Nursery Projects - Fish Canvases

So as I mentioned in previous posts, I was considering doing some DIY projects for in the nursery. We really wanted to hang pictures of fish and other sea creatures in the nursery. We looked around online and found some cute prints we liked but didn't want to spend the money to buy them, so I thought I would try to make them. This idea is primarily to save money, not because I have great art skills or know what I'm doing with paint at all. But I tried so here goes my first art project.

I really had no clue what I was doing so I just started. First, I printed out some pictures of fish and other sea creatures that I thought were cute. Then I bought some blank canvases and paint from Hobby Lobby. I started out with just a few colors but eventually had to go back to get more. (In hindsight, I should have just bought the primary colors and went from there...duh!) I did end up mixing a lot of colors eventually. Then I tried to draw the animals first on paper and then on the canvases. It really was a lot of fun. Even though I'm sure my artistic skills are not super, I had fun! Here is how it looked when I first started...

I ended up doing each canvas in 2 stages. First I did the background and then go in and fill in the details once that first coat of paint had dried. Here is a shark outline after his first coat.

Here are a bunch of the animals after their first coat of paint to do the biggest areas.

After attempting to paint eyes on these poor fish, I realized I was no good at it. So I bought some googly-eyes and those worked much better.

Later, I realized that the fish looked pretty blank with their white backgrounds so I experimented and doodled some things in the backgrounds.

I eventually bought some smaller canvases thinking the fish would take up more space on those and less space on the wall and hopefully look cuter.

My mom helped me hang them and we decided to hang them over the changing table. Here's the finished product. These aren't all the ones I painted but these seemed to be the cutest and the sizes matched to make the collage.

Here are some up close shots of each side.



I think they turned out pretty good for the most part. I have a few more that didn't make the cut. I might try to find somewhere to put them in the nursery still or just trash them...not sure yet. It was neat working on a project for the nursery. I had a lot of fun. It may not look professional but it was a heck of a lot cheaper than ordering prints!

25 Weeks...Seeing Kicks!

This was kind of a crazy week because I was traveling for work. I was by myself on the trip too so that was a new experience. But it wasn't bad at all. I kind of liked being by myself at the conference and not having to worry about what other people would think or want me to do. For example I did not feel guilty at all being on facebook during the day at the conference. :) It wasn't too lonely either because I worked long days and pretty much just crashed in my hotel room at night. I did go out exploring one night and that was kind of fun too.


Anyway, being alone on the trip also gave me plenty of time to talk to my belly! ha ha! It gave me and the baby a chance to bond. One super cool thing that came out of that was I saw the baby kicking in my stomach! It was so crazy! One night I was in my hotel room in Salt Lake City and reading a book when I saw my belly move under my shirt! I was like "What?!" so I lifted up my shirt and sure enough, he was kicking and I could see it. It was the craziest thing. I couldn't wait to get home and show Steve. It was subtle, but I could definitely tell when the baby was kicking. So exciting!!!


This week the baby is gaining weight and is about 1.5lbs! The website says he is the size of a rutabaga! ha! That is probably one of my favorite fruit/vegetable comparisons yet. The baby's skin is also starting to smooth out this week. The info for this week says that if the baby is born at this point he would have a chance to survive. Crazy. I mean I hope and pray that doesn't happen but its crazy to think that he is big enough and could possibly survive at this point. Here's what the baby is looking like now:So this week the baby had his second ride in a plane and I think he did great! Of course he was kicking me the entire time but I'm not to the point where its too uncomfortable. It was super cool to be able to see his kicks this week and I look forward to more of that! When I finally got home I made Steve try and try to see his kicking and he finally did! It was so great! He was excited about it too. One time he laid his head on my belly and right at that moment the baby kicked! (and kicked him square in the cheek!) too funny!!

Exciting Moment this Week: Obviously seeing the baby kicks while I was in Salt Lake was crazy exciting! It was also super exciting for Steve to be able to finally feel and see the baby kicks.

What I am Missing this Week: This week I was missing being able to eat lunch meat. I know some people think I'm crazy but they recommend you don't eat too much lunch meat when you're pregnant to avoid getting listeiosis. Here's a link to an article so you don't think I'm completely insane. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listeriosis But anyways a turkey or club sandwich used to be my go to food before I got pregnant. So while on travel it was kind of hard to find other things I wanted to eat off the hotel menu. I so badly wanted a club sandwich but I had to try other things instead. It worked out ok though.

