3 hours on Saturday to get it all finished. I dont think I have ever seen so many weeds!!! It was about 4 inches of the whole top layer just full of them. So grose! But once they were pulled up and the flowers and new soil was put down, it was an amazing difference! I am so so proud! And Sage even kicked it with us in the flower bed the whole weekend! I must say she did a good job of chillin in the yard and watchin us get down on our hands and knees and dig that stuff up!

So anyways, I took a couple of pics before I left for work to show off what we did! And if you look closely in the window you can see my little princess on her stool watching me leave to go to work! :) So sweet.

Oh and then I almost forgot even bigger news! It HAD to be karma because as you all know I have been looking for this like "nursery in a box" at walmart in cherry color for about 3 months. It was one of the first ones we saw, and it includes a dresser, changing table, and crib, and it was all super cheap. But every time we went to go get it, they were out. And I mean I go to Walmart every single weekend to get groceries! So we were begining to think we were just going to have to go with something else. Which would have been fine, but the only thing is that you got everything in one set with this nursery in a box thing. So...after all our hard work in the flower bed, we were laying on the couch and Seths mom calls and says she is at walmart and they had it!!!!

So we ran to walmart and got the thing! It had to be karma. All that hard work in the yard and we got a bonus!! haha. We are so excited. Now we just need to get the dang thing put together and get those walls painted!!! But at least we got it! Which is way more than I could have said last weekend!! yay! :) Happy times!

Yay our first presents!!!! Well Elem's first presents:)

I am so excited because Elem got his first presents! Well of course he has been gettin stuff here and there like clothes and what not, but this was the first actual time that Seth and I got to open a package for something that we regisdtered for! It is so freakin fun! I love presents! I mean I literally LOVE them! I love giving them, getting them, buying them, anything about them at all! I mean who doesnt love presents!! So other than the clothes that we have gotten from family and friends, these were Elem's first toys and what not from his Uncle Andy! :) My bro! he did so good. He got the Baby Einstein Activity Gym. I mean how cute is that!! :) It has mirrors on it and everything! And then he got him the sound machine which is super cool too, because it has like 10 sounds that is soothing for infants. I think it has like white noise, birds, water, and like heartbeats and stuff like that. And plus it has a clock on it so that is cool! And then he got him the bath tub that I wanted. Which of course I think is so awesome. It even has like the little mesh place so you can set the infant in there and not have to actually "hold" him. So one person can give the little one a bath! It is perfect! Okay so I thought seeing all those cute little clothes in my house were getting me all excited, but now that I see these little toys and what not, it is making me even more excited! I can not wait till he gets here and we get to meet him! Check em out!"

Oh one more thing, lately I feel like my stomach is so tight that there could not possible be any more room for Elem to grow in there. Its like every which way I sit, it really feels like his little leg is going to come shooting out through my belly. Isnt it weird if you think about it, how they push on you and everything and they never just push through your skin. I find that very interesting. very very interesting! ha! Okay so note, belly very tight, and I feel like if my skin continues to stretch that I will not be able to eat or breathe. Both of those tasks are already becoming a little difficult!

Peas-

29.5 weeks and 29 pounds heavier!!

hahaha! So I could have gone ahead and titled this 30 weeks and 30 pounds heavier, but trust me, you want to savor every pound you can when you have gained this freakin much wait in 7 1/2 months. So we will stick with the 29s, and hope they stay good to us at least for a week or so longer. :):) Anwyays, me and Steph did a photo shoot at work yesterday so I thought I would share. I need to document the largeness of this growing belly and little Elem. He is definitley getting a little more squished in there. I can tell because you can see him rolling across my stomach every night. Its not really kicks ever anymore, just more like lumps on one side or the other of my belly!! So I hope you enjoy! And yes I think I am sweating in one of them, please disregard. But I am seriously having so many hot flashes, I cant control them. Thanks for being my pregnancy photographer stephy! You are the bestest.

I am 43 1/2 inches... well my waist is anyways! Geez!!!

Wow, so Steph has been measuring my belly every month or couple of weeks, and so last month on 2/9 I was 41 1/2 inches. And now, I am 43 1/2 inches! Crazyness!!! Who knew my belly could get that big! That is very large! But I am not surprised at all, because ever this weekend I notices that I looked bigger. I think I must have grown over night or something. :)

So other than a big belly and not getting any sleep all is well with me, Seth, and Elem. Of course Elem appears to be getting the better end of the deal, he chooses to stay up all night and roll around and kick it while I end up tossing and turning right along with him, and only annoying Seth like crazy! So the night shave not been that pleasant, but I am still just happy that he is growing and moving around and staying healthy in there.

