Nursery Updates!

I have had the nesting bug really bad ever since my little brother Mike moved out.  The last time you saw my nursery, I had only painted the walls.  Arthur and I have been working like crazy to get Baby Finn's room ready for him to arrive.

Once the carpets were cleaned, we slowly started to move everything into his room.  We started with his crib and his dresser.  We didn't have a mattress yet, so I ordered that online and had it shipped 2-day air.  I couldn't wait to make his bed and put his mobile in it!

As soon as his mattress was here, Arthur helped make the bed and I put some of his stuffed animals in it.  I also filled his drawers with onesies and put some books on top of his dresser.  It was great to have my rocker set up in the corner of the room.  As we started to gather things, I would instantly want them set up!

Here are some pictures of the nursery as it is today.  There are just a few things left to get, and then we are ready!

Here is the room, standing at the doorway.  The fish decals we ordered online and Arthur cut them out and positioned them on the wall all by himself.  The 3 orange fish in the middle represent Arthur, Finn and Me.  I loved the way they turned out!  His window seat holds his toys and there is an empty spot for Arthur to sit next to me when we read to Baby Finn.  The curtains are blackout so Finn will be able to nap in the dark.  :)  The curtain panel in the middle came with his bed set and it matches his blanket and crib sides.

Here is the first thing you see when you walk in.  My good friend Jenn made this for his wall.

 

Here is a close up of the picture.  Jenn stitched it by hand out of felt!  I sent her a picture of Finn's mobile on his crib and this is what she created from just a picture!  She is so creative.  :)

 

This is his bassinette.  The blanket on top was knitted by my cousin Andrea.  She matched the colors perfectly with the rest of the room.  Obviously, KitKat loves the bed.  She had a nap in here for several hours one day.  You can see sleepytime Finn behind her from Adventure Time.  I'm excited to roll this into our room when Finn gets here so he can sleep next to me!

Here is a view of the letters I made Finn this week.  I wanted to do letters above his bed originally, but because we decided to do the fish instead, I put them on top of his closet.  I got the letters and the fish shapes from Joann's crafts.  They were originally a natural wood color, so I painted them white and then super glued the fish on.  Arthur helped me hang them up yesterday.  I was so excited to see them finished finally!

Here is a close-up of the letters.  The ribbon holding each letter up is twine, with white stripes painted on.  I got the ribbon at Hobby Lobby.  It ended up really cute, I think!

Here is the inside of his crib.  Right now I'm storing his Boppy in there.  I have a few more stuffed animals in the crib as well.  The bedding is from KidsLine and I bought it on eBay.  Arthur and I looked for a long time for a bedding set that we loved.  We liked this one because the colors were really bright and they were the type of fish design we were looking for.  The mobile is from Arthur's aunt JeNeal.  Can you spot the other Finn we have? 

 

Next to the crib, we have his play mat with a bunch of ocean toys on it.  I'm excited to let him lie on it and play with the toys.  I also got a MamaRoo bouncer for him from my mom and dad.  They loved going with Arthur and me to the baby store and picking it out with us.  They were so excited to buy something for Baby Finn!  It is a really cool bouncer, it moves like a person bouncing a baby.  There are sounds and an iPhone jack so I can play music for him while he relaxes in it.  If you haven't seen the cool MamaRoo video, you'll have to check it out. 

 

Here is the video for the MamaRoo:

 

Here is a picture of Teddy Ruxpin trying out our MamaRoo:

 

Next to his window seat is my rocker.  I got this from Arthur's mom for Christmas this past year.  I usually put on his fleece blanket that goes with his bed set and a knitted baby blanket from his Grandma on his dad's side.  Arthur and I got the wall shelf from Home Depot, we liked it because it looks like an ocean wave.  I have a few frames up there right now, one is from his mom showing the birth day and time and measurements for Finn, and the other one is from my sister-in-law Whitney.  It has a great quote about motherhood.  I spend hours in this corner, rocking and listening to music from his mobile.  I like using the Twilight Turtle to put blue stars on the ceiling.  It's really relaxing.  My favorite thing is when Arthur sits next to me on the window seat and he reads books to Baby Finn.  He does all the voices from the books and doesn't skip parts.  :)

