Update - July 13th

We are now making weekly visits to Dr. Wiley, our OBGYN to check the progress of effacement and dialation.  So far I have been checked twice and there is no progress, though I am feeling PLENTY of pressure and some decent contractions every now and then.  According to Dr. Wiley, my cervix is being stubborn.... I hope that tomorrow, at our next appointment there is some progress.  I have been told to walk, get pedicures, eat italian and/or spicy food, among other (not to be named) suggestions to get things going.  Not Working For Me.  I am doing all of these things with no progress or luck in that department.  We are having a sonogram to measure the fetal weight of the baby tomorrow, which should give us a better idea of when we can induce and if it's favorable for me to do so.  We will keep everyone updated.

We have also been talking about how we will go about announcing the birth, who and how we alert people about labor and delivery.  This is still in the works....  I imagine that the type and manner of birth we have will dictate whether or not we will be eager to have guests at the hospital.  Of course, we will want all of our family present, but as far as friends, we just don't know at this point what will be comfortable for us.  I imagine if this is something we would like, we can form a text or email to mention where we are located so that visitors will know where to go.  We are delivering at Harris downtown, but will more specifically give our location at the hospital.

A friend of mine just had a baby boy (and he's so cute) on July 3rd.  She said that it really does take a week atleast to get your feet back underneath you.  As she explained, labor is exhausting and even with the full time care of her mother for the first week together at home, it's simply hard work to feed, change, burp, etc around the clock.  We are hoping to get as much sleep at home during this time with as few interruptions as possible.  That said, we are also really excited about intriducing the little girl or guy to everyone.  We have a care calendar set up for dinners, which will be super helpful and also a great time for visitors.

Big Brother Russ

So here we are, thinking that Matt and I would be bringing home the newest member of our family....

But much to our surprise and happiness.....

 Two six week old Golden Retriever puppies! 

Brother & Sister pair.  John, we have been replaced!!!

My parents got them from a breeder in Boerne about a month ago and they are C-U-T-E!  I don't know if they are still working on names, but favorites of the ones they mentioned are Trixie and Griffin.  Scout would be really cute as well for the boy.  Macy is also in the running for the little girl.  She definitely has a Trixie personality!  One of them broke in the white rug in the nursery, but thanks to Spot Shot, it still looks like new. 

This picture is so funny to me b/c it doesn't look like him at all.  He is definitely making a face of disapproval.  Probably from the lack of grass in our backyard.  Russ was looking and smelling like an old stinky dog, so Matt and I purchased a baby pool for him and had a fun mud day in the backyard, followed by a much needed bath, haircut, furminator session and towel dry.

Still wearing his $th of July flare!

For those who don't know Russ, he enjoys a tennis ball, but LOVES footballs and basketballs.  His favorite toys are the soft animals, which he quickly opens and removes the stuffing.  Right now our house is full of ducks! 

Russ is such a sweet and good dog, having a great day with his dad!

We also managed to capture a few pictures of his bath, which he enjoys as much as any Spa-goer!  We made sure to get all the burrs out and that every inch of his body was lathered.  He smells so good now!  It actually took some years off of him.  Matt and I laugh at how a bath and grooming actually makes him "prance" more!

The ear massage, $5.00 extra!

It was a fun day spent spoiling our FIRST child! 

Russ was a gift to me from Matt for our 1 year anniversary. 

Hard to believe he is going to be 9 years old in October!

Work in Progress

I just wanted to add a few pictures of the work we did to get the nursery ready for Baby Opitz!



As the Study/Storage area





Matt and John Painting the crib & changing table




Opening the crib




And it's the right color white, Success!



Step one, read directions :)



Step two, hold all pieces of the crib in the air while assembling



And done!

The Glider and ottoman, so comfy! 
I made the pillow in the chair to match the tummy time blanket in the next pic.

Getting a game plan for what-goes-where

Realizing that the bows need to come off and be sewn in different locations...

new bows!

Family Baby Shower

We had our second and final baby shower on June 17th, the day before Father's Day.  It was so nice having our families in town to share our excitment for Baby Opitz!  There are so many things that you need for a baby, I'm amazed how people have been having babies for so many years without all of these new must-have items!  I keep reminding myself of this right before I go overboard on baby stuff!  Not knowing the gender has made it easier to keep my spending habits at bay.  We are really appreciative and thankful for not only the gifts from the shower, but also the love and support from our family. 