Symptoms this Week: Pretty much the same symptoms as last week. I've been feeling really tired in the evenings, especially after a long day. The baby is still kicking a ton at night when I'm trying to sleep but I'm not sure if that really counts as a symptom of pregnancy, maybe more of a side effect ;)

Obsessions this Week: I guess I've been obsessed with seeing the baby kicks. I've probably spent way too much time watching my belly lately. Its just so neat!

Message to the Baby: Baby, we cannot believe that we can actually see you kicking inside of me now! It is the best thing. You keep on kicking, buddy, because that way I know you are ok and doing great in there. We love you and can't wait to meet you!

Update on the Work Trip

Today is the last day of my work trip to Salt Lake City so I thought I would mention how it’s been going here. The reason for this trip was I had to fill in at the last minute for a sick co-worker so all my travel plans and reservations were made last minute. I flew in on Monday, which was supposed to be Martin Luther King day and a holiday for me...but oh well. At least my flight wasn't early in the morning. My wonderful in laws dropped me off at the airport around 10:30am. I went to the Delta counter to check in and the lady at the counter informed me I was not ticketed. Jigga wha?? She said she’s found my reservation but no ticket. Oh ok, that makes sense....not! (At this point I'm getting out my cell phone to call for a ride to go back home.) The lady at the Delta counter was very nice and offered to call the travel agency for me. Which would be great except its the federal agency and they would be closed on this national holiday, right? (So I continued to dial Steve's parent’s number to come get me.) But she miraculously was able to get a hold of someone at the travel agency on their emergency line and after a few minutes I had a ticket. A miracle! (Except that I'd rather go home, but oh well :)

So the first disaster was averted and I was on my way to the gate. When I got there, I realized I don't have a seat for the flight. No problem, right? Just go up to the counter and ask for one...well there was no one at the counter. I was pretty hungry at this point so I started walking around the terminal to find some food. Nada. There was a newsstand with not much food but I bought some trail mix there. There was also a Starbucks and I sank to a new low when I purchased a banana for $1.20. But I was so hungry!! So I found a seat at the gate and waited for someone to come to the counter so I could beg for a seat. After a half hour or so, someone did come to the counter but only to announce that the flight was delayed! Ugh. So I didn’t even get a chance to see if I had a seat. A couple more announcements and the flight ended up being delayed almost 2 hours! But good news was I did get a seat on the plane! Yay!

So we boarded the plane and I had a seat next to a girl who looked about my age, maybe a little older. I thought about asking her for the aisle seat since I knew I would probably have to pee at least 2 times on this 3 hour flight but I didn’t ask her. I figured, she will see that I’m pregnant and be nice to me…nope! She fell asleep right away with her elbow well into my seat (and my side). Ugh so uncomfortable! Then when I had to wake her up so I can pee, she grumbled at me! What a jerk! I didn’t get better at all during the rest of the flight with her elbow taking up part of my seat the entire time.

But I made it to Salt Lake City safely! Whew. Usually when you are traveling for these conferences, there is a shuttle that takes you to your hotel. Well apparently not for this hotel. When I called them they said they don’t have a shuttle and you’ll have to hire an express taxi at the airport. Awesome. After walking around for a while, I finally found the counter for the express taxi and got one ordered. When it came a few minutes later I was so glad.

So I got to the hotel and got checked in. By this time I was starving. And when you are pregnant it really feels like you are going to die when you are hungry. So as soon as I checked in I asked for a map to local restaurants. They showed me that there was a Subway about 3 blocks away. I thought that was so great so I walked to Subway. It really wasn’t that cold out and wasn’t too far away so I thought my night had to be better than my day had been so far. Well as I’m eating my sandwich, I notice its starting to drizzle. Then I remembered that it was drizzling a little bit in the taxi ride over here. So I thought I better high tail it back to the hotel before it pours! Well about half way back to the hotel, it started pouring…like cats and dogs pouring. Awesome. So I am totally soaked by the time I make it back to the hotel. I had planned to do some setting up of the conference room that night after dinner but at this point I just felt like I needed to call it a day!

Luckily the hotel room was really nice. The bathroom was big and very clean and they had a sleep number bed in the room! Also, I had an awesome view of downtown Salt Lake which is so beautiful.

So the next day was the first day of the conference and it was crazy! There was so much to do and organize. My co-worker had shipped about 8 boxes and 1 huge crate full of materials! She gave me about 2 pages of instructions too. It was very overwhelming. Even though I got to the conference room 2 hours early, I was still unpacking and setting up as people were arriving! But I got it all figured out and the conference started just fine. And except for the normal complaints and getting yelled at once, the conference has been going well!