Here is his dresser.  The lamp on the left is a cute whale that matches the bedding set we got, also by KidsLine.  In front of that is my Mother's Day snow globe and Baby Finn's journal.  I'll be writing in it before he is born and after he is born so he has something he can read about his birth that I wrote.  My mom did that for me, and it's one of my most prized possessions.  I love reading about my first few days and weeks after I was born.  Next to his lamp, you can see his big pile of books he has already.  I hope Finn loves to read!  Next to that is our baby monitor and his baby album with all of his ultrasound pictures.  In front of those things you can see my essential oils and hot pad that Arthur's mom and brother gave me for my birthday.  Next to that is the fish I made for Finn at Color Me Mine.  Then, you'll see his framed 3D ultrasound picture that shows the best view of his face.  I love to spend time looking at it when I'm sitting in my rocker.

Here is the amazing light fixture Arthur found online.  We debated between this one and a ceiling fan with palm leaves, but I'm glad we ended on this one because it really matched his crib and dresser. 

 Overall, the experience of putting his room together has been so fun.  I have loved coming home from every one of our baby showers and putting things away.  We are so lucky to have such generous friends and family to help us get ready for Baby Finn.  I'm excited for Finn to get here so he can enjoy his room!  :)

The last thing I will say about this whole experience is that Arthur has been incredible through this whole process.  He has been SO patient with me and allowed me to be obsessive about even the tiniest detail when putting things together.  He has spent hours moving things around and building things so I can feel like there is a special place for Finn to come home to after he is born.  I am so lucky to have such a hard working and patient husband.  Not to mention talented with great taste! 

Boise Baby Shower

May seems to be Baby Shower month!  I have had 3 so far, and I was really excited for the one up in Boise with my family on my mom's side.  I decided I wanted to have the shower over Memorial Day weekend up in Boise so we could also go visit my Grandpa's grave since he is buried up there.

My sister made a really cute invitation for the Boise shower, and I loved the colors and the fish on it:

 

I had to work on Friday, and I was able to get off a little bit early on May 24.  Arthur came and picked me up and we headed up to Boise.  The drive takes about 6 hours, so I was hoping to do ok seeing that I was 33 weeks pregnant (just over 8 months) at the time.  We stopped a few times and I was able to have enough bathroom breaks, so I did ok.  :)  It was nice to get a nap in on the way up.

Arthur and I arrived at the hotel called The Harrison in Boise around 6PM.  We got checked in and our room was on the 4th (top) floor.  It was the Executive Suite!  I think the executive part was that it had a nice view of the roof.  Arthur and I joked that it was like the Ray Charles suite, because the only person who would enjoy that view would be someone who couldn't see.  :) 

We went to dinner that night at the Cracker Barrel.  It was nice and relaxing, and I felt like I was on vacation.  I realized that this would probably be the last time that Arthur and I get to travel together before we have a baby. 

The next morning, we got ready and I headed over to my Grandma's house.  My sister Adrienne and my sister-in-law Whitney had decorated the house so cute!  They also had amazing fish themed foods!  Adrienne had made blue Jell-O with little fish candies in it.  She also cut out fish shaped fruits and made kabobs out of them.  She also chocolate dipped strawberries and Swedish Fish and put fish faces on them.  The food was delicious! 

Here is the main table decorated with my amazing diaper cake.  We saved a lot of the decorations so we can use them for our shower with Arthur's family in 2 weeks:

Here is a picture of the food and some more of the decorations.  My sister-in-law made an amazing wreath for Baby Finn.  I am going to put it on my hospital door like they do in Texas!  Check out the blue Mambo drinks my sister got!

Here is a picture of Arthur, my grandma and me with the swing she got us.  She was so excited to give it to us!

Some of the kids got bored and went downstairs to play in "The Pit".  The Pit is a big set of couches in the basement where all of the cousins have grown up watching movies and playing. 

Here is the shower crew hanging out on the couch.  It was such a fun day!

After the shower, we hung out and enjoyed the afternoon.  Around 5, we went to the cemetery to visit my grandpa's grave.  It was really nice to see it in person.  It was beautiful! 

