Nesting & Lullabies

The Sea a Dream, by: Liz Durrett

Lately, I've been sleeping in lists.
Lists of things to be done,

lists of things to buy, 
lists of people to call, to write, to visit.
Even lists of lists to make.

I don't recommend it.

With 6.5 months down,
and only 3.5 to go until this baby arrives,
the pregnant mind runs wild.
And I think this is what 'nesting' must be.

Because Travis and I have been working in overdrive.
Waking up early; staying up late.

Tying up loose ends. Working on the house to-do's
as well as getting the nursery
prepped, painted, ready for baby.

We figure we should try to do as much as we can now,

while we have the time, and well, while I can still touch my toes.

(Which, judging by this picture, won't be too much longer now.)

SIX MONTHS!!!

And yes, that's a unitard. Don't hate.

Throw on a nice oversized sweater and some boots and call it a day.

Perf for a much needed comfy prego look.

My point?
We are excited, but we are exhausted.

And when I heard this song today, it lulled me.

Like I will soon lull my baby.

A calm overcame me, and I felt better.
About all of it.

It's like it said to me, 
Chill out girl. All will be well.

It'll all get done.

I'm looking forward to that time.
When the lists have been checked,
 and we can relax, rest and savor our time,
just the two of us.
Before two become three.

The Sea a Dream makes me sleepy.

And maybe tonight, I won't sleep in lists.

Sweet dreams readers!

XOXO
Aimee

P.S. Merry Christmas!

Moving Mom

We moved my Mom into her new home last weekend.

This is my sweet Momma.

And although there are tons of things about moving that suck:

The prep. 
The packing for what seems like forever.

Sifting through EVERY LITTLE THING bit by bit.

Wrapping fragile items in newspaper,

and your fingers leaving smudges of gray
 on your face when you go for an itch.

Throwing things away.

And the daily stops to the donation centers,

sending things off to be reused by others.

And OH, the tiring task of moving day itself. 

But amongst the nitty gritty of making a move happen,

there are some sweet moments along the way.

Like the rare moment when all three of
your siblings are in one place at one time,

and it's not a holiday, or a birthday,
or a monumental occasion.

The time you get to spend with your mom,

going through all her things

and laughing and reminiscing about the good old days,

and finding sweet treasures amongst the clutter.

Like these old gems:

Mom as a baby.

School pic. I'm guessing she is like 10 years old?

How cute she is!! 

Mom (right) and a neighborhood friend.

New Rochelle, NY. c. 1955ish.

Mom's parents, James and Emily Egan. 
New York, c. 1935

Finding old letters she received from loved ones,
and brief notes she wrote to herself,
her soft voice transmitting through paper.

Seeing what she keeps on her bedside table.
Things that she wants to read, see, revisit, or touch 

right before she falls asleep at night.

It's an intimate affair. 

Packing up the life of someone you love. 

And for as much work and stress and time it takes,

it's all worth it in the end.

Because when you come out the other side,

it somehow feels like an awakening,

a testament of your beginnings,

a reminder of why you love this woman.

A woman who stands before you,
and who always walks behind you,
supporting everything you do.

Wishing my Mom many, many, many 

more wonderful memories in her new home.

XOXO

Aimee

Music Monday

Last week, we broke out the headphones

and started playing music for our baby.

Studies show that babies start to hear sounds at week 16,

so why not give him some good tunes to enjoy

while he works on his in-utero dance moves?

(Hopefully he takes after his Mama in the dancing department.)

First, we played some Nat King Cole,

and then moved on to Frank Sinatra.

I kept laughing at the idea of good ol' Frank

singing I've Got You Under My Skin.

'Cause, well, you know,

it is quite literal in this case.

And our baby boy loved it!

He was kicking and performing what I 
can only imagine were somersaults.

Travis had his hand on my belly and it was
 fun to see his reaction to his son's enthusiasm.

