Daddy Do List

My parents are here for the weekend and there are plans to get this nursery in order. My dad is quite the handy man and arrived with an SUV full of tools. On our to do list today was to refinish the changing table/dresser that Bryan used as a baby. It is so fun to have this and a cradle that can still be used within the family. After we used the sander my dad brought we realized we needed another type as well to get in to the little nooks and crannies. So, off to Shaumburg we went to get a detailing sander. When we got back, and for the rest of the day, he and I sanded the finish and color off of the whole dresser.
Claire was very intrigued. She's still tryign to take this all in. There are two new rooms that have been open to her after being closed off since we moved in. She wasn't too sure about the loud noise from the sander either.My dad worked really hard on this. I was just up there for emotional support while Bryan worked, Mike slept, and my mom rested and continued recovering from surgery.After a quick dinner break at Meatheads and then a stop off at CVS for some heartburn relief, we came back home so the boys could stain it. The fumes were crazy so I stayed far away. I just walked in to snap a couple shots of the progress.I am really loving it. It matches the crib and new changing table perfectly!It's a quarter to 10 and Bryan and my dad are still upstairs staining away. Somehow, even 8 hours away from home, Mike had a friend to meet up with and he left for a night on the town Things are looking good for everyone but Claire. She has to be in her kennel right now so she doesn't stick her nose in the stain.

Week 24 Update

How Far Along: 24 Weeks
Total Weight Gain: 4 pounds
Sleep: Going well so far now that I know it's okay if I wake up on my back. I even tried sleeping with a tennis ball in the back of my shirt. When I told my doctor my concern, she looked at me like I was crazy and told me to get sleep now that I can.
Best Moment This Week: Waking up Sunday morning and realizing Jackson had moved off my bladder!!! We also painted his room and picked up the crib and changing table.
Gender: ALL BOY!!!
Movement: He has been really active the last couple of days, especially in the evenings when I sit down.
Food Cravings:I don't really have cravings but I am really loving anything dairy or creamy.
What I Miss: Being able to do anything I want. My back is killing me right now from mopping our wood floors today.
What I'm Looking Forward To: I can't wait until Bryan can feel him move. It will probably still be a couple of weeks.
Symptoms: I have been feeling great this trimester. Yesterday I was really uncomfortable while he apparently sat on my bladder all day. It only took about ten seconds after I went to the bathroom for me to get the feeling that I needed to go again....but to no avail.

Seven months will be here before I know it.

Flowers and Babies and Painting...Oh My!

The weekends with very few plans and responsibilites are the best. That was this weekend. And we loved it. Friday night we started the process of converting Jackson's room from the "Land of Beige" to something a bit more interesting. It was late that night once we got home from dinner and home from Lowe's so we decided to just get the room ready to paint. Bryan had never painted a room so we did a lot of learning.

Here is what his room looked like at the beginning of the process.

It turns out that I am A LOT faster at taping than Bryan.

Claire was not impressed. I think she is starting to get the hint that something weird is about to happen.

On Saturday we had plans to go to the Flower and Garden show at Navy Pier. We stopped at Babies R Us and ordered a crib and a changing table and then headed to the city to see pretty flowers like this.

And these.

After walking around the show for a couple hours, we were really inspired and came home to decorate our dining room like this for some dinner guests.

Just kidding. One can dream though, right?

Actually, we took a few shots from the Pier and then drove around in Evanston for a while and had dinner there. It was a beautiful day to be outside. I didn't even enhance the color of the sky with Photoshop. It really did look like this.
But, about three minutes later, the sky looked like this too. I think we were just lucky with the blue sky picture.

On Sunday, after church, we got right back to painting. Bryan snapped this of his closet. It's a little sad. How quickly can a baby ruin three outfits? And they won't even fit him yet. He has a onesie (thanks Lee and Lea) that he can wear when he's born but all his other clothes are 6 month clothes. Hmmm. That will have to be fixed soon.

Bryan got the fun job of rolling the color on the walls and I had the terribly annoying job of cutting in along the ceiling and trim. Yuck.

It is definitely blue! I still have to paint a mural on one wall. I'm not sure how long it will take me to accomplish that.

I recently got the call that the furniture was in so we should be able to get it soon! Maybe we'll even have it put together before our parents arrive.