Oh and last night, we were laying around and had just eatin, when I kept feeling the same little "kick". But I dont think it was a kick, I read this thing on babycenter that said babies get the hiccups at least a couple of times a week and if not, every day. And it is nothing that bothers them, just something that happens. So yesterday I totally think he had the hiccups, and all because it was just the lightest little kcik over and over and over for about 20 minutes, and it was in the same spot the whole time. Like really low below my belly button. I think I have felt them before, but this time I was totally sure that was what was going on! Super cool. Babies get hiccups even before they are born. :)Wow

What else happened this weekend, oh Dawn and Steph came over and we started working on the nursery. we drew some designs on the walls with chalk to get an idea of what it would look like, and we picked out some colors too..I think anyways. And it is going to look so great! I can hardly wait to get started. We are still stickin with the green and brown which is exactly what I wanted!!!

Oh so after they came over, me and Seth's mom headed to check out a crib and changing table from this dude that had listed he had a cherry one in the paper. So we get all the way to NLR and I was so excited because it was only supposed to be 150$$ for both, and we see the changing table and it looks pretty good. Just needed to be cleaned up and little bit, and then so he shows us the crib, which is not put together and it actually looksed pretty good too, BUT then he tells us that he doesnt have the hardware (screws) for the thing. I am like what in the world!!! So needless to say we left without a crib or changing table. :( So I am still on the hunt. Hopefully we will find one here in the next week or so! Wish me luck!

One more thing! Elem finally has a middle name!

Ooops I have been meaning to add this for the past week and I just keep forgetting! Elem FINALLY has a middle name to make it official....da da da da....and it is Elem Zane Shelby! Yay! We are so excited and both love it. Well I kinda had to do some convincing on the Zane part, but Seth does like it a lot. So if I do say so myself, we wont tell Seth, but I did do a great job of putting al that together :) Elem is straight up original from my very own brain and with a little help from the computer name finders, Zane found its way to my search! So yes again, Elem Zane is our little boy! And I think it suits him just perfect! Even if I do only know him from his kicks and rolls and chillin in my belly! Its fabulous!!!! Now I know there are lots of people who are not so excited about the name, but its unique and fits our little family just perfect! Oh and if you arent sure how to pronounce it, cause I still have peeps asking me, it is L-em, just like Elementary!

Holla!

Elem appears to know at least 2 or 3 people...

Okay definiely something cool that has happened over the last few weeks in regards to the ole belly! Elem really seems to know at least a couple of peoples' voices! It is the neatest thing. Obviously, I mean since I talk all the time, and I am sure he is sick of hearing my voice, but a lot of times when I talk he will start rolling around. Which is awesome, but I totally expected that because you know I am with him 24/7, but I didnt know that he would recognize other people this early!

So I am sitting at work the other day and Steph, who I am always talking to and who is always talking to the baby is talking about something and the whole time she is talking, Elem is rolling rolling rolling. And then when she stopped he quit. And then she was trying to feel him and she started talking and he started rolling. It was so cool. So he totally knows his aunty Steph already!

But then the other night, we were at Seth's sister's house and me and Seth were on the couch just chillin and Seth was talking and telling some story or something and he was feeling Elem kick and roll the whole time. So that went on for like 30 minutes and he seriously moved about the whole time. So then Ali came over cause she wanted to feel him move, and she put her hand on there but nothing happened. So then Seth started talking again, and there he went. Just strated rolling around the whole time. Of course Seth got all excited and was like"Its me, he knows me!" So that made me super excited! Cause of course who doesnt want their little one to know who their daddy is while they are in there. I mean how cool is that!???

Anyways, to me, I thought it was such a cool thing. Knowing that there is a little boy in there who has been kicking and going crazy in there, and to know that he actually understands and can differentiate between peoples voices, is just a miracle. So so cool. Thats al I can say!

Sleep is much needed!

Well I have been deprived of my sleep for way too long! haha -I know I am not going to get any sleep once Elem is here, but as far as now, I have got to get some sleep, and I think I found a way to get some. At least for a couple of days anyways! And they key is Benadryl!!! It seems that is my new drug of choice. I dont ever take it, but it is safe to take while you are pregnant and it is just enough to make se fall asleep and stay that way! Its great! No I know what you are thinking-that I am probably drugging the little guy, but I dont plan to take them every night. However, once a week to catch up everything I have missed due to crazy back pain and butt pain and just overall discomfort is much needed.

I totally took one a couple of nights ago and I think it is the first night I have gotten more than 2-3 hours of sleep in a night in about 3-4 weeks. I was about sick of it. I am just in the worst mood and then not very much good at work, and then just get on my own nerves when I dont sleep!! It is something that I just have to have! At least every week or so! But anyhow, so for today we are all rested and everyone is happy! :) Yay for Benadryl and yay for sleep!!!