Arthur and I didn't stay super long because I was really tired and my feet were starting to swell up.  I needed to put them up for a bit.

That night, Arthur and I went out to dinner and relaxed the rest of the evening.  It was a great time away and I was so grateful for the amazing gifts and time with my family.  I loved seeing all of my fun cousins and spending time at my Grandma's house.
 

Bountiful Baby Shower

My first baby shower was with my team at work.  I had my second baby shower on Saturday, May 18.  I have some lady friends who live in Bountiful by my parent's house who wanted to throw me a shower.  I've known many of them since I was 8 when I moved into the Bountiful house. 

My sister made an amazing invitation for the shower and she and my mom sent them out.  The invitation was really cute. 

The day of the shower, I was super excited.  I got up early and wore a new maternity shirt that I had gotten earlier in the week with a gift card from Arthur.  It was the first bright colors I've worn in awhile, since I have mostly white, black and grey maternity shirts.  I really liked the shading of the colors, and it made me feel happy. 

I drove up to Bountiful and got there a few minutes before it started at 11:00 AM.  It was at the house of a woman who I used to work for when I was a teenager.  I cleaned her house and took care of her elderly mother who had Alzheimer's.  I spent a lot of time there, so I was happy to be back.  There were already a lot of great decorations set up, including an amazing sheet cake made by someone in the neighborhood. 

The dining room table had some cute treats and balloons put up for the party.  I loved it!

A lot of people showed up and I was happy to be able to see so many people from my past.  They were all so generous and I got a bunch of really great stuff!

Here are some more pictures from the shower:

This is Thuryle, Brielle and me.  Thuryle is the woman who hosted the shower.  She is like my second mom!

 



Brielle, Me and my giant "It's a Boy!" cake!

 

My mom and me and my cake:

Here are so more ladies from the neighborhood:

This is a girl I grew up with, she was a year younger than me in school.  Her name is Ashley.  Look how cute her baby girl is!  She is sitting with her mom:

Here is my sweet Aunt Margaret, Aunt Joni and another lady from the neighborhood:

Some more ladies, including my Aunt Kathi and cousin Nikki:

More ladies!

This is the baby shower crew.  Deb is on the bottom left hand side.  She did a lot of the prep work with my mom and sister.  My sister is next to her, then Thuryle.  Then there's me and my sweet Brielle.  My mom and Rene are at the top.  What a great looking group! 

 

Overall, the shower was really fun.  There was a lot of rain and people still showed up!  I also was pretty proud of myself for writing thank you cards as soon as I got home.  Arthur was a big help and he made sure I was able to get through the whole list of gifts and cards before we went to bed that night.  It was so fun going through all of the gifts and showing them to Arthur.  Baby Finn is so spoiled already!  :) 



Birthday and Mother's Day

I wanted to blog about my first Mother's Day and my 30th birthday, because they are both very important events!  I wrote the previous entry early on Mother's Day morning.  When I logged into Facebook that morning, there were so many posts on my feed about Mothers.  I saw so many nice posts from people about their moms, and so I got really teary-eyed.  It was probably the hormones combined with the fact that it was my first Mother's Day, but it was impossible not to cry.  As I wrote my previous entry (you can read it by clicking here), I cried all the way through - happy tears of course.

I set a goal when I finally decided to have kids that I would try to be pregnant before I was 30.  I am grateful that I pushed myself to accomplish that goal, because it wasn't easy.  I still want to write my Trying to Conceive blog entry so I can share some of the things I did to prepare myself to start trying to have kids.  Some believe it is really easy, and for some it is.  For some it is not, and so I feel like sharing my story will help some.

After I wrote my blog entry on Mother's Day morning, Arthur and I spent some time together watching the Mother's Day specials on TV that we'd recorded.  We watched Ellen's baby shower special and everyone in the audience was pregnant.  It was so funny.  While I watched TV, Arthur made me breakfast.  He made me a delicious omelet.  I ate almost the whole thing.  It was nice to eat breakfast in bed.  :)

Arthur then brought me my Mother's Day gifts.  He got me some cute baby outfits and a first Mother's Day snow globe.  The snow globe made me cry, because it was so sweet and thoughtful.  It is all silver and it has 3 ivory colored seahorses in it, swirled around by silver fish.  It was personalized with an engraving on the front. 

