Always a project in the King House

If you have not observed, Matthew and I seem to take on huge projects, one right after the other (more like overlapping). We got married, built a house, got pregnant, and now we are finishing the basement. Before I go in further, our lives are by far not perfect but we have definately been blessed beyond measure. I can not even express how thankful I am for everything in my life.

Ok back to the basement, we bought the bathtub/shower combo this weekend and the plumber is working today to finish the plumbing. Matthew started last night on framing in the last wall for the bedroom, bathroom, laundry room. As I said, our lives our not perfect and with that comes the accident of matthew backing his truck with 16 ft long boards into the garge to put a pretty little dent in it. My only reply was, "So glad that it was not me that did it :-)" (I have already had my fair share of denting things and him having to fix them.) Matthew's goal to finish the basement by the time the baby gets here or at least the drywall done. He says he is finishing it because he wants a quiet place to sleep but I know that he is just kidding and will want to be apart of the nightly wake ups.
Here are some pictures of the beginning our our basement project
This is the basement wall


This is the garage dent


The nursery is getting closer to being done. The bedding is done and we bought our crib mattress. The curtains are hung and the light fixture is up with a dimmer. Matthew made me a canopy and I am will finish the material for the canopy this weekend and we will hang that. Last few projects is pick up shelf in Odessa and paint it. Hang pictures on the walls. Put a second shelf in the closet.

Here are a few pictures of the nursery
The changing table with my diaper stacker (I made)

The finished crib with mattress and bedding

The curtains, for some reason the lighting made the room look orange


Of course I did not leave out the progress of baby girl. I am 35 weeks along which means only 5 weeks to go. I had an ultrasound last week and she is 4lbs 12 ozs which puts her in the 36% range. She is a little below average on size but very healthy. The most she could way if I went over is 7lbs 5 ozs according to the dr. The good news is that I will not be delivering a 8 or 9 lbs. baby. The best news was that she is not breech any more which means no scheduled c-section for me. She is already showing her strong will and making us wait for her delivery to get a good look at her face. I have had more ultrasounds than the normal person of around 7 or 8 and on every single ultrasound she has found a way to hide her face so we could not get a good look. I started weekly appts 2 weeks ago, and I make my way to the dr every week so he can track the progress. He is suspecting an early delivery but I am not getting my hopes up incase she decideds to make me wait. I have felt great and have not been too uncomfortable, thank goodness, because some people make it sound terribly in the last few months. I actually sometimes forget I have a huge basket ball in my stomach until I look down or look in the mirror or someone inquires about my pregnancy. There is still no name for our little one and will probably not be a name till after delivery, I have to see her.

7 weeks to go and counting

I am in the 8th month already and it is almost impossible to believe that my pregnancy has gone by this fast. The dr. says that our little girl has a healthy heart beat and that I have the lowest blood pressure he has ever seen in a pregnant lady. Next week, we will have an ultrasound to see the position of our baby and how she is doing. If you look at my belly anytime I am wearing a fitted shirt you will see lumps poke out where she is moving. Sometimes she will leave some part of her body poked out and I will have to push it back in.
As labor is approaching, I have been reading up on the Bradley method of delivery. As I am reading about labor and natural ways to help with pain relief since I am going to attempt a natural delivery, I am even more amazed at child birth. I do not understand how any woman that has been pregnant can deny that there is no God. I think about how this baby is created and formed and develops, the complexity of it is just amazing. It starts out the size of a poppyseed and grows into a baby with a brain, lungs, heart, and everything else it needs to survive. Not only is that truly amazing but God created woman to be able to house and deliver babies into the world.
Now, past all of that, I will have to admit that labor and delivery is slightly intimidating. I tell myself constantly there are 8 billion people in the world and all 8 billion have gone through delivery. I also tell myself if a teenage girl can survive delivery and labor surely I can. I also tell myself that moms that have had 1 baby PLAN, not surprise, but PLAN another pregnancy and try for it. It is not contractions or pushing it is the fact that an entire human being will be escaping my body through a very small opening is the part that is slightly terrifying but thankfully self talk and telling my self whether I am ready or not this baby will come so I need to prepare mentally helps. But I must admit, everyday as I read another chapter or start another book on delivery, there is alot of self talk going on and maybe even more prayer. Jesus, hears please give me a small baby and an easy delivery with a quick recovery daily!!
On the the planning for baby, we are getting the nursery complete. Dear friends of ours (Christa and I, it was a joint shower), Celia (and Steve, he did so much) threw us the most special baby shower with such thoughtful touches. They took pictures of the day, made posters and signs, had adorable napkins, everything was set up so lovely, and delicious food. Then we had so many amazing friends that have been around our lives that blessed us with wonderful gifts that helped us get ready for our little girls. I think how blessed I am to have such wonderful people in my life and excited for my little girl to be that blessed to have so many people that will love her and be apart of her life, is so wonderful. After the shower, I have been organizing and finishing the nursery. We found a great light fixture on clearance (My favorite aisles), we picked up the changing table, and have been moving things around the room.
Here is a picture from our shower with my mom and Celia


