More nursery progress

This weekend, Tito and I took it upon ourselves to assemble the crib. So the two pieces of furniture that are in there (crib and glider) are now assembled. We put a shelf in there from our livingroom basically because we needed to make room for the tree. We will be replacing that shelf with another one (of the same color as the rest of the furniture) sometime soon. Also, we'll be buying a dresser and staining it to match (turned out to be the best deal) to use as a dresser/storage and a changing table.

Here are photos from the crib assembly:


Time to finally open the box that's been sitting here for a month!


Being an engineer...taking a smoothie break while reading the instructions.


All of the pieces out and ready to be assembled.


Almost done! This crib also converts to a toddler bed, day bed and eventually a full size bed. We plan on using it for the baby as a crib and toddler bed, and after that, he'll either use it as a full size bed or we'll use the full size bed as a guest bed and get a twin bed for him (or it'll be used for baby #2?)


Finished product and a very proud daddy to be!

23 Weeks! (plus a few days...sorry this is late!)

How Far Along: 23 weeks and 3 days (116 more days to go!)

What "They" Say About Our Baby's Development:

How your baby's growing: Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With his sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that he's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound, you may be able to see him squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing him for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze him when he hears them outside the womb.

Weekly Food Comparison: A large mango

The Good: LOTS of movement, more at night than during the day. Kicking, punching and squirming.

The Bad: Heartburn

The Weird: Nothing this week

Currently Craving/Avoiding:

Avoiding: Too much sugar

Craving: Pickles, protein and carbs

Doctor Updates: Appointment is tomorrow.

The Weekly Belly Bump: Here's the 23 week belly!

Diaper Bag...

First of all, can I say I love craigslist? Seriously, being able to get practically new things (sometimes) for 1/3 of the price? So nice!

I hadn't given much thought to a diaper bag other than I wanted something durable, looked cute, was easy to clean and wouldn't fall apart after a few months. I'd looked online and the cheaper bags all had bad reviews for durability. And I didn't want to spend $100 plus on a bag that would literally get crap on it possibly. A couple of weeks ago, I saw a friend of a friend who had the Fleurville "Mothership" bag. I commented on how I liked its size. She said that it was great, stood up on its own, etc. Then I noticed it was covered in a sort of vinyl which still looked good but meant durable and easy to clean. She highly recommended it. So I Googled it and of course found that the bag was $150 new. On some sites more. I just didn't know about that (being the bargain shopper that I am!) So I decided to try craigslist. And there was a woman selling one for $50 close to my work.

On Monday, I went over there and looked at it. She mentioned to me that she'd bought it from someone on craigslist who only used it for a few months and then switched to something else. This woman had never even used it after realizing it was too big for her needs. The bag was in mint condition. No stains, rips, tears, or whatever. So I said I'd take it and happily brought it home with me. I am glad to have yet another "thing" knocked off my list!

And I love the colors...not too "girl" and not too "boy" meaning I could get away with using it for another kid if we had either.

Bag interior...comes with plenty of pockets, a fold out changing pad and a bag for wipes, plus a key chain clip.

Nursery info

So I've been somewhat busy...bought the fabric for the quilt and the bumper. My mom is making these, which will be a great addition and something personal.

I also put together the glider and ottoman this weekend also. Took some time to sit in it (it's very, very comfortable!) as did Tito, and we both agreed it was a good purchase!

Here are some photos:

This is the bumper fabric...the chocolate brown will be the top "stripe" of fabric and the blue will be the bottom 2/3 of the bumper. There will be airplanes that are doing "loop de loops" on the bumper in a light green fabric and a blue with stars fabric.

This is the bumper ribbon which will hold it on the crib

This is the photo from the pattern...this is the bumper, and how it will look (chocolate brown on the top and bluee on the bottom.) Don't pay attention to the flowers...those will be the green ribbon instead.)

This is the idea for the quilt, but will be in the following fabrics:

Chocolate brown will be the outer "stripe" and the backing, khaki will be the inner "stripe" and stars and blue material will be the center of the front of the quilt. Will have planes doing loop de loops (with applique tail marks and loops sewn on) in the green material and light blue material.
These are the plane colors. This green is lighter in person and compliments more than this photo shows (looks more "pea" green on my computer which it's not!)

