The Nursery

The nursery has come a long way since we moved in back in February. What started out as a storage room/office has slowly become our baby boy's very first room. Considering how small it is (about 7ft x 8ft) it sure did take a while to come together! 

BEFORE

Nolan even got in on the action and helped Pat put together the crib.

Taking his job very seriously!

If this was our home, I would've painted the walls a nice dark bluish/slate color to make the white crib pop but for now, we're living in a white wall world. Fingers crossed that 2013 is the year we become home owners again!

View from the door.

Close up of the bulletin board I made. That fabric was the inspiration for the whole room. 

This area around the changing table is still a work in progress. I need to get a lampshade for the lamp we already own and find a basket to corral all the necessary baby creams and such...Target here I come! I also have a mirror to hang on the wall here along with a little art gallery but I need to do some frame shopping first. I'm excited to see it come together slowly as we fill it with memories and keepsakes. I'll be sure to update you once it's completed.

Changing table, complete with (because I LOVE adding text to pictures) labels.

Inside the closet - I still have a bit of organizing to do here. :/

My favorite detail in the room, the giraffe head hook from World Market.

An elephant friend to keep him company.

Yes, Nolan has the matching Big Brother shirt, it's their only matching outfit...so far.

There you have it...baby's itty bitty room. I have a few other projects in mind for this space, but for now it's a good start. 

Baby Shower Part II

My lovely shower hosts, Rachelle, Jodi and myself.

On to the next chapter of baby shower weekend, Sunday. My friends Jodi and Rachelle wanted to throw me a shower and I told them I really didn't need anything since this is another boy so they said they would throw ME a shower instead of the baby. They didn't tell me anything other then the day and time and then a day before sent me an address of where to meet them. I was totally thrown when they gave me the intersection for the cafe I used to work at near Pike Place but tried to relax and go with the flow...a lot harder for me then it sounds.

Here I am heading to the party, still in the dark of what we actually would be doing...so excited!

We ended up in the private room of a spa downtown. It was gorgeous and peaceful and exactly what I needed. They came up with the theme "It's not a girl but we're having a girly party!" (or something like that?). I guess they figured with all the testosterone about to overwhelm my household I might need a little girly intervention....they were so right! They took that theme and put together a party any girl would love. There was flowers, cheese, champagne (sparkling cider for me) and lots of pink.

Cheese, crackers, mimosas, cake and Trader Joe's licorice - a few of my favorite things.

Rachelle threw my work baby shower when I was pregnant with Nolan and at that party we had the best coconut cake. It was the only thing I specifically asked for at this party. I figured it would be easy as she knew where to get it and even knows the baker. Of course this ended up getting difficult as the restaurant stopped making this cake a while back. They had to scour the city for the best coconut cake to replace the cake I affectionately named "the shower cake". It was SO worth it though as it was seriously crazy good...I might even say better then the original! I love that they did that for me, even though I'm sure it was a pain. I can't remember who they said made it so Jodi or Rachelle, if you are reading this maybe post in the comments so others can enjoy.

Mesmerized by cake!

I haven't even mentioned the best part! Part of the room package was all the guests got hand and arm massages! Ugh, so relaxing. I seriously could have stayed there all day. Luckily the girls got me a pregnancy pedicure that I booked for this weekend. It's an HOUR of massage on your legs and feet. I'm so excited I could cry and I'm willing this baby to stay put until after that appointment.

I don't know why I look angry here, my mom has quite the knack for taking awkward pictures of people. I was in heaven. Look at that belly though! Now I see why people think he's laying sideways...he's not though. I have still gained less then half of what I did with Nolan but in pictures I look 3 times the size! 

On top of the pedicure, the girls also got me my favorite not pregnant beverage (Jameson Whiskey) to enjoy after baby's arrival, Anthropologie lovelies that you will see in the nursery preview, and lots of other goodies to enjoy.

I even managed to get a picture of me with my friend Jenny. FINALLY! We have been friends for over 7 years and besides candid pictures of us like the one above I didn't have any pictures of us both looking at the camera. I know she's an avid blog reader so Jenny, I'm emailing this to you too. But I'm going to make sure we get another one when I'm down to my normal size again. :)

And of course I had to get one with my "mommy meeting" friends. They might be the most excited to meet this baby. Can you tell?

Heather, Amanda and myself anxiously awaiting baby's arrival so we can reinstate our mommy meetings...aka happy hour.

Thank you so much to my girlfriends for throwing this party just for me and reminding me that I can still be girly despite my house being full of boys. I'm going to need this reminder...frequently!

4th of July

Before I get too far ahead of myself with Baby shower part II, let me work backwards. We had a pretty low key 4th of July this year at least until Armageddon exploded all around us at dusk but I'll get to that later. We started off with the Burien Parade. We've never been to a parade together as a family so I wasn't sure if Nolan would like it or get bored.

He loved it so much I couldn't even distract him for a second to look at the camera (so be prepared for a lot of the back of Nolan's head). They had all kinds of vehicles in this parade from fleets of BMX bikers, Mini Coopers to fire trucks and police motorcycles. Not surprisingly Nolan's favorite was the fleet of tow trucks. He's obsessed with those things!