Here is our light fixture for the nursery

10 Reasons I know I am pregnant!!

So last night I was talking to Matthew and we were talking about how all these things changed so I decided to do a top ten list.

1. The obvious is the huge ball that is growing from my stomach. That went from people thinking I was just gaining weight because I got married and too afraid to ask to now complete strangers coming and touching my belly.

2. My gums bleed everytime I brush my teeth... I know I find it terribly gross to spit blood out everytime I brush but not much I can do about it unless I went without brushing and that seems even more gross.

3. My husband feels need to hold on to me if I am walking anywhere outside with snow or ice even if the sidewalk is clear. Not only hold on to me but he feels I need an extra push or hoist in, if I am getting in a truck.

4. I have more doctor's appt. on my calendar than any other event and all the staff and dr's begin to follow your personal life as much they do your pregnancy.

5. Anytime I am carrying more than a piece of paper, people give me a look like should you really be doing that... And most people take what I am carrying out of my hand.

6. On my side of the bed I have 4 or 5 pregnacy books, 2 books on a names (which we do not have yet), a few books on infants and caring for them, books on infants and sleeping, a fetal heart monitor, stretch mark lotion, tissues to blow my nose since I wake up every morning congested, and tylenol (since that is all that I can take for pain and headaches).

7. I have now started collecting coupons for diapers, wipes, and any other baby supplies. I also look at moms in public to see what products they use on their infants and go home to see if I registered for them.

8. It is no longer exciting to buy things for me when I can buy things for the baby. Pretty sure that the babies room will look nicer than our bedroom when it is all said and done. And I now have a need to be really crafty and make things to save money.

9. It is terrible hard to sleep in the same position for more than an hour so I am constantly waking up uncomfortable and switching positions. As well as waking up on average 4 times to go to the bathroom.

10. Finally there is always constantly a pain in a bone or muscle in my body. Whether it be my ribs, my back, my sides, or my skin hurts.

I am now 29 weeks and only 11 to go. It will be here before we know it. Baby is around 3 lbs and said to be the size of a squash. I went to the dr and he said she seems to be doing very well. She is breeched at the moment and we are hoping she switches positions. I explained to the dr. that I would rather not have a c-section since recovery time is said to be much longer. I also told him I did not want to tear or have an episiotomy and my goal was not to get an epidural but if the pain was too much I was not opposed to the idea. The dr. thinks that it is funny that I am very specific on my request and I said well, I know that I may not get them all but I might as well voice them because you never know God could answer every single one of them. The dr. is going to monitor her position and then around 35 or 36 weeks do an ultrasound to see where she has decided to end up. But the good news is she is healthy active, and the dr. found it hilarious that she would move anytime I would talk to her during the appt. but didn't budge until I told her I needed her to kick.

