House Photos...Finally!

So I've sort of been waiting for us to get our house completely "put together" before I took any photos to post here. Then I realized, that will probably never happen, so what you see is what you get. I just took these pictures with my phone, so most of them aren't great, but at least they should give you an idea of what our house looks like on the inside.

Get ready for the virtual tour!!

First up - the least exciting room in the house, the laundry room! Complete with zero storage space and random window with a blind that had never been dusted. Ever. Disgusting.

Here's our "breakfast nook" and kitchen table, which we really only use to collect papers.

Here's the main area of our kitchen, complete with random Rubbermaid tub on the floor and trinkets all over the counters (which are granite, a complete waste in this house, if you ask me...).

Here's a panoramic shot of the whole kitchen, although it doesn't really do it justice.

Next up, our main living area! Here's the "dining room" which is where we usually eat our meals. Jeff is hard at work studying for...something.

And more of our "family room" area, where we watch TV.

I had the blinds open and it's sunny today, so the picture quality is terrible. Oh well, you get the point.

Next, the hallway leading to our three tiny bedrooms.

First door on the right, the guest bathroom:

First door on the left, the nursery. Again, the blinds are open so it's kind of a crappy picture, but you get the idea. And no, I don't have a lampshade for her lamp just yet. Little details.

Second door on the right, Jeff's office and the guest bedroom and also the space we put stuff when we don't know where else to put it. It's a disaster right now, and probably will be until someone legitimately wants to come stay with us.

And finally, the last door on the left, the master bed/bath room.

If you couldn't tell (probably want to get your eyes checked), our master bathroom basically lives in our bedroom. Not the most convenient feature when your husband gets up before the crack of dawn to go to work, but we're making the best of it. Since we can only fit one dresser in our bedroom anyway, we decided Jeff would keep his dresser and all of his clothes in the guest bedroom, and would shower in the guest bathroom. That way he won't wake up Peanut and I when he gets up early for work. That is, if miraculously we're asleep to begin with. The closed door in the photo above is the shower/toilet for the master bathroom.

Here are a few more photos of Peanut's nursery, since I'm sure that's what you're all really interested in anyway.

Her closet doesn't have much in it (yet) but I'm sure that will change. Basically the whole other half is just storing random junk right now, like parts of her Pack 'N Play and a box of my clothes I don't want right now.

 Here's the artwork my sister made for Peanut. Such a lucky little girl.































How neat is this stuff? I found this drawer liner at Fred Meyer and decided I'd spice up Peanut's nursery with it. First I covered the shelves from a shelf my grandpa made for me when I was a baby. Came out super cute!

Then I decided I'd line Peanut's dresser drawers with it BEFORE Jeff put the drawers together. Left me with a completely seamless line and hid all the rough edges. Super cute!!

I think that's about it for today. Tomorrow is the official 30-week mark, and I've already prepared my chalkboard so I just need to make time to take the picture. PLUS I've got a (pretty big) announcement for tomorrow (or whenever I end up posting the photo).

Stay tuned!

27 Weeks: Home Sweet Oregon

We made it!!

At least, Peanut and I did. Jeff's still making his way to Oregon, with an extended stay in Vegas to visit his family, which he's enjoying a lot. 

Because I'm late writing this, we've been back in Oregon for a whole week now. I (we) arrived around noon last Saturday, running on barely two hours of sleep. I was exhausted, but happy to be home, and glad to give up the sleep to be able to attend 14-05's Drop Night. Since being back I've wasted no time making plans and visiting with friends and family, most of whom I haven't seen in over a year. 

It's good to be back in Corvallis, but this little town certainly doesn't change much. It's a little bit comforting and a little bit nostalgic, like knowing a piece of your childhood can never be altered. I'm glad to be back within range of home too; Klamath Falls is just a four hour drive from this little town that raised me. 

Had to take a little bit different bump pic this week, since we're no longer in Texas. Excuse the poor photo quality, the lighting wasn't great and I had an inexperienced photographer (although I appreciate your help, Mom). Since I knew I'd be without my chalkboard for a while, I'd prepared it in advance. Here's the mashup:

At 14.5" Peanut is more than a foot tall, and it sure feels like she's growing fast. A few times I've felt what I believe are hiccups, spasms that feel like her whole body is jerking out at once. I'm pretty such that's what they are. I've also felt consistent pushes from her little limbs, not just kicks and punches. Sometimes she'll press into my belly, and if I push back with my hand, I feel a little limb there. Very crazy. 

