Norah's new room!

For the past few weeks my family and I have been working tiredlessly on getting Norah's new room finished.  I think I have been nesting big time so I have been crazy about getting her room done.  Well last night...it finally was finished and she even moved in!!!

I knew I wanted to do some faux wainscoting on the walls.  I searched and searched for the right wood and could not find it so my dad had to cut each piece to be the measurement I wanted.  He is the best.  I also did not realize that I picked the only room in the house that does not have JUST 4 walls.  I had to pick the room that has many corners in it!!  Joe and my dad are true champs because they did not complain and let me go along with my crazy plan despite all the extra effort it took them!

The first thing I did is measure out on the wall what each section would look like.  This provided a template for the wall color as well as for where to put the wood.

We painted the top color first-purple.  Norahs pick.  Then I painted the squares that would not be covered by the wood on the bottom white.  
We then used a nail gun {one of my favorite things} to put all the wood up.  It was a long process with many steps.  I could not have done this without the help of Joe and my dad.  So pleased with the finished look!

She loves her room...and it gives her soo much more room to play!

Week 32

THE WEEK

Week 32

All week long I thought it was week 31 so it was a nice surprise that I was actually an entire week ahead.

Also...We scheduled the c-section so we know this little lady will be here on 

Wednesday June 20th!

THE GENDER

girl...name still miserably unknown.

 

CRAVINGS

At Youth group last Wednesday night for snack we had Chick-fila.

We were able to take home a gallon of their sweet tea.

I had never had this before...but I was craving it and drank the entire gallon.

{why do I crave things pregnant people should not be eating/drinking?!}

Also...craving granola.

I eat huge bowls of it...often!

 

SYMPTOMS

The phase of unsettled sleep in upon me.

For weeks and weeks and weeks I have not been able to turn over in bed without being woken up by pain...but this week-I cannot sleep.

I am uncomfortable.
My belly is now big enough that it lays against the mattress when I am on my side and it hurts.  

So I sleep with endless amounts of pillows.

tucked here there and everywhere!

WHAT NORAH IS SAYING

Oh....she is sooo excited now to have a baby sister.

She cannot wait to get her christmas pictures taken with her.

{weird I know!}

Norah...is awesome and will be an amazing big sister.

She will also learn how to share...excited about that!

 

PRAYERS

Really just praying for the last weeks of this pregnancy.

I am not miserable yet...so very thankful for that!

I am also rejoicing in the fact that I feel as though I have been feeling better than I have for most of the pregnancy thus far.

I have been working really hard on getting Norah's new room finished.

It has been a ton of up and down, priming, painting, nailing, measuring...lots of work.

I am always exhausted at the end of the day...but glad to be able to do the work.

I have a huge goal though...we leave on vacation in a little over a week.

I want to have Norah's new room done, the nursery all put together. 

Baby stuff organized and baby clothes all clean and put away.

We will see!  

Thanks for reading!

Week 31

THE WEEK

week 31

 

THE GENDER/NAME

Girl.

Name: we seriously have no clue.

I wish we did...I think I would shout it from the rooftops if we did!

I cannot wait to meet this little lady...but I also cannot wait to name this lady as well.

We are thinking day and night.  

 

CRAVINGS

everything bad for me.

This week I really wanted a chicken salad sandwich.

I ate one..it was good!

SYMPTOMS

big big belly.

It is starting to really get in the way.

Sleeping has become uncomfortable.

 

WHAT NORAH IS SAYING

On Saturday night we were at a party and there was a little 3 month old girl there.

Norah was soooo cute with her.

She kept wanting to kiss her, touch her face, and love her.

It gave me hope.

Maybe she is all talk and she actually will be soft and sweet with her.

 

PRAYERS

Praying this week for continued development and growth.

As much as I do not like the size of my belly, it is a great sign to know that she is growing.

I LOVE HER SO MUCH ALREADY!

I CANNOT WAIT TO MEET HER!

30 weeks...wow!

THE WEEK

30 weeks

I know it is still far away but close at the same time.

I just primed Norah's new room over the weekend.

{with a huge help from my mom and my sister}

Not too many more weeks to get both rooms finished.

 

THE GENDER

girl.

name...unknown. still.

 

WHAT'S GOING ON WITH HER/SYMPTOMS

She is almost 3 lbs. and moving all the time.

She must have just gone through a growth spurt because my belly is a lot bigger and more prominent.

I think it happened overnight.

I am serious...I woke up one day and my belly was noticeably bigger.

Trying not to complain, just uncomfortable.

Maxi dresses are my new best friend.

CRAVINGS

sweets and soda.

The two things I did not eat for over a year I crave...go figure.

I eat them now.

 

WHAT NORAH IS SAYING

She is not saying much.

Because of what I talked about last week I decided to make them matching shirts.

{I will NOT be that mom who dresses them alike...often}

I just thought she would like the idea of them having a matching shirt.

So I made these out of freezer paper stencils.

They turned out cute and she liked them.

win.win.

 

PRAYERS

Still praying for Norah and the new ones relationship.  

Joe and I have been taking a parenting class and last night we learned about tattling.

whew...it was some good stuff.

I pray they are friends and are "for" each other. 

Excited to see each other succeed and cheer each other on.