Here are the photos of the glider and table:
The side table I got for next to the glider...got it for a steal ($10!) at Target this weekend

One of these things did not come from Amazon.com.... :) Monet decided to help with assembling the glider...I didn't realize she'd snuck in there until I went back to get another piece of of the box...

Glider and ottoman set up in the corner with the side table

Finished! Added the soft blanket I found at Marshall's for $8 awhile back...complete with airplane (and same colors as the quilt my mom is making him!)

Now we just need to put together the crib, buy the mattress, bookshelf and dresser/changing table and then add some accessories. I plan on getting some frames for some art I've made (days of the week in Spanish and English, as well as his name banner and also get a few floating shelves for above the dresser/changing table to display things on. It's slowly coming together!

22 weeks!

How Far Along: 22 weeks (126 more days to go!)

What "They" Say About Our Baby's Development: At 11 inches and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

Weekly Food Comparison: A spaghetti squash

The Good: Still a very active baby, kicking and punching up a storm!

The Bad: Gagging and dry heaving in the morning when brushing my teeth, getting harder to sleep comfortably, getting up on average three times in the night to go to the bathroom

The Weird: Nothing odd this week

Currently Craving/Avoiding:

Avoiding: Too much sugar

Craving: McDonald's hamburgers (only McDonald's, no other will do!), pickle spears (I definitely have a craving for carbs and salty/sour foods...which old wives tales would say mean I'm having a boy...cravings for sweets indicate a girl according to them...and I have a hard time with sweets now, which is VERY unusual for me - I never missed dessert pre-pregnancy! I guess it's good as it's keeping my weight at bay! Have only gained 10lbs. so far.)

Doctor Updates: No updates this week. Next appointment is on December 1st.

The Weekly Belly Bump: Here's the 22 week belly! This baby is definitely taking up more room than he used to!

21 weeks!

How Far Along: 21 weeks (133 more days to go!)

What "They" Say About Our Baby's Development: Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long. You may soon feel like he's practicing martial arts as his initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to his activity as you get to know him better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now.

Weekly Food Comparison: A carrot! Yum!

The Good: Tons of kicking this week! We can both feel the kicks from the outside and see them now!

The Bad: Nausea came back for a couple of days...

The Weird: Nothing odd this week

Currently Craving/Avoiding:

Avoiding: String cheese (I don't know if I'll ever like this again)

Craving: Carbs, chocolate, spicy foods

Doctor Updates: No updates this week. Having another ultrasound in a couple of weeks to hopefully see his right ventricular output and umbilical cord insertion spot since he didn't cooperate and show it to us the last time!

The Weekly Belly Bump: Here's the 21 week belly! Definitely a baby belly now!

Some clothes for Baby D

After being pretty disappointed in the "cute clothes" for baby boys at Marshall's last week (everything was baby blue or green, and covered in lambs, or safari animals or baseballs) I decided to check out Gymboree the other day because I got a coupon in the mail for 30% off. I didn't get much, but saw these three items in the clearance section and had to pick them up for our little man...

Cute little striped Oxford shirt for when he's a little bigger (bought it in 3-6 month size)


Biplane shirt (also got this in 3-6 months)


The only thing I got in 0-3 month size because they were so darn cute and he'd wear them right from day one...love the airplanes! :)

I'm trying to limit myself on buying clothes because I know that's what people like to buy. But these were too cute, and too cheap not to snap up! Our little guy is definitely going to be an "airplane" boy (whether he likes it or not) at least in the beginning! I did keep myself from ordering the really cute dinosaur sweater...and saw on another site that they had some cute "monster" stuff.

Crib and Glider are in!

We originally were looking at the Graco Ashleigh convertible crib (non-drop side) in cherry. Saturday when we looked on Amazon it was on sale for $127! So we decided to buy it today, since Tito had to go to work to get his code for his Amazon coupon since it was in his work email. Well when I logged on, it wasn't on sale anymore and was back up to original price of $199. Still a good deal, but we were in love with it more when it was cheaper! I looked at other Graco cribs and they had the Sarah non drop sided crib with slatted ends, not solid ends. I liked it but wasn't in love with it. So I looked around some more and ended up finding this crib:


Stork Craft Tuscany in Espresso

Loved this style from the beginning. Converts to a toddler bed, day bed and eventually a double bed (although we're not sure we'll use that option.) On sale for $140...looked around a lot online and found it for $250 and up. Read the reviews and it got 5 and 6 stars everywhere. It's not cherry like Tito wanted, but espresso. Similar enough in my mind, and I preferred this color anyway first. Definitely good for a boy but also would be good for any possible future girls.