Snowed in Means lots of time for Baby Preparations

This week, we were hit with a blizzard, as I am sure most of you were. We got 24 inches of snow and in some places the wind blew the snow as high as 5 feet. Most people would go stir crazy being snowed in for 3 days (I am still unable to get my car out of the garage) but I used it for baby preparations. Over the weekend I had bought paint samples and painted each wall a different color to choose the perfect color to paint the nursery. Everyone voted, then Matthew and I made our decision. Hearing about the blizzard I picked up the paint on Sunday so if it did snow I could use my time wisely. On Tues. Matthew went out to snow plow and I followed strict concern of me not going outside in the terribly weather and began painted. I painted the whole room, then began cutting in at the baseboards and when I began cutting in at the molding after one wall I ran out of paint. So sadly, I will not share pictures because the room is still in disarray waiting for more paint but 90% of it is painted. Matthew and I love the color and think it will match the bedding perfectly. Wed. and Thur. were also productive days because I walked (since driving is not even feasible) to my mom's house and we began working on my bedding. My bedding will look very similar to this picture with a few minor changes, the pattern for the bumper is a little different but the skirt looks exactly like that.

I am going to trim white curtain panels with the same pink on the skirt for the window treatments. My wonderfully hand husband is going to build me a crib canopy. Similar to the one in this picture.

Except I will use white and pink fabric or white and green depending on what will look best.
We have our crib, Matthew and I put it together last weekend and we love it!! It is white and very classy like our little girl will be :-)
The last thing left I am looking for in the nursery is a small elegant chandelier. I am hoping to go to a fixture place in Sprinfield what we love and find one.

I am terribly sorry if decorating a nursery is not that interesting but that has been the topic of my concern so it quickly gets put at the top of the list with Matthew's concern. Mainly because he says if he worries about it with me, he thinks it will help me be less stressed about.... What a great husband he is. But he is also the husband that learned that putting a pot up in the wrong spot or putting the mayo on the wrong cabinet in the refridgerator will drive me crazy until it is in the proper place so he will now ask if he forgets :-)

As far as pregnancy goes I am well into my 28th week, which means third trimester for me. If my ribs are not aching and I do not have to be in the same position for a long time, I forget that I have a huge belly that is only getting bigger. Pregnancy has not slowed me down too much and is a million times better since the first 12 weeks. I luckily had not had any swelling but my back does ache alot more than normal which means that our jacuzzi tub as really paid off. Matthew argued with me about buying it and I think he now is thankful he gave in for my comfort :-) Our baby is quite the mover and Matthew loves to watch her kick out my stomach as she moves around. I went from every 3 weeks to every 2 weeks on dr.'s visits. Baby has been head down the last 2 dr.'s visits and the dr. thinks she will stay that way. He is also predicting an early labor due to the way my body is built and how it reacts to the extra weight. I told him I wanted the baby to weight 5 lbs 10 ozs since 5 lbs 8 ozs is considered low birth weight. He laughed at me and asked if I wanted to pick the day I go into labor as well. I told him it would be nice.

All Baby preparations now

Now, that we have returned from vacation, our last vacation as just Matthew and I we are all baby preparation. It seems as we are getting closer and closer to our due date, more of our conversations are about baby and preparations for baby. Today, we registered at Walmart and next week we are going to register at Babies R Us. Matthew enjoyed scanning things and thought we should register for everything they had :-)

We have been on the search for the perfect crib and will hopefully decide and order by next week. We also got paint samples and are narrowing our search on bedding. We bought a travel system stroller and car seat combo, that we got an amazing deal on.


