one step closer...

i am so glad will has been the assembly person for all of the baby gear because i don't have the patience for such tasks. 

everything feels even more official now that the crib is in her room. 

we still need to get the mattress for it then we are another step closer to being ready for our little bundle.

although i'm not sure i'll really feel ready no matter how prepared we are.

it still doesn't seem real that in roughly 40 days there will be more than just the two of us in our home.

kewpie baby shower

this is abby....she is the person responsible for all of the cuteness at the baby shower.  she worked hard to make sure my special day was beautiful.  she put all of this together and i can't thank her enough, or the rest of the people who pitched in whether it was in a big or small way.

i felt loved.

marcy (left) and her mom diane made lots of delicious food and helped in other ways.  the food was seriously amazing!  those wraps pictured above were full of veggies, quinoa, and yummy cheese.  they were my favorite food at the party.

karen (middle) hosted the party at her house.  she cooked and cleaned and entertained...she's really good at all that stuff. 

i am not thrilled with my appearance these days so i requested pictures be kept to a minimum.  abby made an announcement before i opened presents that i didn't want pictures taken.  was that a rude thing to do?  i don't know, but i also don't really care because i've not pulled the....i'm pregnant hormonal and crazy card very much at all during the last eight months so i deserved to pull it that day.  plus i was dealing with a cold/ear infections so that meant i had all the more reason to be dramatic.

i still don't like 99% of the pictures taken that day but i knew i'd want this moment documented and would regret it if i didn't.

brandi proved her insane talent once again with the cutest handmade items....two patchwork owl pillows like the one pictured below with my mom among other magical things that i really wanted.

i know this baby girl in my belly is very loved because she received lots of wonderful gifts. 

i didn't want games played at the baby shower but the one activity i did want was for the guests to write a little note to our girl or us that we can share with her one of these days.  that was my most favorite part of the shower.  when i read the sweet, funny, wonderful things people wrote i was so happy!

spending time with people i don't see all that often was lovely too. 

i wish i would have gotten a few more pictures of all in attendance and the decorations but the day reminded me a lot of my wedding.  i felt like i wanted to talk to everyone and let them know it made my day they were there but it was very packed and hectic and busy so i felt more like i was being pulled in several directions without making any progress.  oh well....hopefully everyone could tell i was happy to have them there.

it was a special event for sure.

hello kitty shoes

my friend angela paid me a visit last week with a bag of handmade baby goods.

i am always so impressed by my friends sewing abilities. 

i wish i was crafty that way. 

each items was adorable but these little hello kitty shoes stole my heart. 

true story....she made these and i'm so impressed.

can't wait to put them on e's little feet.

the frightened baby bunny

have you ever heard a baby bunny make a distress call?

it is loud and sad. 

yesterday we heard that sad noise twice and discovered mama kitty had this poor tiny bunny cornered.  luckily she didn't end up getting her paws on it.  will saved the day and got this cute little baby moved to a safer spot. 

we wanted to keep it because it was so tiny and soft and cute.

i took a couple videos of it hopping around the yard while we were trying to rescue it and took as many pictures as i could since we knew keeping it wasn't an option.

seriously it was insanely cute and small.

i hope the bunny found its family.

gift giving

this is what e's room looks like....

after the baby shower that happened saturday, and a week of me being sick.

i finally feel like i'm back in the land of the living so hopefully the weekend will be spent organzing, washing tiny things, and putting the crib together which arrived monday thanks to a very generous gift giver.

baby shower pictures coming soon!

33

33 weeks worth of magical baby girl growing in my belly.

3 things

1. will came home with all of this amazing stuff.  people from his department pitched in to get us lots of needed items from the registry plus other amazing things i never thought about needing.  we are so appreciative and feel very loved. 

2. the drawer pulls came in, so now the dresser for e's room is complete. 

i love how it turned out.

3. i think there should be a law against pregnant women getting sick. 

as if this last stage of pregnancy doesn't already have enough uncomfortable moments...adding a cold or whatever this is...well it's just criminal. 

i kept thinking i've been so lucky to have made it this far without catching some nasty bug considering i've been around lots of sick people.  my luck finally ran out.

i stayed home from work today to sleep a ton and try every other natural remedy hoping that i can stop this before it gets worse. 

poor timing too....my baby shower is saturday and i want to feel good enough to fully enjoy it.

i am extra whiney right now...in case you couldn't already tell.

the monster

who would've known that this little alligator wind-up toy could cause such a ruckus.

we laughed so hard watching the kitties reaction to it.

houndstooth was not about to be afraid. 

she swatted at it and tried biting it. 

she is brave.

pellegrino on the other hand was pretty terrified of the giant scary alligator. 

he kept running from it and acting as if it i might gobble him up at any moment.

good thing his sister was here to rescue him from that terrible beast. 

houndstooth is always battling the monsters in the house.

she takes on the dreaded vacuum and lint roller all of the time.

no wonder pells has a nervous breakdown when houndsie isn't around.