It’s been kind of lonely being at a conference by yourself. The first night I walked to a nearby outdoor mall for something to do. It was only 3 or 4 blocks away and was really nice! I had a good time walking around and doing some window shopping at the stores in the mall. By the time I headed home though I was pooped! The next 2 nights I just stayed in and watched TV. Normally, if I was traveling with other people I would have gone out to dinner or maybe to see some sights around the city but by myself I just felt like relaxing.

So I’m planning to fly out today and should arrive in St. Louis late tonight. The only problem is that St. Louis got a ton of snow yesterday so flights have been iffy…Hopefully I will make it home tonight!

24 Weeks - 6 months Prego

Ok, people, this is getting serious. I am officially 6 months pregnant! What the heck!? Where has time gone? It seems like there is no turning back now..ha ha. In another month I will be in the 3rd trimester. The 3rd trimester! Its gotten to the point where people ask me my due date now and when I say May 1st they keep saying, "That's so soon!" What!?! No, its not! The reality of having this baby in 3.5 months is really crazy. Its so exciting though, I just can't wait.

This week the baby has been doing much of the same, kicking pretty consistently and almost all day. They baby is gaining weight and it says he is about a pound this week, although I suspect he is bigger than that. Although he is very tall and thin right, the baby will begin to plump up during the next weeks. His brain and lungs are developing too this week. His lungs are branching out and developing the fluid that will enable his lungs to inflate once he is born. The baby looks like this now:

I'm still feeling great. I have lots of energy so we are getting things done. Steve and I worked very hard on the nursery while he was on winter break from school. We are mostly done with it, I just need to decide what to put on the walls and we need to build some shelves in the closet. Steve goes back to school this week. It is crazy to think that his finals week for this semester is the same week we are due! I hope that all works out. He decided to not take classes this summer (good decision) so he can be home with me and the baby in the evenings. I'm so glad for that because I'm sure I will be exhausted!

Exciting Moment of the Week: I got a chance to work on the nursery with my mom and Steve this weekend and that was really great. Mom helped to decide what to hang on the walls and we actually got a few things up! It is nice to see some progress in that room. I can't wait until it is finished completely!

What I am Missing this Week: Not really missing much this week. I let myself have some tea with lunch one day this week and that was so delicious. So I guess I'm missing being able to have tea or soda with lunch of I want to but its not that bad.

Symptoms this Week: The only new symptom this week is since the baby is kicking so much it makes it harder to sleep sometimes. He will wake me up some nights from his kicking. I guess he doesn't like it if I lay in one position too long and he will let me know about it! Other than that, I'm feeling really great. I've had the general stuffiness that goes along with pregnancy and some back aches and muscle spasms starting but its not so bad!

Obsessions this Week: Still putting the finishing touches on the nursery so that's been on my mind lately. I have a few more projects to finish in there and I can't wait to get those things done.

Message to the Baby: Baby, we are super excited about your growth this week! We hope you are working on your little brain in there and you are as smart as can be! We love you so much already. I'm enjoying your little jabs and kicks even though they wake me up sometimes. Its like your way to tell me you are ok. Keep growing in there and getting bigger. We can't wait to meet you!

Headboard Project

Steve and I needed a headboard for our bed so my super crafty mom came up with the idea of making one ourself. She had made one for their bed and said it wasn't too hard. So one Sunday we got together and got on this project. It really wasn't that bad. We probably spent about 2 hours making the headboard and only about $30 or so in fabric and padding, so it was super cheap.

First we asked the boys to cut the board (donated by Steve's mom) down to the right size. Then we stapled a piece of foam over the top to make it soft. We covered that with bunting to make it extra soft. The hardest part here was getting the staple gun to go through all the layers of padding. But with some help from my strong hubby we made it work.


Next we covered the board with the fabric, trying to make it look as even as possible.

My mom stapled the corners because those were kind of tricky but basically you just pull it taught and wrap the corners up like a present. Not too bad!

Here's how the back looked when it was done. (Apparently Steve's mom's board donation used to be a game of some kind..lol)

Here is the finished product on our bed. I think it looks great! It only took an afternoon and was pretty cheap! Yay!

Close up of the fabric.