Just in the last week or so, it seems her kicks have gotten a lot stronger. Especially her early morning wake-up sessions. She seems to be an early riser, that's for sure. 

I'm starting to feel better about our "nest" for Peanut too. Since I've been home both Jeff's family and mine have been making VERY much-appreciated contributions for our little girl. She's now got a stroller, car seat, crib, and dresser with changing table, plus both the crib mattress and changing pad. Most of the pieces we'll need for her nursery, and a car seat to bring her home. I'm sure in the next few months we'll collect eveything else we'll need to feel ready for her. At least, as ready as two brand-new parents can feel.

I'm ready to have Jeff home (I'm ready to actually BE home, in K Falls) and to truly start nesting and preparing for our little nugget. Thanfully, we've got some time before Jeff starts training again to settle in (and put all her furniture together, hehe).

I think that's about it for this week. Next week will be my 28-week post, which I'm counting as a few big milestones. It'll officially be the beginning of our seventh month of pregnancy, and also the third and final trimester. Very, very exciting. 

Man, this journey sure has flown by. 

22 Weeks!

I'm back!

And for the second time in a week, I'm seriously feeling like a winner here. Blogging WIN!

Time for the 22 week update which is...uneventful? At best.

I know what you came for anyway, so I won't make you read any more than you have to. Here's this week's bump pic:

At least I don't look so "tore up from the floor up" this week. (That is technically pronounced, "toe up from da flow up," just so you know...)

I had an actual outing today, so I made the effort to put on real clothes. Yay me!

Twenty two weeks in, and our little Peanut girl is finally, FINALLY tipping the scales at one whole pound. No more ounces for this little bebe! Only six or seven more until she's born (hopefully...). She's about the size of a football, although this probably isn't a great reference since footballs are all oblong and strangely shaped, and Peanut is just a little baby in there all snuggled up.

What can I say, I'm excited for our future Beaver fan!!

Peanut seems to be quite the lazy baby, spending most of her time sleeping and resting. Even when she moves around, they're slow and almost deliberate movement, not the violent kicks many of my other pregnant friends are experiencing right now. I understand stronger kicks will come as she gains more weight, but I just don't know if she'll be the sporadic type.

Right now, her strongest kicks usually come early in the morning (remember how I said she likes to practice karate at 3 or 4 am?), probably because she's been mostly resting all night and is ready to be up and start her little Peanut day. I was fortunate enough to feel her kick on the outside of my belly the other morning, during one such karate session. I happened to be asleep on my side with my hand resting on my stomach when she started kicking away. So neat!! Jeff had already left for work, so he missed out, but I'm really looking forward to the day he can feel her moving. He's tried a couple times, but the little turd stops performing the minute she knows someone is paying attention. We'll have to work on that.

Also - random side note - when they said kicks feel like gas, they weren't kidding!! When she's not kicking, just moving around in there, it feels like I have crazy gas in my abdomen. Such a strange feeling.

In other completely unrelated news, today marks one month until my final one-way trip home. The closer it gets the more sad I am to leave all my friends and our little life here. I'm beyond excited to get back to Oregon and be closer to family and the friends I have there, but I know that I will never have exactly this life again, and it breaks my heart. Especially knowing that so many of my friends will miss out on Peanut's early life because they'll be so far away, and knowing that I'll miss out on my friends' new experiences and babies is hard too. I'm hoping Skype and Facebook will help us stay connected.

Too sad to think about! On to more exciting news! Two weeks until my baby shower, and if I'm not the luckiest girl in the world, I don't know who is because

MY LITTLE IS COMING TO VISIT!!!!!!!

I knew this living in the same state thing would come in handy, even if she is still five hours away, and it is only for a few months. I couldn't be more excited. I was really bumming that she wouldn't be able to attend either of my baby showers since she just started working, so I'm over the moon that she'll be here for a long weekend with me and the Peanut girl. Wahhooo!!

Let's count down to that instead, much more exciting. Two weeks from today she'll be in town!! Can't wait!!