At the House

Our first trip as owners!

Look What We Found

The spoils of signing our names a hundred times.

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35/35!

Yesterday marked my 35th week of pregnancy.  It also marked the start of a 35 day countdown to my due date!  Thus, the 35/35 title of this post--how mathematically perfect! 

To mark the occasion, I thought I'd share an Easter picture from outside my parents' house in front of my favorite tree.  

We hope you all had a nice Easter! 

Also, today is our CLOSING DAY!!!!  We hope to snap photos to commemorate the event and post on the blog.  Additionally, we still have a massive San Antonio post in the works to fill you all in on our fun babymoon!  The blog should be hoppin' (nice Easter/spring word-use, I think) in the next few weeks as we get those posts up, along with more house posts documenting the painting, moving, decorating, and nursery set up!  So exciting! 

Here's hoping this little girl stays put long enough for us to get her nursery *just right* for her debut.

Maternity Photo Shoot

Gary and I spent a chilly Friday morning in lovely Zionsville with Jessica Vaughn getting maternity photos taken.  Jessica will also be taking pictures of Baby Eliza as a newborn, at 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months!  I couldn't be happier with the way our maternity photos turned out, and I know that our future sessions will be just as great and even better!  Seriously, her work with babies is incredible.

Please go check it out for yourself:  Jessica Vaughn Photography

Here is one of my favorite photos from a list which includes about 50 or so !   Thanks to Jessica Vaughn Photography for letting me share this wonderful photo!

Because Jessica is a rockstar, the full album is completed and ready for password-protected viewing.  If you are interested, shoot me an email, facebook message, comment, text, whatever, and I can send you the info.  I hope you all understand why I wouldn't broadcast that on a mostly-public blog!  :)

btw...

we will own a house in ONE WEEK. 

34 Weeks Today

Sorry for the lateness of my 34 week post!  Yesterday was a busy day with a trip to Rochester, necessary relaxing, baby-clothes/gear sorting, and dinner making--I just forgot to take the picture!  Tonight I went to the chiropractor AND had a prenatal massage so got home late.  My massage was fantastic.  Anyway, here's the growth (and I feel like there was a ton)!

And here's the update:
How Far Along: 34 weeeks
Size of baby: honeydew melon, 4 3/4 pounds, 18 inches (approximately)
Total Weight Gain/Loss: blah.  nearly 30 pounds!
Maternity Clothes: My regular button down shirts, which have been staples for work, no longer can button properly :(
Movement: We can always feel/see a mound to left of my belly button--her backside!  She punches/kicks way over on my right side.
Sleep: I'm still usually getting a good night's sleep.  I try to laze around in bed in the mornings to savor my freedom :)
Symptoms: Having some calf cramps from time to time, some swelling in my legs, too.  
What I miss: Lying flat on my stomach.  
Cravings: Nothing really.  I'm trying to up my protein intake to avoid blood sugar crashes.
Best Moment this week: my massage, duh.
Labor signs:  actually, dealt with some legitimate contractions a week and half ago--climbing 267 stairs in the Statehouse Rotunda/Dome tour, then shopping/walking for several hours two days in a row caused them.  Water and rest was the prescription to settle me down.

Our Television Obsession

 For those of you who have been involved in our lives the past 5 years, you may have picked up on a joint obsession Gary and I share for television.  Some people look down on television, but there is some VERY smart television, watched by smart people (including us and many of our lovely friends).  In job interviews I've always been asked about my hobbies.  I've never answered truthfully--that television is my true hobby.  I'm not ashamed, but I don't think it's the answer employers are looking for!  The truth is, our television obsession kept us sane during law school and is something we enjoy sharing together.  Our TIVO has been instrumental in keeping this obsession alive, and our first TIVO was a wedding gift from Us to Us. 

In the 5 years we've been married, we've gotten hooked on many shows (some of the most enjoyable have of course been cancelled much too soon).  The most iconic show, and what will probably go down as my favorite.show.ever., is LOST.  I/we have spent countless hours watching and rewatching LOST.  I have spent more hours on blogs reading theories, recaps, etc.  I cried when it was over, and cried some more when the Season 6 DVDs came in the mail. 