Surprise Work Trip

So it looks like I will be going on a trip next week. Surprise! ha ha. One of my co-workers is sick and I was asked to cover her trip to Salt Lake City for a conference. So instead of a long weekend, I get to be on a plane Monday...yay! (sarcasm :)

I am sort of excited about it...I mean it will be nice to be out of the office for the week and I should get to rack up some vacation hours to be used on maternity leave so that's good. On the downside, I went on a work trip to Salt Lake in November and the flight suuuucked! It was so uncomfortable. I'm hoping I get on a bigger plan this time and it won't be so bad. Also, its probably going to be cold there....like really, really cold. Oh well!

Its so crazy with my work this year! Last year, they wouldn't let me travel anywhere and this year I could be gone 2 weeks of every month if I wanted to. But, of course, now I am prego and don't want to go! I might travel one more time before the baby comes but that will probably be it due to not wanting to have any problems later in my pregnancy.

Oh well, its these kind of things that keep life exciting, right? I'll let you know how it is in sunny Salt Lake City next week. :)

Nursery Progress

Steve and I have been working a lot on the nursery lately to try to get it finished while he is on winter break from school. As I've said in previous posts, we have had a bit of a dilemma with the wall color but I think we finally got it right. We settled on Steve's pick, a light greyish blue. You can see it in the picture below.

Even though I didn't want the traditional blue, I really like this color. It goes well with the furniture and bedding. It has a sweet feel and is not overpowering like some of my previous color combination ideas! (Think orange and dark blue, turquoise, bright green...)

We decided to keep some of the green we had previously painted the room. We liked the color, but it was just too much for that small room. But we thought it looked good on the closet doors, so we kept it on them.

We also put together the crib and changing table. They look awesome! It is pretty much exactly what I wanted and from a really good maker. I'm so glad we were able to get such a good deal on them. Here they are:

And the matching changing table, with the changing pad we got from a thrift store months and months ago.

So overall the nursery is really coming together. Now I am just working on what to put on the walls and some shelving for the closet. That's about it. Steve was in there the other day and he said, "Wow, it really feels like a baby's room!" It is kind of creepy how much that room is starting to really feel like the nursery. So exciting!

23 Weeks - Karate Kid

I think I can characterize this week by saying our baby is probably going to be a karate star. He has been kicking like crazy lately and some of the kicks can be pretty intense! I think its only going to get worse. Before the kicks were just like little flutters and it was so cute. But this week there have been some that have made me stop what I'm doing and be like what the heck kid? ha ha! Steve still can't feel it though which makes me sad. The baby usually kicks the hardest in the morning or when I'm at work so that could be part of it. I hope he's not getting too frustrated with me making him feel my belly all night to try to feel the baby's kicks!

This week I got some sort of cold/sinus thing and thats been tough. It really isn't too bad and I totally expected to get sick this winter (like I do every year). The only bad part is not being able to sleep at night. I really didn't want to take any medicine but not sleeping at all is not good for mama. My doctor said I could take Robitussen and that has helped me sleep a little bit. I hope this cold is on its way out soon!


Steve and I took a fun roadtrip to Indianapolis this weekend to the Colts playoff game. It was a last minute thing and I only got to go because his friend was sick and they had already bought the tickets. We had a great time! The Colts lost, sadly, but it was still fun. This baby has already been to 3 NFL games this year including one playoff game! He's gonna be a football fan for sure! :) Here's a picture of us at the game. Sorry its so fuzzy!


This week the websites say the baby is weighing about a pound, but I bet our baby is much bigger. They also say that we might be able to see him "squirm" under my clothes soon. Um..ew. I'm not looking forward to that one. That reminds me of a nightmare I had early in the pregnancy about that scene from Alien where the baby erupts from the mom's stomach. ha ha! The baby is developing his blood vessels in his lungs this week to prepare for breathing. Also, the baby is beginning to be able to hear sounds from the outside world. That's kind of exciting! The baby is looking like this: (so cute!)
Exciting Moment of the Week: Feeling the baby's little kicks are pretty exciting. I wish Steve could feel them too! Even though its intense sometimes its a great feeling because you know he's doing ok in there. Keep kicking little guy!

What I am Missing this Week: Not really missing anything this week. We had a great trip to Indy and I wasn't overtired or anything. Although I did have to stop 2 times each way to pee. That is about the worst symptom going on right now. The second trimester really rocks.

Symptoms this Week: Nothing really happening symptom-wise. Like I said the second trimester has been awesome. I have lots of energy back and I don't feel too uncomfortable. I'm hoping this good feeling lasts!

Obsessions this Week: We put the crib together this week and it looks awesome! Although the furniture we got is pretty big so it takes up almost the whole room, but that room is tiny. I am really nesting now, getting things set up in the baby's room. I am tryin to figure out what I want to hang on the walls and I hope to get that done this weekend. :) Can't wait!