 

the time i sulked on valentine's day

i could write some mushy valentine's day post about how much i love will but he already knows how much i love him every single day....not just today....and i don't want to make anyone nauseated with some sugary sweet lovey dovey thing...i'll save that for a random day when i can catch everyone off guard.

instead i'll tell a different story that i feel is more important to be told on this day of love.
unfortunately i don't remember the details like i should because i never knew how significant and special this little story would become for me.  i wish i would have appreciated the moment much more but as we all know sometimes you don't realize how important a moment can be until the person attached to it is gone.  little did i know my dad would be departing from this earthly life not long after this took place.

once upon a time on valentine's day when i was about 19 or 20 years old i was seriously bummed about not having a valentine like most young girls tend to be on this day of great expectations.  i was at work and so was my dad but he had called and asked me to meet him outside of my office.  i was busy pouting all day and didn't even appreciate the fact that my dad took a break from his busy day to surprise me because i wanted a "real" valentine.....shame on me.  my dad handed me a card and kept encouraging me to open the card over my head but i wasn't being a good sport.  i can still picture him smiling and biting his tongue the way he did when he laughed and felt he was being extremely clever.  i can't remember if i did end up opening the card over my head or not but either way an explosion of confetti flew out once it was opened.  i wish i knew where that card was today.  i keep those sorts of things so i know it is somewhere in a box, most likely at my moms house.  i'm sure the card holds a short but sweet message my dad wrote in an attempt to brighten my day.  i now feel so foolish for sulking like i did but at the same time i feel very blessed to know that my dad was observant enough and cared enough to make a special effort just for me.   

happy valentine's day to all of you out there and remember....it's not worth it to pout if you don't have a valentine this year because at some point you'll have one.  or maybe the valentine you have isn't quite what you are hoping for but chances are that person loves you more than you can imagine.

kewpie bib

i've had a thing for kewpie dolls for many years. 

although i'm not really a theme type of person kewpies are going to make an appearance at my upcoming baby shower. 

knowing this, one day my aunt asked me to send her a few of my favorite kewpie graphics, so i did.

she had this bib made for baby e and i adore it.

luckily i didn't have to wait until the baby shower to get this gift because it has e's name on it and since we are still keeping that relatively top secret my aunt decided to give it to me early. 

i can't get over how adorable this is.

pellegrino's sand dollar

i'm on the couch reading a book while will watches one of his shows.  i hear a noise in the other room that sounds like someone is digging around in a paper bag.  earlier today i spent a bunch of time doing baby laundry and taking things out of e's closet that were stored in there.  one of the items i had moved out of her room into the office was this bag of sea shells from my trip to seattle in 2008.

i walk in the room to find pellegrino perched on a box furiously digging in the bag of shells.  he flung one giant shell out and then kept digging with more than half of his cute body in the bag.  once when he was a kitten i caught him with a small sand dollar he had taken off a shelf in the kitchen.  he seemed to really love that sand dollar but being the mean mom i am i wouldn't let him keep it. 

next thing i know he stops digging in the bag of shells and runs out of the room as fast as his little legs can carry him.  i figured he had snagged one of the shells because he seemed to run like he was guilty. 

i go to our bedroom and find him sitting on the bed with his prize next to him.

a sand dollar.

he kept looking around all nervous maybe because he thought houndstooth was going to come steal his prize. 

i didn't have the heart to take away the gem he worked so hard for.  instead i propped it up against him and took a bunch of pictures of the funny boy that keeps me laughing.

perfect dresser finally found

for the past several months we have been searching for the perfect dresser to put in e's room.  i had a vision in my head of what the dresser would need to have in order to pass the test. 

we went to antique stores, furniture stores, looked online, but nothing seemed to be just right. 

yesterday we decided to stop at the antique stores once again and finally we found it.

the entire thing was painted a pale yellow like the color of the drawer pulls.  i wanted something aqua with a more distressed look so will made that happen. 

i love the details like this and the keyholes.

