Are we there yet???

Well, as of today I am 33 weeks and 1 day pregnant... which leaves 48 days left until D-Day - but who's counting??? This belly is getting bigger by the day, and our little guy seems to be getting more and more squirmy as room runs out. It's hard to believe I still have about 7 weeks left to grow bigger! Here are a few funny pregnancy things I've noticed lately:

• No matter what I eat, I gurgle, burp and hiccup uncontrollably.


• Sometimes when I'm sitting at work I can watch the baby kick me - my stomach jumps all over the place.


• Reaching my toes is getting to be almost impossible, and I certainly can't see my feel while standing up.


• I am starting to waddle... and it's definitely not pretty.

• I constantly want food - but after eating a few bites I feel full (no room in there for my stomach anymore).



• I can't put my hands over my head and breathe... (no room for my lungs either!)



• Though he will be quiet for hours, as soon as I want to fall asleep the baby starts kicking.



• Poor Ryan is required to be very patient with the tears, laughs, and crazy hormones... he never knows what he's going to get from me next!

At my baby shower last weekend, a friend asked how it felt to have a little one growing inside of me. She wanted to know if it was a strange sensation that took getting used to. I told her that I definitely went through a stage where it was very odd to know there was someone alive inside of me, moving around. Almost like a fish in a fishbowl! That took adjustment. Then I told my friend that a couple months ago I hit the stage where I realized this someone inside me was getting much bigger and would somehow have to come out! Talk about frightening! A mother of four who was listening to our conversation piped in and said, "Pretty soon you'll get to the point where you'll want him out so badly, you don't care how it happens, as long as he gets out!!!!". I can see God moving me in that direction already! It's amazing how He prepares us for the miracle of childbirth and gives us 9 months to get ready.

Stay tuned for pictures of the nursery... we are steadily making progress!

Home Sweet Home... Is a whole lot of work!

The past five months or so of our lives have been mostly consumed with our house. We bought a brick cape style home that was built in 1953 and basically hadn't been updated since 1953... except for the circa 1970 paneling that covered the upstairs. We closed on the house May 9th with starry eyes full of excitement at making our first house our own. We still are starry eyed, but we think it's more from the masses of money spent at Home Depot and Lowes and the late nights trying to get as much done as possible before the baby comes. I have learned that I am married to a VERY handy man... even if every project takes 5x as long as we think and is at least 3x as expensive. Here are a few pictures of what we've done...We haven't changed anything about the outside yet. Next spring will be landscaping!

These cabinets were knotty pine - Ryan painted and replaced the hardware...we still have counter and floor to replace at some point! (And eventually new appliances. :))
The dining room was one of the easiest rooms to fix - all it needed was paint and a new light fixture to replace the sputnik looking chandelier that was there before.

We've never had a fireplace before so this year we're looking forward to chilly New England nights this year! The living room is pretty cozy and we enjoy this room a lot.

While it looks like not much has been done to our bedroom, looks can be deceiving. Even Kiwi is exhausted from our efforts! The walls were covered in dark paneling... First we stripped the paneling, then the wallpaper underneath. Next we scrubbed the glue off the walls, patched the walls, sanded the walls, patched the walls again, sanded the walls again, washed the walls, used Guardz on the walls to even out the finish, primed and painted... Oh, and replaced all the moulding.

We are in the process of finishing the upstairs bathroom and the the baby's room - same steps due to paneling. Stay posted for more pictures!