But of all the songs we played for our lil' guy,
Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World hit home for me. 
Maybe because it really is feeling like a wonderful world these days,
or maybe because it's the song my father and I danced to at my wedding.

Either way, baby,

 that's the good stuff.

Happy Monday readers!


XOXO
Aimee

Half Way There!

I can't believe I am saying this, but . . .

 . . . WE'RE HALF WAY THERE!!

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In fact, we're more than half way there.
I'm 21 weeks...19 more to go! 

To say I'm amazed at how fast it's
flying by is an understatement.
It seems like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant
and I took my first prego pic in my bathroom mirror.

5 weeks.

Every day since, I've been waiting.

Waiting for some trace of looking pregnant.

I kept thinking,
NEXT week I'm going to be huge!

13 weeks. 14 weeks. 15 weeks. 16. 17.
Each went by without a trace of me looking pregnant.
Like I ate one to many cookies? Yes.
Pregnant? No.
[Note: I may or may not have eaten too many cookies.]

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I mean, believe me,
when I was in my skivvies I looked pregnant.
But to the outside world,
no one knew unless I told them.

So I have been really eager to start "looking pregnant."

To feel comfortable rubbing my pregnant belly

and not look like I'm just rubbing out a big lunch.

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Ha! Food baby!

So finally, at a happy 19 weeks,
I started to show a bump.

19 weeks.

Yay!
Who knew having a round belly was such a coveted prize?!

I even started to wear a few of my maternity clothes!

Although I am still able to fit into most of my regular clothes 

(minus my high waisted skinny jeans),
it's been kinda fun to find new ways to dress 'the bump.'

For work:

18 weeks.                               19 weeks.
Please excuse my crappy photography.

For special occassions:

Here's me being all pregnant-like for Thanksgiving. 

Travis cut off my cute shoes in this pic. :(

See cute shoes below:

Right?

For cas:

21 weeks.

I love me some stripes.

Don't believe me?
See exhibit A:

Post-maternity shopping spree stripe addiction realization.

So far I've gained 5 lbs., and baby is now 13 oz.

 And per the baby books, our lil' guy is the size of a carrot.
Aww, hi lil' carrot baby!
[Note: I think it is hilarious that the baby's size is always referred to
 as some type of vegetable or fruit. Last week he was a banana. Ha!]

And the most exciting recent development?

I can feel baby boy moving!

(In fact, he is kicking my insides right now!)

I started feeling "flutters" at 18 weeks.

Specifically, election day.

Maybe he's politically inclined?

It was so subtle, but I knew it was him.
And I was sooo excited.

As the days passed, his movements became
stronger and more consistent. 

And exactly one week later, 

at 19 weeks,
Travis got to feel him kick for the first time!

It was such a fun moment.

Now, three weeks into feeling our lil' guy moving around,
I'm starting to notice a pattern.

He wakes up when I wake up, likes to move around after I eat,

and also really likes it when Travis and I talk to each other.
Awww cute!

Now I find myself with my hand on my belly throughout the day,

just waiting for our lil' guy to say hello.

It makes me extremely happy and a smile always ensues.
And I love love LOVE when Travis puts his hands 
on my belly looking for his lil' guy.

Seriously, my heart could burst. 

Baby bump and baby kicks,
it just makes it all the more real. 
This baby is coming!

And with the holiday season upon us. . .

. . . we find ourselves in the midst of baby room prep,
registries, birthing classes, hospital tours,
doula interviews, baby names and, and, and...

Well, you get the idea.
There is lots to do! 
And I keep telling myself not to freak out over all of it.
It'll all work out.
We have a good 19 weeks left,
and we're so thankful that so far,
baby boy has been so good to his Mama.
I'll be sure to thank him with lots of kisses come April!
I can't wait!!!

Happy Hump Day friends! 

XOXO
Aimee

a home office

Besides planning a nursery for our lil' one,

I'm also in the midst of planning a design for my home office/studio,

and I'm looking to pinterest and tumblr for inspiration.