It says:
1st Mother's Day
May 12, 2013
Love, Arthur

Here are some pictures of it:

I really appreciated having something that would remind me forever that I got to spend my first Mother's Day pregnant, and before my 30th birthday.  :)

I also got Mother's Day flowers earlier in the week, and they are beautiful:

For my 30th birthday, it was the next day on May 13.  I took the day off so I could spend it with Arthur and do something fun.  I slept in a bit and relaxed in the morning.  Before we got up and got ready, Arthur brought me my birthday presents in bed.  I got some really nice ear buds, some baby clothes and a brown Fossil watch.  Arthur told me that I had one more present that was downstairs, but I had to go see it because it was too big to bring upstairs.  I went down to the main living room, and there was a box with a stroller/carseat combo in it!  I was so happy!  I made him put it together right away. 

I pushed it around the living room for a few minutes, and then we went to get ready for the day.  I had plans to go to a restaurant in Salt Lake called Finn's.  They serve breakfast and lunch and the style is Norwegian.  After I was ready, Arthur took my picture by the door with my new stroller because I was so excited about it before we left.

Here's my new stroller and me in my birthday outfit with my new watch on:

We got in the car and started driving towards Salt Lake.  I realized that we didn't have enough time to go to Finn's and go see the Mummy exhibit at The Leonardo museum downtown.  So, we decided to go to Finn's another day and spend more time looking at the Mummies. 

We parked at The Leonardo and went in and paid.  We walked around and saw all of the Mummy exhibit.  It was really cool!  I loved studying about ancient Egypt when I was in elementary school and junior high.  I had always wanted to see mummies like that, and so it was a great activity on my birthday. 

After we went to the Mummy exhibit, Arthur took me up to my pregnancy massage appointment.  He'd gotten me a massage back on Valentine's day and I hadn't traded it in yet.  He dropped me off and I went in.  The massage table was amazing, they had pillows that lifted my body up that allowed me to lie on my stomach - which I haven't done in months.  I used to sleep on my stomach before I was pregnant!

The massage was great, very relaxing.  I appreciated having such a relaxing time on my birthday.  Arthur picked me up an hour later and we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner.  I ordered the Thai Salmon with jasmine rice.  It was so good!  Afterwards, we shopped around at the mall a bit. 

Overall, it was an amazing birthday and I was really grateful that I had such a fun husband to share it with.  One of the main reasons why I married Arthur is because he always makes holidays so special.  I never have to worry about being forgotten on my birthday.  :) 

First Mother's Day and a Letter to Finn

Happy Mother's Day!

In my Hypnobirthing class, my instructor said something on the first night of class that has really stuck with me.  She was redefining some of the terms that people use in relation to pregnancy, labor and delivery.  The reason for this is so you can do away with words that have previously triggered concern or fear when you hear them, such as contractions and pain.  Instead, she suggested calling them "waves" and "pressure".  It was nice to think of the phases in labor this way, because I am a strong believer in using the mind to train yourself how to feel about something. 

Something else she said that first night has stuck with me and I think about it often.  She told us that when we walk into the hospital to have our baby that we are not patients, we are parents.  She looked at each of us women in the eye and said "You are mothers.   You became mothers the moment you conceived your baby.  No one can take that away from you."  I loved hearing that, because secretly I had been feeling this way since I first started symptom tracking before I took my pregnancy test. 

So, even though I am not traditionally a mother yet, with something tangible to hold and show off, I personally feel like I am a mother now.  Women go through a lot of changes that take away their freedom and personal life that prove this point.  I wanted this so bad, and every time I have to make a choice that is better for my baby, I remind myself that it's not about me anymore.  It's tough, I'm not going to lie.  I'm a pretty selfish person sometimes, and to have to stop and think before a lot of the things I do or eat or the way I move my body in every second of every day... it is definitely life changing.

I remember growing up and watching my mom on Mother's Day.  She would always cry.  I never understood why Mother's Day was such a sad day.  She'd tell us that she just wanted a clean house, or kids that didn't fight for one day.  I was always so confused... wasn't this day supposed to be a happy day?  A day that we all hugged our mom and were all really nice to her and made her cards?  I now understand why my mom sometimes had this reaction on Mother's Day. 