They had every kind of tow truck imaginable in this parade and Nolan was super pleased. He also liked the marching bands and would get up to dance with each one. 

After the parade wrapped up we headed home for dinner and some fireworks. 

Nolan made it through dinner but due to skipping his nap to go to the parade, didn't make it to see even 1 firework. He slept through what has to be the best diy firework show I've ever seen. 

In our neighborhood it's legal to buy and light fireworks and folks definitely took advantage of that. These weren't just little fire crackers these were full blown, show quality fireworks and they were LOUD! Pat and I pulled some chairs on to our front lawn and watched them for a good 2 hours. I was convinced Nolan would wake up to all the noise so I brought the baby monitor out with us. Not a peep, he slept in the next day until 10 am too! A great holiday for all of us. 

Shower Part I

Do I really look this big?!? YIKES!

Last weekend was baby shower weekend. I had 2 showers in 2 days, quite the whirlwind but so much fun to get to visit with friends and family! Saturday was the "Clingman shower" although a few representatives from my side were there as well. 

The day started out a little rough as I woke up already sweating. It was super hot, especially for this pregnant lady. Heat + a very "helpful" toddler made for a long morning. Here is Nolan doing his hair just like moms. He also insisted on putting on makeup (although really he was just playing with my brushes and not actually applying anything). 

Me with Sister Susan and nephew Dutch

Self portrait with Emmie, so flattering!

All was well though by the time we arrived. First of all there was the great company. Anytime the Clingmans get together it's a great party, there are just so many people to catch up with! I particularly enjoyed the stories about Pat's Afro as a kid. But the food...holy cow do the Clingman's know how to cater! I unfortunately didn't get a picture of the savory stuff but these stuffed cupcakes were awesome. I may or may not of had 1 of each flavor. 

 After we stuffed ourselves we opened gifts and wrangled the boys to come in from playing outside so Nolan could open his "big brother" gifts. He doesn't hold still for pictures anymore, but you get the idea.

He's all red and sweaty because his cousin Sam was keeping him busy on the trampoline. Plus it was like a million degrees outside.

We all had such a great time and loved being able to celebrate with our family, thanks everyone for making this baby feel so welcomed already!

PS - I'm trying to fall back in love with my lame-o point and shoot camera while I save up for something better so I'm playing with the settings, my apologies that this batch came out fuzzy. Trying to shoot moving people on manual mode is a no go...I'll keep trying.

Beachy

Oh blog, I have neglected you again! I have had Blog as #1 on my to do list for the last 3 weeks but got distracted with nursery projects and napping...mostly napping. But I have been taking pictures so I will try to catch up on everything I've missed.

A few weeks back was the lowest tide of the year, so I made sure to get Nolan out to see the sights. We've had good luck in the past, exploring tide pools, finding crab and finding new creatures so I figured Nolan would enjoy it. He did for a while...

We found lots of sea anemone and snails to poke,

kelp beds to slide around on,

and rocks to check under. But Nolan grew bored with these things rather quickly.

Instead he wanted to sit in the middle of the gravel walkway and play with sticks...for an hour! Oh well, as long as he was enjoying himself.
But most of our pictures look more like this:

Feet up, in our shaded backyard = my happy place.

Nolan Anecdote

Nolan's Self Portrait

Last week, on the way home from the library, I was pulled over by the police. I didn't know why at the time but figured he had an excuse...maybe a taillight had gone out? Turns out he thought I was talking on my phone even though I 100% was not. My phone was actually in my purse under my seat. I showed him my call records indicating that I hadn't made a phone call all day and showed him my headset for if I absolutely have to talk on the phone while in the car. His response "I know what I saw." ugh...jackass! I mean I am 14 months pregnant with a toddler in tow, I don't need anymore distractions while in the car. Luckily (for him because I would've raised holy hormonal hell if he tried to write me a ticket) he let me off with a "warning" and sent us on our way.
Nolan was excellent the entire time we were pulled over, despite the fact that I was growing more and more flustered with the police officer and trying not to get sassy. As we pulled away Nolan looked up from the book he was reading and said "Phew, that was a close one!" and continued reading. He has an amazing way of making me laugh just when I need it.

Gentleman in Training

Nolan is turning into quite the gentleman. I'd like to take credit for this but it seems in his nature to want to be helpful...lately. His favorite helpful things are opening doors for people and (trying) to help me up off the floor. It's pretty entertaining to see a 30 pound toddler try to lift a...I'm not saying my weight so I'll just say very pregnant mom off the floor. He really puts a lot of effort into it and although I could do without the grunting and over dramatic "swipe the sweat off the brow" move, the gesture is very sweet.

His other favorites are telling people bless you after they have sneezed. He does it to EVERYONE and will continue to say it until you say thank you. Easy enough when it's a person, not so simple when it's Cortez who has sneezed.