Message to the Baby: Baby, we are so enjoying dreaming about our future with you this week. I think we have pretty much decided on your name and I really hope you like it! Your dad and I have been talking a lot about how our life is going to change when you get here and we just cannot wait to show you the world!

2010 Events in Our Life

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had an awesome New Years. We had a lot of fun and played it pretty low key, which was nice. Since we are saying goodbye to 2010 and preparing to start a new year, I thought it would be fun to review some of the events in our life from last year. 2010 was a year of ups and downs for us. It was our first year of marriage and it was a rough one. Steve and I went through a lot together and we are looking forward to a great 2011. I think its important to celebrate what we have made it through together and what we plan to look forward to next year. So here goes...

To start off, I wanted to give a shout out to some big events that happened in the end of 2009. Steve and I were married in May 2009. Probably one of the happiest days of our lives!

Immediately after we went on an amazing Caribbean cruise for our honeymoon. We had so much fun!

Everything was going great for us until Steve got laid off August of 2009. This got even rougher when I decided/was forced to change jobs that same month. Luckily for us, I was able to get find a new job working at the VA in Jefferson Barracks in late September 2009, which was a huge blessing! This job also allowed me to reconnect with an old friend, Jenn, and that was great! Here I am with her and some other friends at her birthday party.

So that is how we began 2010, with Steve unemployed and me trying to quickly get acquainted with a new job. This caused a lot of strain on our new marriage, both financial and emotional. It was very difficult trying to adjust to a new life living on less than half of the income we were used to. I think it was much more than either of us bargained for at that time. Around February 2010 we moved from our first house on Ventnor in Florissant in with Steve's parents. They were so gracious and wonderful to allow us to live there for a while to save up money and try to wait out Steve's job situation. Being newly married and in our late 20's living with Steve's parents (and eventually his brother and his girlfriend) was a really difficult thing for us. But we are so very grateful to Steve's parents for their support and willingness to help us. We are so blessed to have such understanding and supportive family. Here Steve is with his Mom and Dad, Jordan and Kim at his birthday in 2010. I really couldn't ask for better in-laws!

One great thing that came out of our wedding was meeting Steve's apprentice classmates and their wives. I found a great group of girls! They are some of my best friends now! It has been really great having friends whose husbands are in the same job as Steve to have people to lean on and talk to who understand getting laid off, etc. that goes with Steve's job. In March 2010, we went to Mardi Gras in St. Louis for the first time with this awesome group of people. We had a blast! Here are some pictures from that day. (Even though our cups say 2006, it really was 2010!) ha ha!

In May 2010, we celebrated our first year of marriage. We weren't able to do much to celebrate but we were able to spend time with our families which made it very special.

In June of 2010 we were able to celebrate the 2nd birthday of our adorable God-daughter, Willow. That was very special! We went to the circus with Steve's family, my parents and even my friend Julie and her son, Jake. It was so much fun! It is so awesome to be a part of Willow's little life. She is the sweetest and cutest kid I know! Here's a picture of the little princess:

Around July 2010 we got word that we would have to leave Steve's parent's house sooner than we planned due to a situation with their neighbors and our dogs. We were again blessed as Steve was called back to work around the same time. This was an amazing blessing and allowed us to find a house of our own. We also received tons of support from Steve's Aunt Ellen who was our real estate agent and worked tirelessly to find us a house we could afford and could get into quickly. In addition, we received a ton of support from my parents, who are amazing. Here's a shout out to my wonderful parents. We love you so much.

So in August 2010 we were able to move into our new house in Maryland Heights! Although it was a crazy process, we were so grateful to be able to purchase this house and have our own home again! We again received a huge amount of support from both our families and a ton of our friends who helped us move.

Also in August (the weekend after we moved in!) I threw a surprise party for Steve's 30th birthday! It was a great success! It was so extremely nice to be able to host a party for such a special event in our new place! Tons of friends and family came to celebrate with Steve and it was so amazing! We had a great time and he was totally surprised, which was great!

Later that month, we got to take a road trip for Steve's birthday to an Indianapolis Colt's football game. That was a great experience and Steve was very excited about getting to go see his favorite team play!

Then, in September 2010 we got the most exciting news of all! We found out we are pregnant! It is such a huge blessing and Steve and I couldn't be more excited!