One of the other great shows is Fringe, and I highly recommend it.  Fringe and LOST were both created by J.J. Abrams.

So why am I writing this post with no point?  Well, Friday night's Fringe episode included an animated segment during which William Bell (voiced by Leonard Nimoy) poured himself a glass of fictional, but prominent in LOST-lore, McCutcheon's Whiskey.**  I spotted the label, Gary rewound the show, and we paused the scene just to be sure.  This was a fun find only someone as television-obsessed as me might notice. It was a great moment of self-discovery, and if I'm being honest, immense pride.  :)

**lostpedia, a go-to source for all things LOST has even updated it's McCutcheon's entry to include this reference!!  http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/MacCutcheon_whisky

And we have appliances!

This stove was worth the upgrade . . .

the dishwasher . . .

The rest of the appliances we bought ourselves and they won't be installed until we take the house.  Here's an extra picture of the back of the house (and me).  We are in the process of designing the perfect deck for our first major home improvement project.  

This coming Friday is our final walkthru--a two hour tedious process.  Then next Friday (!!) we close!  Can you believe it?!  They said 4 months, and they meant it.

Also, Gary and I are feeling mighty blessed today, the day after our baby shower.  We have amazing friends and family!  xoxo

Flowers for Nursery

A few weeks ago, Mom was visiting and we worked on a shadow box project for the nursery.  These little boxes with flowers will hang on either side of the crib in the nursery.  I felt the need to update the blog today and had a picture, so here's a look!

In the top box you can see the pink paper behind the flower and in the bottom box is brown, pink, yellow, green striped paper.  In person, the paper in each box is more visible.  Sorry for the crappy lighting and please ignore the pile-o-stuff behind the boxes :)

Cost breakdown:
boxes: about $15 for the set of 4
flowers: $6-9 for all 4 (Hobby Lobby, 50% off sale)
paper: $1 for 5 sheets (Hobby Lobby, 50% off sale)

Australia Videos!

Here are some of the long lost Australia videos from our vacation!!! (Ok, they weren't lost, I was just too lazy to do something with them). Sorry the quality isn't the best. When the videos are uploaded, the blog engine formats them. Anyways enjoy a small sampling.

Pit stop on our way to the Daintree Rain Forest.

Sunrise at Port Douglas.

Bad timing.....in front of Uluru.

Patting Ourselves on the Back

We might not be building our own house, but we did a pretty amazing job of picking finishes to go in it!  Here's the proof :)

 Mantle

Double granite vanity in guest bath 

Double granite vanity in master bath 

Ceramic tile shower (imagine no soap dish)

Close up of tile (and see, no more soap dish, yay!)

Laminate flooring (but looks real!)  

View from kitchen to great room 

Kitchen minus appliances and center island

We absolutely love the floors 

Inside the cabinets

Our "deck" (we're adding a new one this summer)

All ready for mail

We are really happy with our choices.  The kitchen countertops and bathroom floors (not shown) are both things we'll upgrade on our own in time, but they're great for now.  Our move-in date is quickly approaching and the house is in the "fine-tuning" stage now!

32 Weeks

How far along? 32 weeks (4/6/2011)

Total weight gain: still not telling :)

Maternity clothes? Same as my last update.  I'm not wearing non-maternity pants anymore though, but still button-down shirts under sweaters.  I can still wear t-shirts if they were long to begin with!

Feeling: Tired.  Anxious.

Sleep: Not going as well lately.  :(  

Food cravings or aversions: Strawberries!  No aversions.

Best moment this week: Figuring out more and more details for the nursery!  Mom and I worked on shadow boxes for flowers and I ordered some really great fabrics to use for other projects.

Movement: She was kicking my computer just a moment ago!

Gender: Girl!

Labor Signs: I have noticed some "tightening" in my belly while walking sometimes.  So, no labor signs, but signs of Braxton Hicks contractions.

What I miss: Just having freedom of movement.

What I’m nervous about: Having an uneventful remainder of the pregnancy.  

What I am looking forward to: My maternity photos coming up soon!  

Milestones & new this week: She weighs around 3.75 pounds and is over 16 inches long.