House Renovations (already)

We knew when we moved in we would be redoing the downstairs bath, but I never thought it would be within the first week of living there!  When my husband gets something in his head, there is no talking him out of it. 

Needless to say the downstairs bath was gross so while I was at work this Saturday Dane ripped out the vanity, tile floor, and toilet.  I put on the mask and was scraping the 17 layers of paint off the door frame (the previous owners just put paint on top of paint and it was just peeling off).  After ripping out the vanity we realized the owners put a HUGE hole in the plaster that we now have to repair so it has taken us a few days to plot our course of action.  We are also trying to figure out what to do with the walls because the top half of the walls is smooth plaster and the bottom half is textured.  Needless to say, that will NOT do so we have to figure out how to make it uniform.  Between the walls, floor, and door we have our hands full so I am VERY glad we decided to keep the custom tub (we will just have it refinished) because I'm not sure we could have handled one more project in there!

Here is a taste of what we are dealing with RIGHT outside our kitchen:



Names

Just so everyone knows, Dane and I have been brainstorming baby names for basically the past 3 years (yes Dane has a spreadsheet).  We don't have anything specific but we are always thinking of things.  I am personally wanting to use a family name but we don't have anything picked out yet. 

We have decided to keep the name a secret (once we have chosen one) until baby Wilson comes into the world.  I've learned the hard way that everyone has their opinions and I personally don't want to hear what they are :)  Once you see the baby you won't be able to say "I don't like that name" and besides the opinion won't matter by that point anyway!  Soooo feel free to ask us if we have names, but I promise you won't get the answer you are looking for.  We aren't doing it to be cruel or mean, just want it to be a surprise for everyone :)

It's a.....

BOY!! :)

Dane and I went to our 20 week ultrasound yesterday and were both very excited and anxious to make sure baby is healthy and growing, but most of all to find out if we should be expecting a boy or girl!  The ultrasound technician looks at her machine and you look at a TV screen out in front of you and Dane was literally pacing in front of the TV (it was actually really cute).  She would pull up the brain...or a kidney and Dane would say "It's a girl!" and I would have to tell him to sit down and take a deep breath because I could tell the technician was laughing at him.  Our little guy was being VERY stubborn (just like Daddy) and refused to show us his profile, in fact he would do somersaults and roll the other way but would NOT let us get a picture of his profile.  While he didn't want to do that, he certainly was not shy about showing us his parts.  The second she scrolled over the image I knew exactly what we were looking at :)  We both could not be more excited, but I can honestly say Dane is over the moon!  He's been pulling for a little boy since the day I told him we were pregnant and I would have been happy with either. 

We are finally adding to the MANY girls in my immediate family so my Dad and brother are both VERY excited to have a little more testosterone running around.  They get one of each to start off their little clan of grand babies so they can't really complain :)

I'm trying to figure out how to get the video from our ultrasound up here so check  back for live pictures of baby boy Wilson flipping around and showing you his stuff :)

Moving Weekend (long post)

So we FINALLY closed on our first home last Friday and it was quite a colorful weekend to say the least.  I managed to make it through the weekend with only 2 pregnant meltdowns!  In order to give you the full picture I have to explain the entire weekend:

Friday: We arrived to closing at 3 pm on the dot and the previous owners were there and extremely friendly telling us about the pear tree in the yard and how much we were going to love the house.  We got the keys and immediately headed over to the house to see if we needed to do any cleaning before we started moving.

Dane out front before we walked in to find what was waiting for us (from cell phone so not great quality)

We walked into the house to find that the owner's friend who was living there (probably until 30 minutes before closing) had left the house a COMPLETE mess!!  There was 6 month old food in the refrigerator and freezer, dog urine under the fridge that smells like absolute hell, dog hair in every nook and cranny (including the dishwasher, fridge, freezer, washing machine, you name it), dust bunnies bigger than I have ever seen in my ENTIRE life...you name it we saw it.  At this exact moment of standing in our new living room looking around that rather than smiling because I was a new homeowner, I broke down into tears because I was SOO pissed that it was disgusting.  I promptly pulled myself together and we went straight to the store for cleaning supplies after finding in the closet that they left probably $400 worth of cleaning supplies but probably never used a single one the entire time they lived there).  We spent the rest of the evening throwing away old food, sweeping, moping, scrubbing out the fridge, and I spent a lot of the night on my hands and knees scrubbing baseboards and window sills (yes, this pregnant girl was down on the ground getting all kinds of cleaning done).