Week 29

THE WEEK

29th week...approximately 10 more weeks depending on when the c-section will be planned.

 

THE GENDER

girl

 

CRAVINGS

cheese and crackers

pretzels and homemade ranch dip

Sprite

 

SYMPTOMS

She has been trying to make more room this week.

She has been nestling herself on the upper right side of my body and it is sooo uncomfortable when I am sitting for a long time and she does not move.  

She also moves sooo much at night.

It is a little exhausting.

She seems to wait until around 9:00 and does flips for like an hour.

I love staring at my stomach and watching it rumble.

WHAT NORAH IS SAYING

Well...right now I think she is realizing how her life will change.

We were eating lunch the other day and she said,

"hey mom...the next time we go to Disney World can just you, me, and daddy go?"

oops.

 

PRAYERS
After hearing that comment from Norah that has provoked some serious conversations between Joe and I.

We are excited that Norah will have a sister but we are well aware of the fact that Norah has lived the last 4 years of her life siblingless.

We do not think we have a child focused family and we work hard on not basing our lives completely around her...but she still has been the only child around for a while.

She has grown accustomed to that lifestyle and we are praying for wisdom and guidance on how to love Norah well in the midst of this huge transition.

God is a big God and I am so glad he loves us and has placed people in our lives that will speak truth to us.

The BEST week of the YEAR!

This week has been crazy..., let me say that again...crazy!

On Tuesday it was Norah's 4th birthday.

I cannot believe she is 4.

On Sunday we went to breakfast, just Norah, Joe and I to First Watch.

It was fun to get to tell Norah how much we love her and ALL of the qualities we love about her.

Then we took her to Build a Bear.

{She has always wanted to go}

I had a coupon...so we went!

This picture is of her washing her monkey.

She bought scrubs for the monkey to match her Nurse scrubs she has at home.

She named it Elephant Reindeer

...so we shorted it to Ellie Reign.

On Tuesday

We went to the park downtown at Sawyer Point and ate lunch outside at Montgomery Inn Boathouse.

It felt like vacation.

Then we had dinner outside at Andrea and Dave's house.

It was just a fun day to spend with her.

On Wednesday I took my huge NCLEX exam!

I was a nervous wreck.

I sped through the exam, had 75 questions and finished in under an hour.

Then you wait for the results.

It was sooo hard.

We went to dinner with Andrea and Dave to Teak in Mt. Adams and I cannot believe I was even focused enough to have conversation because I just wanted so badly to know the results!

Well...early Thursday morning I woke up, looked at the Kentucky Board of Nursing website and they had issued me an RN license!!  Such a relief!  I AM DONE!

So...even though we had full plates this entire week...I tried to keep my mind of the main thing!

IT IS EASTER!

On Friday Norah and I were able to spend some good time talking about the Cross.

Why Jesus had to die on the cross.

Who he died for.

Then that evening Joe and I took her to The Garden of Hope in Covington.

 

There they have a replica of what the tomb looks like where Jesus died.

It was cool for her to talk through why Jesus' body is not in the tomb and she loves to yell,

"because He's ALIVE!"

Then today we took Norah to a nature park where we hung out, explored, and had her picture taken.

Today I found myself being in a state of constant anticipation of tomorrow.

 I am so excited that Jesus is who he said he was!!!

I am so excited that I have a God who wanted to make A WAY for us to come to Him and be with Him!

OH PRAISE HIM!!!

I look forward to sharing in the excitement with Norah as well tomorrow!!

 It is a total side bar...but for Easter Joe and I wanted to get Norah a sandbox.

I think playing in the sand is something Norah loves to do more than anything else is the entire world!

So...I went to Toys R Us last night as well as researched on Amazon and I soon discovered that sandboxes are really expensive.

So...I decided we were going to make our own.

I knew I wanted a sandbox that she could not climb into...because those are gross.

So...I took an old outdoor firepit that we had...Joe cleaned it out, and we made our own!

It is not perfect...but she will love it!

 We are going to put it on wheels to easily move it in and out of the garage.  

{it is actually bigger than this picture makes it look}

Have a Happy Easter!

HE IS ALIVE!

Hello Third Trimester!

THE WEEK

28th week

1st week of the last trimester!

 

THE GENDER

little girl

 

CRAVINGS

homemade pizza with olive oil {no sauce}, green peppers, feta cheese, and olives.

The Socrates from Dewey's would satisfy as well!

 

SYMPTOMS

no swelling yet...for that I am praising the Lord!

The belly is growing.

Still wearing normal shirts but all pants officially do not button.

I ordered one of these belly bands from Amazon...it is awesome to wear.

It is even allowing me to wear some shorts that would not otherwise fit.

I am really trying not to spend a lot of money on maternity clothes because I feel as though they are WAY overpriced for the amount of time you wear them so this belly band is making clothes go farther.

I hope to not have to buy too many maternity summer clothes...

{besides the bathing suit I already purchased for vacation!}

WHAT NORAH IS SAYING

She loves to play Star Wars with a boy in the neighborhood and last night she found out the girl on Star Wars is called Princess Leia so she wants to call her sister Leia!

PRAYERS

Praying for the relationship between Norah and her.

I pray they can be close and share life together.

I have a great relationship with both of my sisters and I pray the same for them.