This is us at 36 weeks!

 



The cake from the shower was ADORABLE and made me tear up when I saw it because it was soooo cute!  The picture says it all!  Yes, those are baby toes poking out from under a baby blanket!  The cake was delicious as well.

That's Just Swell!

I'm not just refering to my fingers, toes, and ankles!  While the hot weather has brought on some serious swelling of my extremeties, it makes a visit to the pool all the more enjoyable!  We have been frequenting the pool (and the frozen pink lemonades) and LOVING it!  My doc says that fruits such as papaya and other melons help reduce swelling naturally, so we are headed to the grocery tonight to stock up.

The other wonderful news is that the nursery is FINALLY FINISHED!  With a few final touches, we are ready to bring this baby home.  I am loving the simplicity of the room and the flexibility that we will have once we move.  The seersucker pillows and crib skirt play such a large part in the gender neutral pallete even though it is blue and white.  It's subtle and sweet - just what we were hoping for. 

 Minus the bag of trash hanging from the cabinet. 

We keep the stroller to the right of the changing table.

The crib! 

I made the blanket draped across the back out of linen, tummy time! 

The crib skirt is seersucker with matching blue bows. 

The bumber has piping detail in the same color. 

And the wall space above still needs something....

The ties for the bumper were in places that didn't quite work with the crib slats, so I used my trusty sewing machine to move them which also made the bumper more secure when tied on.  What do you think? 
We put together our swing and bouncer (oh so cute!) and are learning about the carseat and stroller. Our next feat is to assemble our jogging stroller and set up the pack-n-play in our bedroom.

The swing and bounce seat

Since this picture, we added a white table skirt and moved the bolts of fabric. 

It feels like a room more than a storage area now :)

Russ is excited about Baby Opitz!  Don't you love his festive July 4th Flare?

Yes, we are first time parents, hints the primarily white room.  But before you judge, we are moving in the beginning of November so think of it as temporary until we can get a gender-specific color on the nursery wall. Also, white is easy to clean!  BTW, I just tried Baby Oxy Clean last night on my husbands dress shirt (avacado) and it works GREAT!
I haven't really had any serious cravings for anything in particular through the pregnancy.  I prefer different foods than I used to, like sweets and dairy.  One thing I think about and wish I had is the Green Sauce from Mamacita's in Kerrville.  There really isn't anything like it and I grew up on this fatty goodness.  My parents just brought my four quarts (one is already gone) with Mamacita's homemade tortillas, what a treat!

The Crib Diaries.... 
Unless you are interested in refinishing a piece of furniture, or paint, I might bore you here...   feel free to skip this section.  After a painfully long debacle about the crib we tried to paint ourselves, which our family had given us, we ended up purchasing a new one.  The bottom line is, if you want to refinish a piece of furniture that has any detail to it, it should probably done professionally.  I'm all for a DIY project, which is what Matt really wanted to do for our little one, but sometimes it makes more sense to spend your efforts on other things.  If your goal is to save money then consider this: When you figure the cost of paint and tools plus the time it takes to do this yourself plus ruining your favorite old T-shirt, it's less expensive to have a professional do it.  "What Did Ya Learn?"  Don't use Behr paint.  Ever.  Especially the primer and paint in one....  I'm officially anti-Behr and Home Depot recommendations.  The paint guy at Home Depot sold Matt on this product, saying that it was low VOC and great to paint furniture with.  As much as I wanted to use the darling crib that our niece and nephew used, the paint completely ruined the crib.  It continues to peel off in thick layers of what feels like plastic.  I could just imagine walking into the nursery to find flecks of plastic paint in our teething child's mouth from teething on the crib rail.  Instead of Behr, use the Benjamin Moore Natura paint, which is VOC free, dries more efficiently and doesn't chip or peel.  It was a big improvement to the crib, however, the damage by Behr had been done to two sides that now need to be completely stripped.  The good news is, Matt found a darling crib that will grow with the baby by turning into a toddler bed.  SOOO glad to be finished with the crib! 

Here's a pic of the one we attempted to paint... it was really cute.