Saturday: I couldn't sleep at all Friday night because I was dreaming about cleaning!  I had to work in the morning at the salon so Dane was stuck most of the morning/afternoon doing work but thank god his mom came out to help!!  His mom was parked at the new house scrubbing out cabinets in the kitchen, washing down walls, etc while Dane was organizing stuff at the rental to be moved by the movers.  By the time I finished work at 3 I jumped back into my cleaning clothes and got back to work!  We got all the furniture in the new house and managed to get the place pretty clean (after dusting every blind, ceiling fan, window sill you name it).  We picked up Dane's nephew (which I was nervous about because we didn't have time to keep a 6 year old busy) who actually came and was SO excited to help us.  Jacob was absolutely amazing and didn't complain once, he actually kept saying "I need something to do"...so we put him to work!

Sunday: Dane's mom and nephew stayed the night and woke up bright and early ready to help for another full day of work.  Jacob ran back and forth from the rental bringing me things to put in the car, he ran up and down the stairs at the house hanging clothes in our closet...I could not have asked for a better helper (especially being that I'm pregnant and not able to do as much).  Debbie put away some of our dishes to we could get boxes out of the kitchen and sweep up some of the moving mess, helped me wash out the nursery, and move the rest of our stuff out of the rental.  We got them on their way around 3 pm and you would think Dane and I could relax but we kept going until 10 pm. 

We decided that if we were going back to the office on Monday we needed to do a load of laundry which is when we realized the idiot home owners didn't have the proper electrical outlet for the washing machine!!  Dane had to run to Lowe's to get a converter for the time being before we can call an electrician to fix it properly.  While he was gone I realized that the inside of the washing machine had so much dirt and dog hair that I spent 20 minutes vacuuming it and scrubbing it out!!  Once we got that clean and running Dane checked the dryer and found 6 inches of lint in the lint trap which means they NEVER emptied it and are lucky they were able to ever dry clothes and they didn't set the house on fire.  Even if I told you over and over and over again how gross this place was it wouldn't be enough...every single corner of this house required serious attention.

We finally cooked up some scrambled eggs, showered all the dust and dirt out of our eyes, ears, nose, hair etc and crawled into bed to put our feet up and watch a movie.  While we were laying there the baby was going crazy moving around (probably telling me how pissed it was that I was over doing it) so I told Dane to put his hand on my belly.  He hasn't been able to feel the baby kick yet so he was skeptical.  I put his hand right below my belly button and made sure he was pushing down a little so if baby did kick he would feel it.  We waited a few seconds and I'm not kidding...the baby PUNCHED Dane's hand so hard he literally jumped out of bed in shock!!  Baby usually rolls around and squirms, but doesn't usually kick/punch it was even an odd sensation for me and I feel baby all the time.  I was hysterically laughing at Dane's reaction and had tears streaming down my face...he was speechless and just kept saying "that is SOO weird"!  Needless to say he felt the baby one more time before he said there was an alien in there, but he was very excited that he had gotten to feel it for the first time :)

I decided that after all the moving and lifting that I needed a day off Monday to recuperate and just chill out so I did not end up going to work.  I finished cleaning out our rental, laid in the sunshine for a little bit and got a nap in.  Don't worry though, we still had an hour of moving a few more things out Monday evening from the rental before we are now COMPLETELY done moving.  Now the fun begins, organizing and putting everything away...but that may take awhile so don't hold your breath :)

Pictures!!

                            

   Living Room as you walk in the front door                                                              Dining Room                

                 (since rearranged)                                                                                      (enter off living room and kitchen)

  

                 Kitchen from one angle                                                                                        Kitchen from another angle

Cabinets rearranged 

Guest Bedroom (off of Kitchen)                                                  Loft at the top of the stairs

      Master Bedroom                                                                                                           Nursery (next to Master)

              Master Bath (one angle)                                                                                         Master Bath (another angle)

My very own Walk In Closet (well I have to share but still) :)

Not Pictured: Second guest bedroom downstairs and Guest Bath downstairs (we are redoing the guest bath so I didn't want to post a picture of the grossness just yet)

We have quite a few projects we want to tackle, but we are prioritizing right now.  We will be painting most of the house, redoing the downstairs bath (new toilet, vanity, and tile floor), and replacing a few cabinets in the kitchen.  I'll update you all when a project is completed!