I am beyond thankful that my boss is allowing me to

 work from home a couple days a week post-maternity leave,

and I am looking forward to creating a space 

that will be functional, comfortable and inspiring.

Here are just some of my favorite home office examples. 

I hope to meld together some of these elements 
using my existing furniture, while adding
a few fun accents here and there.

I admit,

looking at spaces like these make me a bit dreamy,

and I find myself writing stuff like this:

i crave a home office

with bright light shining

through white framed windows.

wooden floors,

planks side by side.

soft paint on walls,

& clever wall art in cute, caring arrangements.

i crave a desk with things

both minimal

and maximal

all in one.

neat, yet full.

i want books (in stacks)

and flowers (in vases)

and paper and pens (sprawled about).

i want things

old and new.

antique and freshly made.

i want it all.

ideas abound.

life inspiring.

color enveloping.

heart throbbing.

now, if i can only just get it.

create it.

make it.

have it.

i'll be content.

I think rainy days also make me dreamy.
There is something to be said for getting cozy in
 boots and scarves to welcome the change of pace.

Happy rainy Thursday friends!

XOXO

Aimee

See above pic sources and my home office inspirations on pinterest.

It's a Boy!

Soooo... we found out!

And we are so excited!
A BOY! 

We would've been happy either way, boy or girl.

But it is soooo amazing to be able
to picture ourselves having a little man! 

If he is anything as cute as Travis was as a kid,
ohhhhh we are in for it.

Travis, 1984ish.

Look at that smile! 

I can't help but love the idea 

of trains and airplanes and fire trucks 

and all the fun things lil' boys like to play with.
 

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And I can't wait to dress my lil' guy.

People often say that girls have cuter clothes options, 
but I have to disagree.

You may have to search a bit harder,

but I'm really diggin' these styles. . .

For the baby boy:

ITCH Moustache Gracious Onesie, baby boy mustache onesie and burp cloth set,

Sourpuss Anchor Tee, Walrus Captain Onesie

What a hip baby! 
What? Too mustache heavy?
I can't help it!
Here's another one for good measure.

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Hehe.

And for the lil' man:

#fashionkids on instagram, and upper right Source

Ummm, the cute factor is high.
I'm obsessed with lil' boys in newsboy caps. 
And sweaters and stripes and plaids and bow ties, 
OH MY!

Our first purchase for our baby boy 
were these adorable Chuck Taylor high tops.

AWWWW!

OK, OK.
Besides dressing our lil' man in stylish duds. . .


. . . I'm also really excited for an active lil' one
that is sure to wear me out.
One who will love to roll around in dirt. . . 

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(I'm going to have to brush up on my stain getter-outter skills.)

One who will love to watch
Monday night football with his Daddy. . .

. . . but still love to make chocolate chip
cookies from scratch with his Mommy.



Because he will find out later in life,
that a boy who bakes will forever impress the ladies.

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I can't wait to see him playing with our eager pups.
OHHH!

And for Summer's filled with sand castles and digging for sand crabs.

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Or seeing him run around in an oversized
soccer uniform and lil' soccer cleats in the Fall. 

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And of course,
seeing him play Little League in the Spring,
just like his Daddy did.

Travis, c. 1989.

I'm excited for all of it.

My brother, Brian, and his lady, Trisha are
expecting a baby girl just a few weeks ahead of us.

Awww! Aren't they super cute?
 

I couldn't be more thrilled to be sharing this experience with them.

They are going to be amazing parents.

It's so perfect that the first grandchildren
in this family are both a boy and a girl.

Cousins close in age, & a boy and girl to be the best of friends!
How fun!

And you guessed it,
pink Chuck Taylors were our first gift to their baby girl! :)
We can't wait to meet her!

Aww, cousin cuteness!

Many blessings all around.

Cheers friends!

XOXO
Aimee