And one more thing...

Happy Valentines Day to my wonderful Hubs of three years!

It's hard to believe that nearly 9 years ago we were drinking Keystone Light and listening to Jimmy Eat World in the Mole Hole of the frat and now I'm typing our blog about preparing for the birth of our child! What a ride we've had! Can't wait for more...

Ti amo per sempre,
A

Operation Nursery

Lately, I have been totally preoccupied in gathering items for the most perfect nursery EVAR! my child's quaint room. Sister J was kind enough to brave the crowds of Ikea with me on Saturday. I intended to go and just look because the Hubs was not with me and I would *never* buy anything for our child without consulting him...yeah right. I came home with a dresser, a lamp, a storage/bookshelf and some more cute elephants--oops! The trip was a bit more stressful because we ended up damaging the dresser before we even left the parking lot. It's because the Hubs wasn't there to help us load the boxes into my car and (thanks to Karma) one of the boxes got caught on a metal thingy (<--technical term) in my car. As I shoved it in, we tore open the box and scratched the paint...craaaaaaap! I went back into the store, with my tail between my legs, and told customer service what happened. They were awesome and said they would bring out another and suggested I have one of their people help load it in. Good call!

Bits and pieces of Peanut's room are slowly coming together except for one part: the bedding. Believe it or not, yellow, gray and white bedding or even just yellow and white bedding DOESN'T EXIST! I'm serious. I've looked everywhere. All the typical baby stores, Target, random sites online--no dice. I'm so set on my color palate that I'm going to start visiting fabric stores to try to find what I want and have it made. Ridiculous? Yes. If you see any in stores, puh-lease let me know!

Here is a little picture I created of some things we have so far and others that I want and still need to be purchased, just to give y'all out there an idea for what I'm envisioning:

1. "Ti Amo Per Sempre" Elephant picture. Purchased on etsy.
2. Glider Rocker and Ottoman by Best Chairs. Have yet to purchase, hoping for a gray color. Saw at Merry-Go-Round Children's Store.
3. This is the bedding I would LOVE, but have only seen it for adult bedding. Is it crazy that I am considering buying and having baby sheets made from it??? Dwellstudio for Target, Mandala.
4. Artwork from etsy.
5. Table lamp from Ikea...super cute
6. Dresser from Ikea, Hemnes 8-drawer
7. Paint colors, 3 walls yellow, 1 accent wall gray.
8. Yet another elephant I had to have. This one has a mama and baby, Ikea.
9. Mobile I saw on etsy but haven't purchased because it's 80 bucks and that seemed a bit steep for a paper mobile.
10. Storage/bookshelf from Ikea
11. Munire Essex Crib (not the dresser) from Merry-Go-Round.

There you have it!

22 - 24 weeks*

"Watch what you say -- baby is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when -- just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop."

*As you can see from post title, the baby is finished with it's rapid weekly growth and will be the size of a papaya for the next two weeks.