An Alphabet Wall

My best friend Ashley is 35 weeks along with twins and her nursery is complete!  My favorite part is the oh-so-chic alphabet wall.  She scoured stores, flea markets and even online for the perfect letters.  I think it turned out absolutely precious.  Ashley isn't looking too bad at 35 weeks either!  Hoping I look this excellent (which, I won't) at 35 weeks!

And could she and her mom look any more alike?  Love them!

I Just Might Need This...

 

Monogrammed iPhone covers from Dani Notes

Spotted first on Look Linger Love

17 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along?  17 weeks, 3 days

Size of the baby?  Baby is the size of an onion.  Its skeleton is hardening up to form strong bone and the umbilical cord is getting super strong.  Keep growing little one!

Maternity Clothes?  Maternity pants are my go-to but I can still wear regular dresses and shirts from my closet.  I'm sure the tops don't have much longer to go until they are too tight.

Gender?  Two weeks until the big surprise!  I feel like this is very personal and when people ask me if we are finding out the gender, sometimes I get a negative response.  Too bad, my decision!

Movement?  I've been feeling the baby move daily.  It's not very strong but still different than other sensations you may feel inside.

Sleep?  Sleep has been pretty nice this week.  No complaints here!

Cravings?  Anything salty and chocolate ice cream.  Hello to my friends Ben & Jerry!  Half-Baked is my favorite of all time.

Symptoms?  I had a major migraine this week that made me violently throw up.  It was not pretty.  I burst blood vessels underneath my eyes and even missed school for one day.  I could feel my pulse pounding through my head and didn't want much light on.  It was miserable.  My doctor's office wanted me to come in to check my blood pressure and baby's HR but both were fine.  I've also been feeling plenty of round ligament pains, which feel like menstrual cramps.

Best Moment of the Week?  I'm starting to really "feel" (and look) pregnant.  Evidence below.

Real Life Wedding

A grad school friend of mine, Mallary, got married several weeks ago and as soon as I saw the pictures I knew my readers would love them too!  Mallary is a style queen, so of course her wedding had to be fabulous.  I don't know if she left a detail uncovered.  Everything is absolutely beautiful, just see for yourself!  

All photos by Myrick Studios {blog}

Stella & Dot Sale

Stella & Dot's summer sale is on now!  Click on the image to go right to the good stuff because once it's gone, it's gone!  Sale lasts for 5 days only!  Anything left will go back to regular pricing so shop today! 

Say What?

source

Can I just say no thanks to unsolicited pregnancy advice?  When you become pregnant you never think that people will say THOSE things to you, but they do.  You never think people THOSE will rub all over your 17 week baby bump, but they do.  

When I was just twelve weeks pregnant, someone told me I must have done the math wrong and be at least 20 weeks.  Nope. 

My mom still thinks I'm having twins due to my fastly expanding mid-section.  Nope and nope, I think the doctor's office would know that by now.  

I was told I "waddle."  Quack.  

I've been told; good luck getting a job in the fall, who's going to hire a seven month pregnant person?  Thanks. 

My stomach has literally been rubbed like a Buddha.  Mostly at church.  

Poor husband thinks I've gone off the deep end because I will cry at the drop of a hat.  Over sandwiches.  He thinks I should get DRAMAMA (read:  drama mama) on my license plate and I just want to slap him.  

My dad is just looking forward to me being "huge" at the beach.  *hugs*

So if you've never had a baby and you think these things won't happen to you, don't worry, they will.  

16 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along?  16 weeks, 2 days

Size of the baby?  Size of an avocado, almost five inches long.  This makes me so happy.

Maternity Clothes?  Will I ever go back to regular pants is the question!  The secret belly fit panel at Motherhood is fantasticly comfortable!  

Gender?  We'll find out June 13th.  A little over three weeks!  

Movement?  There is definitely movement going on.  It's not constant and all the time but I will be sitting or standing and be able to feel the motion which seems to have gotten a little stronger than just a flutter sensation.  

Sleep?  Sleep is good.  If I could only stop waking up at five and just lay there for another hour, life would be great!  

Cravings?  No major cravings at all.  I'm back to eating quite normally.  Although sweet tea is my guilty pleasure!  

Symptoms?  Cramps every once in a while but that's about it.  My doctor told me it's due to the round ligaments supporting a growing uterus.  

Best Moment of the Week?  Finding out that many more friends are expecting babies!  Including myself, eight girls I know are pregnant!  What a baby boom!

Nursery Ideas

So in five months or so, there will be a baby living in our house and we have absolutely ZERO for little one.  I know right now we have a little time, but the things I want to do with the room that is to be the nursery need to be started, like, yesterday.  Hubby is stressing me out on our timeline but I know that if it's not 100% finished once he or she is here, that everything will still be okay.  In a perfect world we will...

1.  Clean out the guest bedroom 

2.  Sell the existing furniture and use the money towards baby furniture

3.  Tear up the carpet

4.  Install board and batten

5.  Paint walls

6.  Install new carpet

7.  Move in baby furniture 

8.  Decorate nursery

No pressure, right?  We have a lot to do!  

One huge thing that I have taken care of is the crib, so if baby comes and nothing else gets done, at least they will have a place to lay their little, sweet head.  I've always liked the Kendall crib at Pottery Barn but didn't want to pay $500 + shipping + tax. So my mom and I jumped onto our dear friend Craigslist and low and behold, my crib was there, brand-new in box, for $200.  I kid you not. We arranged a time to meet with the seller and she was wonderful.  It's simple and that's what I wanted.  I got it in the white finish and absolutely love it.  

Anyways, so now I have to start deciding on what I want to do for a boy and girl nursery since time is now of the essence.  Once June 13th rolls around and we find out the gender, it's full steam ahead!  Here are some ideas for a boy nursery.  I was thinking of painting the upper part of the walls a deep navy to contrast with the crisp, white board and batten.  My "theme", although I hate the word theme, would be preppy nautical.  Nautical can be way overdone, so it would be more sophisticated with some touches of red crabs and stars.  

I was thinking of doing this Pottery Barn Kids madras plaid bedding.  I want to get the bumper and the crib skirt but not the sheet shown.  Serena and Lily has a lovely white sheet with red stars that I was thinking of combining with the madras plaid.  So cute and preppy!  

I also submited an order form for a baby name signed painted by Kim at Small Words.  I'm so ecstatic because her waiting list was closed for so long and now I'm going to get a canvas painted to hang over the crib.  So exciting because her work is just beautiful!  Here are some examples...

I'm exhausted, so girl nursery ideas will have to be shared in another post!  Toodles!