Matthew can now feel our little one kick and move and can not believe how active she is. He will now continually ask if she is moving and will want to feel her :-)

As we are getting the nursery together we also have been working on several odd jobs on the house as well. Lots of painting projects and trimming out of things. Hoping to get as much done as possible. I have the feeling we will not have this much time after she arrives. Matthew's favorite phrase to say when we are at a restaurant with children sitting near by is, "We better enjoy the peace and quiet now."
Fireplace Matthew is working on right now


Went to the doctor this week and he said everything looks great. I also had my glucose test this week and will get the results next week sometime. No one told me I had to drink 12 ounces in 5 mins. Goodness, I was not sure if I could do it but I was successful!! The doctor asked what kind of childbirth I wanted, I told him I would attempt all natural and he then asked if I knew what that ment. I smiled and said yes. I said I am not opposed to an epidural but I do not want it if I didn't need it. He said most women are one way or the other thought it was an interesting take. Now only 2 more weeks till my next appointment. I feel like I see my doctor more than anyone else.

It's a.....

If you have not heard, we are having a little girl. We have not chose any names yet we are waiting for the perfect name that will match her. She is now growing at a rapid paces and weighs in about 1.5 lbs. She has began gaining 6 ounces a week. I can definitely tell that she is getting bigger and her kicks are a little more forceful and sometimes surprise me.

I have neglected blogging because I was enjoying the holidays with the husband and family. It was so fun to start family traditions in our little family, that we will continue doing each year. The little one got just as many Christmas presents as I did.

We are starting to plan out the nursery. Right now it is an all white room waiting to be decorated. We are not going to do a themed room but I do not I want a real pretty chandelier (with a dimmer), a white floor rug, and I plan on put cute sayings and pictures on the wall. I am going to do all white furniture but I have not chose bedding or a wall color, still contemplating on that one. I will put pictures of the two nurseries I like up. I would change things in both of them to make them a little more our style and put our decorative touch on it.





We have started looking on baby furniture and reading the consumer reports on all of the different furniture we like. We hope to buy a crib this month and have bedding picked out. My mom is willing to make the bedding if I can not find a good deal on it.

I have started getting very excited and impatient for our little girl to arrive. I am also glad that we have 4 months to prepare for our little one. Lots to do to get everything ready for her.

Choosing a name, What a job!!

Our little one is 19 weeks and is the size of a mango.

It is 6 inches and 8.5 ounces. I now feel baby moving, not all the time usually at night after I have laid in bed for a little while. I think I am way to active during the day to feel it. The first time I felt baby move, I knew it was a different feeling that I had never felt before and anticipated it again just to make sure I was right. Now, I feel the baby moving almost every night several times. Baby is growing and so am I, I had a dr's appt this week and I have gained 5 pounds and my stomach is 8 inches wider than when I started. The Dr. said he thinks baby is doing well and has a strong healthy heart rate.

The appointment was scheduled at the end of the month to find out what I am having. Any guesses as to what you think I am having? Matthew wants a boy but told me just the other day he thinks we are having a girl. I have no feeling either way as to what I am having. But what ever old wives tales say, I seem to be carrying high, I was very sick, and the baby's heartbeat has been high. Well after I found out less than a month I would know if it was a girl or a boy I started researching names. I read an entire book of names and their meanings this week and wrote down all of the names I liked. I read the names to Matthew and he said, "What country are you raising this baby in?" Then did not give me any suggestions. I have however decided that unless we feel really strongly about a name, I would rather not name the baby until I see him or her. I think you can gather alot more about this person's identity in one meeting and their name should fit them!! Therefore, we are not about any jr. or the 2nds because we want a baby to have it's own identity. As, I have spent several hours researching names, I decided it is quite a big job to name someone! Maybe not as big of a job as rasing the person you name but a big job.

After Christmas we will be in full swing of decorating the nursery and buying furniture. As well as a package of diapers a week, Matthew thought this was a silly idea at first, he said they probably go through only 3 or 4 a day. I then shared the truth with him and he decided my over compulsive planning and desire to plan the future which usually annoys him may not be such a bad idea :-) I asked for a rocking chair for Christmas from Matthew for the nursery and even sent him pictures to his email so hopefully he catches on to my not so settle hints :-)