Also got this glider/rocker and ottoman in espresso/beige:


Storkcraft Tuscany Glider in Beige/Espresso

We'd tried it out in Babies R Us and liked it a lot. Wide enough in the seat, and had the important cushions on the arms (in my opinion). The best part was the free shipping from our Amazon Prime account! Both arrived within days, and days ahead of scheduled delivery!

The room is a blank slate right now, waiting for some furniture to fill it! Next up is a dresser and a small, two level shelf for books and toys.

Probably the coolest and weirdest thing so far in this pregnancy are the little baby kicks I'm feeling. This little guy is SO active. Yesterday, I felt kicks pretty consistently all day, and at night, when I was laying in bed, had my hands on my belly while watching tv. Tito came home and I asked him to come over and feel my tummy to see if he could feel the kick from the outside because I sure could!

He had to run and check on dinner and when he came back, I'd pulled my shirt up to expose my belly and I was literally watching the kicks from the outside. He didn't believe me, because of course, when he looked, he said he didn't see anything. So I said "just wait..." So after a few seconds, Tito said close to my belly "Santi, can you kick for daddy?" and after a second my belly did a little jump. He didn't know if it was me breathing or not, so I held my breath and then another second later, there were two kicks, right in a row that made my belly move. The look on Tito's face was so funny.

Definitely weird to see the movements from the outside, but this little guy is definitely letting us know that he's there. And he's so active...we were wondering last night if that was going to be any indication of how he'd be on the outside. He's got good, strong kicks already too, at just under 21 weeks. Hopefully he's kind as he gets bigger and doesn't kick too hard!

New place!

So we're officially moved in..hosting book club at the new place was great motivation to get things in order! All but 4 things are hung on the walls (three frames and one shelf, which I couldn't hang because I have an issue with hanging things that require more than one nail. I can't ever seem to get them straight! So I leave that to my "technician/engineer" Tito.) :)

How about a tour??



Come on in...take off your jacket...and shoes! We're a "shoe free" house now officially, so all shoes end up here.



Hallway as you enter leading to the bedrooms, closet and guest bath



Hallway to the kitchen, dining room and living room. Our laundry area is now in a closet to the right (we do miss our huge laundry room from the other place!)



Kitchen to your right...even though it's still a galley kitchen I love how much larger it seems. I think it's having the sink on a corner. And we have more counter space which is awesome.



Looking into the kitchen from the breakfast bar area



Living room area



Living room with the fireplace (we're not in love with the mirror above the fireplace so I tried to minimize it's garishness by adding the wreath..at least it's distracting!)



Living room looking into the dining area



Dining room



Walking back through the hall brings you to the study. This will also be our guest room when in- laws come to visit.



Looking around the study...the desk and one bookshelf



Last view of the study (not shown is the huge closet that stores my crafts, some Christmas decorations, some extra "storage items", and extra coats.)



Guest bathroom...the cat box has to go in here since we lost our laundry room, but it's ok.



Down at the end of the hall is the master bedroom (we lost just a little space in this room compared to our last place, but that was ok.) Also lost one closet so we now share but I've made it all fit.



Master bath. We are so happy to have a tub in both bathrooms! The cats like it too as they always like to wait for us in the bathroom while we shower, but now they actually get up on the sides of the tub and "peer" in (a little freaky but funny too...I'm waiting for the day one of them falls in!)



Back off of the living room is the porch with storage. Epi loves being out here. When we open the door, she comes running! We like that we're on the 2nd floor now so we can safely let them out there and don't have to worry about them jumping. Also, they can see out and everything so they love that. They'll peer their heads through the slats and look around..



Monet out on the porch. We think we're either going to hang the bikes or get a storage shed on the property for them...especially in the summer when we'll be out there TONS more.

The place overlooks a grassy area with a playground and picnic tables. I think we'll definitely be using that this summer as well!

Thanks for stopping in...didn't show the nursery as it's an empty room with two big boxes in it right now. Will be working over the next couple of months on that!