With Motherhood comes not only an intense sense love for the little thing I created, but also ridiculous amounts of pride.  Pride that feels as if I deserve more.  I don't think I have ever had these feelings in my life before - feelings like "I am important - look at what I'm doing!"  Sure, I've had people tell me how important and how wonderful I am my whole life.  I've accomplished some pretty cool things.  But none of those things made me feel this much pride, this strongly.  I can now understand that the tears my mother had every year were not just because she loved us, but because she knew that she deserves the best.  I also understand why my mom had every right to cry on Mother's Day.  She did not have the ability to shut it off and smile through it.  She cried because the ridiculous amounts of self worth did not allow her to tolerate anything less than the best on Mother's Day.

I'm sure my Mother's Day will change over the years, and when Baby Finn is actually here to hold, I will cry different tears.  I don't think it's a bad thing to cry, I think it's a great way to show everyone else how emotionally charged this day is.  Now, if my mom cries today, I will smile at her and let my face say "I get it."

Aside from this, I wanted to write an open letter to my baby, because he is the reason that I am a mom for the first time.

Dear Finn,

Good morning!  I can feel you kicking a little this morning on my right side, so I'm grateful you're not standing straight on my bladder.  Thank you for being such a good son already on Mother's Day.  You are usually really good to me anyway, I am already a really lucky mom. 

I wanted to write you a letter on my first Mother's Day because I'm really excited to be your mom - and today is the first day I have a great excuse to do it! 

Your daddy and I are really excited for you to be here.  He has worked really hard on your room to make it super nice for you.  He painted the walls and cleaned the floors and spent a whole weekend making sure it is nice for you.  I have spent many hours sitting and thinking about you and me hanging out in your cool room.  Your crib looks so comfortable!  It takes a lot for me to not jump in and have a little nap under your sweet fish mobile.  You are going to love your room so much!

I can't wait for when you get here.  I think about when you will be born all of the time.  Even though sometimes I eat things like ice cream and kids cereal, I know that you don't judge me.  I try to eat balanced meals as often as I can so you can be healthy and strong.  Plus, when I have a little bit of extra sugar, you do a funny sugar dance inside, which makes me smile.  I love that!

I really don't know what life will be like when you're finally here, but I'm pretty sure that I will be able to make sure you are comfortable, happy and healthy.  I am confident that you and I will work really well together to make sure things run smoothly.  And when they don't, I will have your daddy here to help reassure me that whatever happens is normal, and that I just need to be patient with myself.  All I know is that we will just want you to be happy, comfortable, dry, fed and entertained.  I'm good at doing all of those things for myself - so I'm pretty sure that you will have a very comfortable life.  :)

One thing is for sure, I can't control everything.  I can, however, control how I feel about any given situation and I have always chosen to feel excited about you getting here.  I think about how you and I will be able to hang out all of the time once you're here, and how nice it will be to be able to focus all of my attention on you.  We are already best friends, though, because you and I have already spent so much time together.  I don't mind it one bit, and I'm excited for us to spend lots of time together when you get here. 

I love you, Finn!  I am so grateful that you decided to pick me and your daddy.  I know that you are a very special boy with a very special purpose.  You are already strong, and smart, and funny because I am constantly impressed by the way you move, and how you react to me when I play with you.  You have a sense of humor because I can always tell that you love when I laugh.  I can't wait to laugh with you!  Thank you for not being a boring baby.  When I decided to be a mom, one of the reasons was because wanted to stop having a boring life.  You have definitely made my life more exciting!  How lucky I am!

I will see you soon, hopefully in about 2 months.  That's not too bad!  That's like if it was November 1 and I couldn't wait for Christmas.  I can totally wait the 2 months to see you.  The good news is that I already get to hang out with you every day.  I get to feel you move, and I get to laugh at your hiccups.  The only thing missing is being able to hold you and see you.  I can't wait!  You are so special!  I love you!

