My Sweet Girl

Here are some shots I just found that Joe's brother, Don, took of Lucy while he and Sara watched the girl one of those warm nights in March. Love these pics & this family. So thankful they live so close to us and can't wait for their sweet twins to come home this summer, Lord willing!

Room makeover

With baby #2 on the way, we decided to change the den/"man cave"/guest room into Lucy's new room and keep the nursery for the new little one since it's gender neutral and all.
We are still working on it but we are thrilled with how it's turned out so far. Found this rug 1/2 off at the meijer by my parents house, the crib was given to us (thanks ashley!!), just picked up an ikea piece to put a changing pad on and to hold a lamp, diapers, etc and then toys and clothes in the bins & openings.
I knew I wanted a lavender room for a girl even back before Lucy came, so finally I'm seeing it come to fruition!!
Here's some pics of the room in progress and sadly can't find any pics of the den before :(

loving her new crib already, just after daddy put it together :)

loves watching birdies outside

rocker from my parents

ikea piece

20 week update

20 week update

How far along: 20 weeks - they kept my due date at sept 2, so I lost a week - I don't personally agree because they are still basing that on my 7 week ultrasound, not on my 9 week or my 20 week or my cycle, plus they say if it's close to a week off, they won't change it....hmmm. So if this one goes early like Lucy, could be August 10 or if late and Sept 2 is an accurate due date, could be sept 10, so basically have to be ready to go at any moment for a whole month?!?!

Total weight gain: up one pound - with that said, I was heavier than I should have been when I got pregnant :)

Best moments this month: the ultrasound, though short, was very sweet and surreal. SO thankful that everything looks good, baby is growing well and moving LOTS. Heard the heartbeat again yesterday - 155 but Dr. could barely get it, little one was moving around constantly.

Food cravings: not much, though wanting more sweets and ice cream, etc more than in the past 4 months...

Gender: Though it was a tough call - we both were questioning if we should find out or not a little - in the end we didn't :)

Belly button in or out: wouldn't say it's much of an inny anymore, though not out...yet....eeks

Labor signs: nope

What I miss: not much, though I am feeling quite round and big in my belly lately! i know its a good thing though :)

What I am looking forward to: Joe being done teaching his class at the college. In a couple weeks we will have a lot more evenings together, hooray! Just in time for the nice weather. Am hoping for lots of walks into town, to the popcorn shop, summer concerts in the park, for ice cream, to the outdoor market...!

Milestones: seeing the baby on the ultrasound screen, reaching the halfway mark, seeing the growth of the little one through my belly growing, the baby getting to 1 lb. All wonderful things!

18/19 weeks

19 weeks

20 weeks

21 week ultrasound!!!

The day has finally arrived and we got to see our 2nd little one on a screen. Didn't get too long to look because the technician was a little backed up with appointments but he did a really good job, was very thorough and it was so fun to see the little guy or girl. Everything looks good and right on track for 21 weeks. Baby is 14 ounces, heartbeat was 153.
Here are some photos and I will post another detailed update after my thursday appointment! :)

it's a straight on view of the face, no profile shots :(

Garden Help & Tips

Any Green Thumbs out there??

I have heard some conflicting things about when to plant since the weather has been so warm. Does anyone know?? I found this chart on when to plant in IL and it seems helpful with a lot of veggies listed and dates. But would love to get ideas or tips from anyone also on what has bee successful in your gardens since I'd like to branch out from just doing tomatoes and squash this year. Thanks in advance for any comments!

http://web.extension.illinois.edu/vegguide/step06.cfm

Also, I read a fun blog post on growing flower seedlings inside and how much money it can save you in buying flowers AND sounds like a super fun project to do with kiddos. So I'm planning on it for next year!

http://smamak.blogspot.com/2012/03/our-lifestyle-seedlings.html

Spring: Cleaning, Planting and Being Outside

Here's a few pics of projects I've been working on around the house.

1. Taking all breakables off of the shelves and replacing with baskets to try to make a system of where things go since we will be losing an office when Lucy gets her new room.

Oh and we got a new piece of art that I really like - sorry it's dark - got 2 bulbs out on the chandelier...oops

2. Cleaning the clutter off of the table and trying to mix cute with practical. My mission for this spring is definitely to de-clutter since that's my never-ending problem. (Napkins are in the little box)

3. Planting my window boxes and some planters since my window boxes still had Winter stuff in them and that just seems SO wrong when it's 85 degrees outside. I got them planted right before a storm and it was a lot of fun! Aren't they pretty pansies??

(sorry another dark pic - taken at 7:30 p.m.) :)

4. We got the cheapest patio set at Costco and some cute cushions and I'm definitely liking it. Just set it up last night - still have a lot I'd like to do out there. But it's a start!!

5. Have had a few fires out back - hot dogs, marshmallows, etc. Fun times. We all love being out there! :)