I think one of the biggest lessons I learnedd from 2010 is that Steve and I can get through anything together! All the events of last year was a lot for our new marriage to handle but I think our relationship is much stronger now than ever before. We have been through so much and were able to work together and get through it all. Another lesson was even in the hard times, realizing how blessed we really are. It seems that even in our worst moments, God was with us and sent us amazing support in the form of both of our families and friends, and also reassured us that better things were ahead. It is amazing to think of all the hard times we went through and then all the blessings that happened to us just in the nick of time. We are so grateful for that and also for the support of both of our families and our great group of friends!! We really are blessed to have such great families and friends to depend on.

So overall 2010 was a really crazy year! Lots of ups and downs for us. But we ended it on a really high note. We are in our new house and loving it! All our doggies are healthy. Both our jobs are going great. Steve is doing well in school and will finish his degree in 2011. We are pregnant and expecting a baby boy in May 2011! And we couldn't be happier.

So cheers to everyone to a great 2011! I hope it is great year for us and for all our amazing friends and family as well!!

22 Weeks

The second trimester is just flying by, I am already done with 22 weeks. In a month I'll be in the third trimester. Crazy! I know I say that every time but it really is crazy how fast this pregnancy is going by. The second trimester has been awesome. I have felt great and except for being tired don't have too many symptoms. I have also had a great time getting ready for the baby. Now I am actually looking pregnant and feeling the baby kick and that is so exciting! This week I got my first "stranger comment". We were at Arby's and the guy taking our order asked when I was due. It really took me by surprise. I mean I know I look pregnant and I'm sure everyone knows I'm pregnant too but someone actually commented...weird!


In other news this week, we bought a crib! I have been debating for weeks (and weeks) about what kind to get and safety features vs price, etc, etc, etc. I was really driving myself crazy. And then Steve threw his opinion into the mix and that complicated things. Also, we had previously purchased a great changing table/dresser combo from Craigslist for an awesome price. I loved it but we couldn't' find a crib that was the same color wood to match and that was driving me bonkers!

This week we were able to finally find a crib that we both loved and was rated high on safety and was at a decent price. We got the matching dresser/changing table and just gave up on trying to match the wood to the dresser we had previously bought. So hopefully, we can sell that at some point. Anyway it is very exciting to have the nursery furniture. Steve is going to pick it up this week and I can't wait to see how it looks in the nursery!


We also repainted the nursery this weekend. We just didn't like the first color we painted it (neon green that I swear was a sweet and light green on the color swatch) and decided to go with something lighter. It has been a long journey picking the paint color of the nursery and it is 100% my fault. I am the worst at making big decisions like that and I am also the worst at picking paint colors (I had Steve paint his old house trim blue with brown brick, it was awful.) But I think the color we have now is great. It is a really light, soft blue. I didn't really want blue and I definitely didn't want baby blue but this is a nice shade of grey-blue and it will really compliment anything we put in there. (I do have to give the credit for picking the color to Steve. I couldn't take it anymore and made him pick and he did a great job!) He also had to paint and prime the room 2 times so I really have to give him a big shout out for being such an amazing and understanding Hubby. I will put up some pictures of the nursery's progress as we get more done in there.


This week the baby is weighing about a pound. That's a big deal! He is also looking more like an infant with his eyelids, lips and eyebrows developing on his little face. He is also developing tooth buds beneath his gums. He is also beginning to develop his pancreas this week. Very important stuff, little guy! The baby is looking like this:

Not sure why he's upside down...I guess he's just swimming around in there. I think he is developing his leg muscles because he has been kicking like crazy! Its getting more intense so I'm thinking Steve will be able to feel it soon. I can't wait for that.

Exciting Moment of the Week: Definitely buying the crib. It was such a load off our shoulders. Plus we were able to get something much nicer than we thought we could and for a great price! I can't wait till that sucker gets delivered and we can set it up!

What I am Missing this Week: This weekend was New Years and I am missing booze. I know its sad and I shouldn't be missing it, but I am. It is no fun to be the only sober one..oh well I'm sucking it up! :)

Symptoms this Week: Like I said before, nothing really major. Just enjoying this second trimester and hoping it doesn't get too bad for the third one!

Obsessions this Week: The nursery! The crib and the paint and the bedding..oh my! ha ha! Its actually really fun to pick out that stuff but its also really overwhelming and stressful. It is great to get some of it accomplished.

Message to the Baby: Baby, we are working hard on your nursery. I hope you like it! I made your daddy paint the walls twice! He didn't like that at all! But he did it and he is so excited about meeting you soon. We both are!