I wish this new helpful nature applied to bathroom behaviors like realizing it's not actually funny to aim your pee at the wall instead of the toilet or promptly jumping into mom and dad's bed after going poop but before wiping.

Baby steps.

The Happenings

Mama's point of view 6/18

I have been horrible keeping up the pregnancy documentation piece of this blog. I guess it's mostly because nothing out of the ordinary has happened and we continue to steam ahead. I am now 32 weeks pregnant, just 2 months left!

This pregnancy has been so entirely different from my first. When I was pregnant with Nolan I had this feeling that our lives were about to completely change and with this pregnancy everything seems normal...I guess it's because I know what to expect? A friend told me that this feeling comes from the fact that during the first pregnancy you get to be the princess, but the second one there is no time for all that. That is no joke! I thought being a stay at home would make this pregnancy easier and in a lot of ways it has (napping at 1pm definitely wasn't allowed in my office but is a needed part of my life now) but trying to keep up and stay patient with Nolan while feeling huge and exhausted is...tough. Luckily Nolan is a pretty adaptable guy and has been very patient with me when I take forever to get out of bed in the morning or can't quite muster the energy to chase him around the park. I'm doing my best and I hope that once this baby is born I will get a little bit more energy...wishful thinking?

Almost exactly to the day that I entered the 3rd trimester, my not so fun symptoms kicked in. Heartburn is definitely a daily/mostly nightly struggle as well as the usual aches and pains of carrying around an extra person full time. Sleep has become more difficult as well. 

My sleep pattern looks something like this: 

11:00pm - go to bed, toss and turn.

12:00am - start to doze off but suddenly wake up realizing I have to pee. Once back in bed, now I'm thirsty/hungry so I get up to grab water and some almonds.

1:00am - water causes heartburn so I have to get up to grab tums. 

2:00am - up to pee again. 

2:30am - toss and turn until I find a comfortable position in the middle of a billion pillows 

3:00am - exhausted I finally fall asleep.

I guess this is the best training for the newborn days of no sleep.

The biggest difference between the 2 pregnancies is how I'm carrying them. Nolan was super low from the beginning making walking, bending and sitting somewhat challenging. This one is curled up high in my ribs making eating, breathing and laying down pretty hard. The great thing about having him up high is that I get to feel all his movements much clearer. When he has hiccups I know, when he stretches...I know. Another difference is that Nolan was pretty quiet during the day and would be full of action at night. This one is on a much easier routine already, waking up around 8am and waking off and on throughout the day until about 10pm. I have my fingers and toes crossed that this will be his schedule when he comes out so we don't have another nocturnal newborn on our hands.

Other then the general 3rd trimester complaints I have had fun sharing this adventure with Nolan. I have brought Nolan to every one of my appointments and as a result he is very hands on with everything. He now knows how to work a doppler machine to find the baby's heart beat, has held my hand through quite a few blood draws and even got to see the babies heart pumping at our last ultrasound. He is pretty impressed by all of it and finally acknowledged that he is having a baby brother at our last appointment, up until now it's always been baby sister. Pat's been doing pretty good too, even though he can't make it to many of the appointments he has been a great neck and foot massager and almost never pouts when I ask him move out of the "comfy spot" on the couch. 

Hopefully that is enough documentation to hold you over for a little while. I have a follow up ultrasound in 2 weeks to check on the guy which means...more pictures! This time he will actually look like a baby though and not some big headed alien thing, or at least I hope not. :)

Springtime at the Fair

Yaya took Nolan and I to the Puyallup Spring Fair again this year. You might remember that Nolan was finally tall enough to ride some of the rides at the Fall Fair when we went so he was pretty stoked to go back. 

There were of course lots of animals like this bunny.

 And this super cute baby goose.

 But Nolan was all about the rides.

 I know he looks stone faced in these, but he was having a great time. He would run from one ride to the other, and since the lines were short he often got to jump right on.

You can definitely see his excitement here before the roller coaster started. He called this one the train track ride and was super stoked when I told him he was big enough to give it a try. Although, I secretly hoped he wasn't.

During the ride, he wasn't so smiley. He ended up loving it and begged to go back but was a little freaked out while he was on it.
It's thrilling to watch him experience all these new things but I'll admit I was a little scared too. I tried to mask it so he wouldn't get anxious but every time the ride started I held my breath hoping he wouldn't be scared, or worse get hurt. Luckily there were no injuries this day, only a few tears when it came time to leave. Next year he will be even taller and able to go on even bigger rides. Hopefully I will have found my mommy courage by then.

Easter Madness

Easter was a little crazy this year. It started off with some Easter animal painting. 

Of course we had to dye eggs as well.

 We had a practice egg hunt at Lincoln Park.

 Note that 80% of his basket was green eggs. I had to convince him that he was allowed to pick up any eggs he found, not just the green ones.

 Digging through his loot.

 The Easter bunny dropped off his basket the next day filled with even more goodies.

 And then we were off to Bellingham for the real deal egg hunt.

It was a busy weekend, but made me really excited for Christmas this year. I think Nolan is finally getting into this holiday thing.