Here is a picture of the beautiful Mother's Day flowers your daddy got me.  They make me very happy and remind me that we are now a family.  We love you so much, and every time I see this picture, I will be reminded that becoming a Mom to you was one of the best things I could have ever done.  :)

Love,
Mom

Less than 10 weeks left!

Here's the pregnancy update you've all been waiting for.  :)  I still have a few more posts that I'd love to make this week, if time allows.  Sometimes it's difficult to take a few minutes and just think through what I'd like to blog about.  I know all of the topics I'd like to talk for hours about... but getting them down is the difficult part.

I figured I should start with how my pregnancy is going.  :)

The last time I updated was just before I was 28 weeks.  I am now just short of 31 weeks.  Less than 10 weeks to go!  I hear that these last 10 weeks fly by.  I can tell why they will for me, for sure.  I have a bunch of fun things planned from now until my "guess date" of July 11.  Baby showers and short getaways are going to fill my weekends from now until I'm 36ish weeks.

Because of my ovarian cyst on my right ovary, I have had monthly appointments with my OB to make sure it's not growing larger.  At my 28 week appointment, Arthur and I went in looking forward to seeing Baby Finn again.  It was also going to be the appointment where I had my initial glucose test.

We showed up at 8:50 AM (my appointment was at 9:50 AM) just before they opened so I could get my glucose drink.  I went in and they gave it to me.  They told me I needed to come back in exactly an hour so they could draw my blood to test to see if I am at risk for gestational diabetes.  They also told me I had to get it down within 5 minutes.

Most people complain that it makes them feel gross, or sick, or dizzy.  I was anticipating all of these things, so Arthur and I just drove around in my car checking out the city of American Fork and Pleasant Grove.  I chugged it and sat back waiting for the worst.  It was really sweet, and it tasted like cherry Kool-Aid.  To me, it was simply delicious.  I waited and waited and I never felt gross, or sick.  At the very least, I felt like I had a slight headache.

After the hour was up, Arthur and I went back into the doctor's office and they took my blood.  They told me that they would have the results by Monday.  They called me on Monday to let me know that everything was normal, and I'm not diabetic.  :)

We waited in the waiting room for nearly an hour until they were able to get us into the ultrasound room to check out my cyst.  The tech measured it and we were happy to see that it had shrunk a little.  That was a bit of a relief, although it's not gone all together.  After the ultrasound, we went back to the waiting room.  We waited for another hour or so to get back to see our OB.

We went in and I talked through some of the questions I have had on my mind about a few different things.  He was good about answering them and making me feel better.  One of the things I was concerned about was Finn's movement sometimes being jerky or repetitive... kind of like a seizure.  He said that it was just the uterus contracting rapidly, and it was nothing to worry about.  That made me feel better too.  :)

At the end of the appointment, I pulled out my birth plan.  Now, I have a fairly specific birth plan, and I knew that I couldn't go over all of the details - or else I'd overwhelm the OB.  So, I picked out my top 5 most important things that I wouldn't be willing to compromise.  I will probably go over these in my Birth Plan blog entry... that will be later this week.  :)

The short of it is that we ended up realizing that my OB wasn't going to be able to (at the least) honor the 5 most important things of my upcoming birth.  I was a little sad that something as simple as a top 5 list request from his patient was too much for him to agree to.  I'll talk more about this later...

Since that appointment, I've been feeling really good, generally speaking.  Finn is moving all of the time now, and I am really enjoying his kicks.  It's nice that they're not so deliberately planted in my bladder, and that they're more like rolling movements rather than kicking.  I'm pretty sure the rib kicks will come soon, so I just need to enjoy these times.

I have had some backaches start and some mild headaches come back.  I think this is probably normal as I get closer to the end.  I haven't felt any contractions (practice surges) yet, and I am looking forward to those for sure.

That's pretty much it, pregnancy update-wise.  My next few entries will be about my birth plan and my Trying to Conceive story.  I'm excited to write them!  :)

How far along:  30 Weeks, 4 Days
How much time left:  9 Weeks, 3 Days

Top two symptoms:  Backache and headache, most of the day.  My back generally hurts on the way to work and at work in my chair.  My head starts to hurt about halfway through the day.  Annoying, but bearable.  :)

Favorite thing I ate today:  I had a salad for lunch.  It was great!

