Registry Information and Baby Update

Brandon and I have created gift registries at both Target and Walmart for our little one. The due date is quickly approaching. I think that my friend Jessica is planning on throwing a shower for us in February sometime.

I didn't add any blankets, clothes or toys to the registry although we do need all of those things. Diapers will also be gratefully accepted. The Target registry has the bedding set I have picked out, and that will be the general theme for the nursery.

We had another prenatal checkup today. Everything is going great. I was a little nervous about the results from the glucose screening they did at the last appointment to test for gestational diabetes, but the results came back normal! Yea! I am already in the midst of my 30th week of pregnancy...which means that in about 10 weeks we will get to meet our little angel. It is crazy how fast this time has gone!

We do have some things already. Thank you Samantha and Becky! We have a swing, a jumper, 2 high chairs, a baby carrier/backpack, a car seat, and a start on clothing, although we don't have much for the newborn-6month age. We purchased an infant car-seat/stroller set and a bassinet/pack-n-play while we were in Colorado last week.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and has a happy New Year!

Basement update 12-26-08

This is an update on our basement. I will do one again here in a couple days when we get more of the sheet rock done.




On a side note if you would like to watch any of our movies in HD here are the steps to do so.

1. Click on the video while it is playing that you wish to watch in HD. (This takes you to the actual post on youtube)

2. Click the link in the bottom right corner of the video that says "Watch in HD". The video will reload in a 720p HD format.

I know most don't care about seeing the basement in HD but I would be willing to bet there will be some videos come March that you might want to see in a little higher quality.

Happy New Year

Pictures...

While I had the camera out this weekend taking pictures of the basement, I went ahead and took some other pictures of our home decorated for Christmas.

I love my Christmas tree, the picture doesn't really do it justice. I should have waited until the lights were on for the picture. I am sure that next year there will be a lot more presents under our tree.

My Grandma Bonnie made the nativity scene for me a couple of years ago, and I really do love it. The pieces have a mother of pearl finish with touches of gold. Thank you again for the set Grandma!

Here are our stockings. I made them both this year and really enjoyed the process. I suppose I will have to find another one to make for our baby's first Christmas next year.

Here is our Hailey dog. She really does not like the power tools being used in the basement and usually finds a place to hide upstairs away from the noise. She will definitely be happy when the basement is done.

This is Cheyenne. She is now about 7 months old, and is full of energy. She is a very loving dog who doesn't let me get too far out of her sight. She loves to cuddle and will curl up in my lap as soon as I sit down. She will be a very jealous puppy when my lap is occupied with a baby instead of her.

Wow...two posts in two days. This must be some kind of a record for me. I am excited about our doctor's appointment tomorrow. I try not to worry about the baby, but I will be relieved to see her again and to make sure that everything is going OK.

I am feeling pretty good. I definitely have some aches and pains as my belly is getting bigger, but nothing that has limited what I do. My students at school have started asking more questions, and it is fun to share this experience with them. I hope that they hear the message that it is best to wait until the right time to have a baby, we definitely have enough students who are having babies in high school.

It feels good to be making progress on the basement. We are that much closer to getting the baby's room ready for the big day. I imagine that she will share a room with us for a while, but I hope to have the room pretty much ready by her due date.

Well, I will post the results of our doctors visit sometime soon. Until then...

Basement Progress

Brandon and I are working on finishing our basement this winter. The floor-plan we posted earlier this fall hasn't changed by much. We are hoping to have everything ready to sheet-rock by the 19th so that we can be close to done with the major parts by the end of Christmas break. Here are some pictures of our progress:

There will be a wall under the stairs with a built-in bookcase on the right hand side of the wall. Someday I hope to have a piano to put on the left-hand side of the wall. (Hopefully we can get it downstairs!) There will be a storage area under the stairs that can be accessed from the hallway.

Brandon and his dad are installing can-lighting in the main room of the basement. The back corner of the room will be the theater room, complete with projection TV, 5x9 foot screen and surround sound. He has been having fun designing and planning for this.

We have the projector set up in the upstairs office upstairs for now... the picture fills the wall.

Here is the view from the stairs. We hope to put a pool table on the other side of the room. In the corner is the storage room. Brandon is putting up the wiring for several neon lights that we will add as time goes on.

Next to the pool table will be a complete wet-bar. You can see the framework for the bar counter and the soffit above the counter. This area will have a full-sized refrigerator, sink, and lighted display cabinets. Down the hall, to the right will be the under-stair storage and to the left is the utility room.

At the end of the hallway will be two bedrooms and a full bath. I couldn't get a good picture of the bedrooms, but each have soffits around the edges of the room and will be open to the full 9 foot height in the middle of the room. For now, one will serve as the guest bedroom and the other will be my project room.

It has been an interesting process so far, and we really appreciate all of the help we have been getting from our dads! We are hoping to have the basement ready to host a Super-Bowl party. I am optimistic about the deadline...but as you can see there is still a lot of work to be done!