i love that it's old and real wood.

i ordered ceramic drawer pulls from anthropologie to complete the look. 

i can't wait until they arrive and we can have one more project marked off the list. 

i've been in a sort of panic these days about making sure we have the things i think we need and making sure everything is done before our sweet little girl arrives.

pregnancy and food

people keep asking if i have had odd food cravings and i really haven't.
first trimester all i wanted to eat was anything that didn't make me feel nauseated but it was challenging because almost everything made me feel nauseated.  i do remember living off of bananas (can't even stand to look at them now), taco bell bean burritos (still like them), and subway veggie sandwiches (haven't had one since).  smelling or seeing certain foods from the first trimester make me want to barf.  i can't even handle the smell of the perfumes, lotions, or deodorant i wore in the beginning.  i don't like certain songs i listened to then or movies i watched then.  it's really weird but i feel traumatized by most things involved with the first trimester and i think it is just because i didn't feel good then.
once i got past the sickness i have noticed i find a few foods i really want for a week or two straight then i move on to different items but nothing has been really rare for me...it's mainly stuff i loved before.
the only thing that has been out of the ordinary is i'm usually a vegetarian and i've had red meat a few times. 
the following items are ones this pregnant belly of mine really loves at the moment....

1.chocolate!  i'm thinking this baby girl is going to be just like her mom....a lover of chocolate. 

it's funny because in the beginning i didn't want chocolate at all and for anyone who knows me that is just strange, but once i hit the 2nd trimester i was all about chocolate again.

2.strawberries....i have been eating them almost every single day for a couple weeks now.

i'm obsessed.

i also went through a raspberry phase.

3. vegetarian corn dogs with lots of mustard.  these have been a top dinner choice as of late.  i even had them for breakfast once.

4.rice krispies with almond milk...no sugar added.

this is my go-to snack.  i don't want it in the morning but usually in the afternoon or evening.

my favorites aren't limited to these items but i've noticed these are the things i seem to be buying over and over during the past couple weeks.  it's kind of funny that we end up going to the store really often and we get the same little pile of groceries.  wondering what i'll be extremely fond of next week?

strange sunday

i was not a major fan of today. 

it started out really great but then one thing after the next happened that made me sad.

first sad event...

houndstooth disappeared for the entire day.  usually we let her and pellegrino out to play in the backyard when we are home and they stay in the yard for the most part.  they might venture to a neighbors yard for a few minutes but almost always come home when called and never stay out of sight for more than a few minutes.  both pellegrino and houndstooth went missing today and after a couple stressful hours pells came home but no sign of houndsie. 

we drove around looking for her. 

will rode his bike looking for her. 

we tried all sorts of tricks. 

contacted neighbors.

prayed.

as it began to get dark i went into major panic mode and cried a bunch. 

i just assumed the worst because it was so unlike her to be gone like that. 

as pellegrino was becoming extra clingy and whiney this evening all of my hopes of her returning began to fade away.  next thing we know....she shows up!  

we cried happy tears and gave her ten billion hugs. 

then she snuggled up on will's lap and purred like crazy.

second sad event...

i recently managed to find the dress i wore to the temple as a baby when i was sealed to my parents. 

my plan was to have baby e wear this when she is blessed. 

it was sort of stained and rough looking so i put it on a gentle cycle in the washer and it came out like this.

one entire sleeve completely shredded.

maybe with some modifications it can be fixed but i was really upset that it came out of the washer like this.

i guess i should have expected it to be a little more fragile considering it is over 30 years old.

third sad event...

when admiring my tiny ecosphere i discovered that one of the 4 shrimp had died. 

not that i was extremely attached to each little shrimp but still i felt a bit of sadness.

at least all my nervous sad weird energy enabled me to be productive...

i did what seemed like 50 loads of baby laundry and got a bunch of stuff organized in her closet. 

also over the weekend we got e's pack n play put together.  

pellegrino thinks it is his.

kind of like he thinks all the baby items are his, but that is another story for another day.

flashback friday #32

circa september 2009

i snapped this one of us as we were driving to have our engagement photos done. 

it is insane to think how far we have come since then and how much has changed.  

we have grown as individuals and as a couple.

we have experienced amazing moments and dealt with things we would rather forget.

i'll always look back on those beginning times with so much fondness.

next thing you know there is going to be a third little person in all of our pictures.

i am happy to have a whole new batch of firsts to experience as a family of three because that batch of firsts we experienced as a family of two were magical.