Mood:  Anxious!  I hate how I feel like I want everything to be planned right now.  My nursery, my baby showers, everything.  I want to chill and let things happen like I normally do... but I think that I'm starting to get some form of weird nesting feelings like I need to get things planned, set up, etc.  I apologize in advance to my family and Arthur for how weird I may be over the next couple of months.  :)

Worried about:  I worry a bit about having time off before the birth so I can be in a safe place for my labor.  I can't even imagine going into practice labor or even real labor while I'm at work.  I also know I can't put my life on hold while I'm waiting for Finn to decide that it's time to get here.  Patience!

Excited for:  Now that the nursery is almost done, I'm super super SUPER excited to finish the details.  The painting is all done, and tomorrow is the carpet cleaning appointment.  My older brother Leo is coming over on Wednesday night to have dinner with us and help Arthur move the dresser upstairs.  I just want to get Finn's room ready to go!!!!!  I'm definitely nesting, or something.  :)

Nursery Progress

On both my side and Arthur's side, our families are both really excited for Baby Finn to get here.  We have been gathering gifts since we found out we were pregnant.  We've had Christmas, Easter, and both of our birthdays happen since we found out.  So, there have been ample opportunities for our family and friends to get us stuff.

My little brother Mike has been living with Arthur and me since before I found out I was pregnant.  He's been in the guest room, which would be the nursery.  He just moved out this past week and so Arthur and I were excited to get started on Finn's room.  I've been saving every piece of clothing and toy in my office next to Mike's room, and so I was ready to start having somewhere to store Finn's stuff.  Is that what Nesting feels like?!  ;)

Mike moved out on Thursday, and Thursday after work Arthur and I went to Home Depot to pick out some paint colors.  We ended up choosing a really light blue and a light tan color. 

Finn's nursery theme is going to be Under the Sea, with ocean creatures like fish, whales, etc.

Arthur also got some white paint for the ceiling, baseboards and closet.  Arthur spent a good part of the night cleaning up the room by washing the walls and blinds.  We will still need to get the carpet clean, since we've never done that in there. 

Thursday night Arthur stayed up late and painted the ceiling first.  I went in there on Friday morning and got this picture of the ceiling painted and the current paint color on the walls:

Once he had the ceiling painted, he got started on the blue walls.  He was able to get 2 coats on Friday while I was at work.

Once that was dry, he painted the accent wall the light tan color and finished up the closet and painted that white.  I was so anxious to move some of Baby Finn's stuff in!  Thank goodness I have such a hard working talented husband to take care of the entire nursery in just 24 hours!

Here is the corner  where the blue wall and the accent wall meet.  You can see the start of Finn's toy collection.  I love the colors!

Here is the back side of the room by the closet.  You can see the start of our clothes collection.  Arthur did such an excellent job with the paint!

Here's the other side showing the other blue wall.

We have a lot of stuff to still move in.  Our next steps are to first get the carpets cleaned, next to move his crib in and buy a mattress, then to move his dresser and my rocker in.  I'm glad I still have 2 months left to get this stuff done!  :)  If you want to see pictures of my crib and dresser, click here to go to the blog entry about it. 

So far, here are the toys that are sitting on his window seat:

Here are his clothes in the closet!  The left side is entirely full, and the right side has some of the bigger sizes.  We are doing pretty good for only having had 1 baby shower so far!  I'm still excited to get some more great stuff though.  :)

Arthur has also collected a few things on his own for Baby Finn.  He did a bit of shopping on Disney.com and was able to get a few really cute Finding Nemo things.  He even got a cute towel with Finn's name stitched into it!

If you can't tell, we are extremely excited to get Finn here so he can enjoy his new room.  :)  I'm still really excited for my other 3 baby showers.  We're having 1 with my Bountiful friends and family in Mid May.  We're having another one in Boise with my cousins who live up there.  My grandma also lives up there and so I'd love to have her involved as well.  That will be over Memorial Day weekend.  My last shower will be with Arthur's family, which will probably happen in June.  A few people have asked about our registry.

We are registered at Target and Babies R Us. 

Click here to go to the Babies R Us Registry
Click here to go to the Target Registry