19 Weeks! (almost)

When we originally started our journey our switch days were Thursday (switch day: when you go from 18 to 19 weeks), but our OB changed it to Saturdays for some reason.  In honor of actually getting my hair done I'm using today as our 19 week update :)



How Far Along: 19 weeks
Size of baby: Heirloom Tomato - 8 1/2 oz and 6 inches long

Total Weight Gain/Loss: STILL not necessary to discuss right now :)

Maternity Clothes: Still able to wear regular clothes, but feel more comfortable in yoga pants (doesn't everyone?)

Movement: Since my last belly post there has been a HUGE change...this baby kicks up a storm!!  Usually after dinner and we are relaxing on the couch it does flips and kicks.  I've tried to have Dane feel it from the outside but I think baby is still too little.

Sleep: Depends on the night, but still sleeping well for the most part
Symptoms: Other than a growing belly, the only symptom that I'm noticing is ligament pain (mentioned before) but the ligaments around my uterus are stretching and if I roll over in bed sometimes I will have a shooting pain in my side that takes my breath away. 

What I miss: Being able to help my husband move into our new house (although I'm secretly glad that I get out of the heavy lifting) :)

Cravings: Still nothing specific yet
Best Moment this week: We were told that we can finally close on our first home Friday (tomorrow) at 3pm.  We will be going straight to our house and cleaning and then moving in Saturday and Sunday. 

Week of Ultrasounds!

I have 2 ultrasounds scheduled in the next 8 days one definitely more exciting than the other.  This week I have an ultrasound to follow up on a lump I found in my breast a few weeks before realizing I was pregnant (it has since disappeared but they wanted to do a follow up ultrasound just to make sure).  Then next Wednesday we have our 20 week appointment to find out the sex of baby Wilson! :)  Of course I'm more excited about next week!

Here's to lots of ultrasound jelly and hearing good news all around! :)

Kickin' It!

So according to the books and doctors you should be able to feel baby moving around inside anywhere between 15 and 20 weeks (first time mom's usually don't feel it until a little later).  My sister started feeling kicks around 15 weeks so I've been paying close attention for the past 2-3 weeks and NOTHING.  There were a few occasions where I thought...maayybbeee but I really wasn't sure. 

Well last night I finally laid down to go to sleep and when I rolled on my right side I felt a VERY distinct punch from the inside right below my belly button.  It startled me so I called Dane to the back and we waited to see if baby would kick again.  Of course once Dane left, the baby was wriggling and kicking up a storm for about 10 minutes.  I have to say it's the most amazing feeling in the world.  It's hard to explain to others that haven't experienced it, but there is a life inside that is moving and grooving!  Some people explain it as butterfly flutters...or feeling like gas bubbles, but last night it was a definite kick in the gut which put the biggest smile on my face! :)

17 Weeks!

I am currently 17 weeks 3 days.  I saw on a friend's blog how they update their belly pictures and I am going to borrow :)

How Far Along: 17 weeks
Size of baby: Turnip - 5 oz and 5 inches long

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Not necessary to discuss right now :)

Maternity Clothes: I am still able to fit in regular clothes, but because I sit at a desk all day long it's more comfortable for me to wear maternity pants or leggings (don't want to smush baby too much)

Movement: I have felt a few sensations near my belly button that I can only assume are baby movements.  I'm hoping to feel more because feeling the little guy makes it all SO real!

Sleep: Good, I don't have to pee AS much during the night and seem to be sleeping fairly well (we'll see how long that lasts)
Symptoms: I'm feeling a lot of stretching on the inside (ligaments stretching to accommodate growing baby), I also had my first nose bleed the other day

What I miss: Nothing really at this point - but this weekend I definitely wished I could have a glass of Sangria!

Cravings: Nothing specific yet
Best Moment this week: We submitted our last paper work for the house and are hoping to be able to close next week! :)

Some Fun Pregnancy Symptoms

With all the wonders of pregnancy and the amazing things that the human body is capable of, comes some seriously annoying side effects.  One being SEVERE lower back pain that comes out of nowhere!  Dane and I watched his nephew on Saturday night and I could barely move most of the night because I was in such excruciating lower back pain.  For some reason the pain was gone when I woke up, but MAN did it hurt!


Another fun side effect/symptom of pregnancy that I just experienced is a nose bleed!  My sister has been dealing with these for a few weeks now and I was hoping since I haven't had one since I was 7 I was going to avoid this horrible experience...NOPE!  Apparently when you are pregnant your body produces almost double the amount of blood that pumps through your body so you're bound to have bleeding at some point, I just hope this doesn't become a regular occurrence!