Exciting Buys and Finds for the Nursery!

Yesterday, we received a big box from "The Land of Nod" containing Blair's bedding! It is lavender and white damask and SOOOO cute! Here is a picture from their site:

Although her bedding is lavender, we'll have lots of pink accents and pretty, girly things! Speaking of.... today, my Mom dropped off the rocking chair that my parents gave me for my first birthday! It's so little and will be so precious! After 27 years, it's in really good shape and will only need a little tightening. Will post pictures soon!

Ok, another cute thing I now have for the nursery... my Mom found this amazing Lladro lamp on Ebay... it's called "Dont Cry Dolly" and it's circa 1982. How amazing is this? And the best part - I got it for a steal! It was my first Ebay win (and bid!) ever, and I couldn't be happier. I know it's going to go so beautifully in Blair's room and we should have it in the next few days! Thanks Mom! :)

We are so excited to incorporate such beautiful, amazing things in the nursery. I can't wait to show everyone the final pictures when it is all done...

Working on the Nursery...

Ouch. Travis and I have spent our last Halloween / Halloween weekend (as just the two of us), painting Blair's room. It's amazing how much faster the job gets done with two people (makes me wonder how I possibly painted the rest of the house alone!). Her room is now painted "Timeless Taupe." We finished the taupe yesterday, and I painted the trim today... and OMG... I am hurting EVERYWHERE. Note to anyone planning on having children in the near future: go ahead and paint the room now! I am completely zapped of all energy and muscle control, and my two tylenol limit (per day) isn't cutting it!

Next up on the list of things to do, is hang her blinds, paint the doors, shampoo the carpet, and start assembling her furniture. We picked up her crib this weekend, but the dresser won't be available until later this week or next weekend. Booo. I'm trying to stay motivated with my current list so I can get to the FUN stuff!

Latest bump picture, with my amazing hubby, below! :)

In recognition of November being "Prostate Cancer Awareness Month," Travis is participating in a fundraiser at work in hopes of raising money for this cause. I am proud of him for taking part in such a worthy cause - despite it meaning that he has to grow a mustache, thus pushing our Christmas card photos to December! :) Please see below!

This Movember I've decided to donate my face to raising awareness about cancers that affect men. My commitment is the growth of a moustache for the entire month of Movember, which I know will generate conversation, controversy and laughter.

I'm doing this because:

- 1 in 2 men will be diagnosed with cancer in his lifetime
- 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime

This is a cause that I feel passionately about and I'm asking you to support my efforts by making a donation to support the great work of the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG. To help, you can either:

- Click this link http://us.movember.com/mospace/782516/ and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account; or

- Write a check payable to Movember, referencing my name or Registration Number 782516 and mailing it to: Movember, PO Box 2726, Venice, CA 90294-2726

The money raised will help make a tangible difference to the lives of others, through the world's most promising prostate cancer research and LIVESTRONG's programs that support young adults and their families battling and surviving cancer.

For more details on how the funds raised from previous campaigns have been used and the impact Movember is having please visit http://us.movemberfoundation.com/research-and-programs/.

Thank you!!!

Hope you all have a wonderful and safe Halloween and a great week!

(PS - I welcome any and all candy donations!)

Week 17

Today we had our 17 week appointment with Dr. Schmidt. I have gained 6 lbs ("finally!" says Dr. Schmidt) now and Blair's heart beat sounds great. They finished drawing the rest of my labs and all of our other tests have come back normal. Everything is going smoothly with no problems. I feel so much better and have gotten that burst of energy that everyone assured me would come. I am so excited for her to get a little bigger so that Travis can feel her kicking!

Blair is now the size of an onion and the bump continues to grow! Updated bump pictures are below!

Our next appointment will be the big 20 week appointment (though actually it will be our 21 week) where they will do an ultrasound and take Blair's measurements. Hopefully we will get a better idea on her due date... for now, we just say 'the end of March.'

Today I came to a decision as to how we will decorate Blair's room... this has been something that I have been struggling with over the last couple of weeks. I feel really good about our decision, despite yellow not being the color of the walls! At least I only painted two walls! Haha. We will pick up her crib and changer / dresser this weekend. Once we paint the walls, we will be able to set up her furniture. Here are pictures of her furniture:

Once we have decorated the room with her new bedding and some of our (ok, MY) girly ideas, I will post pictures of her nursery. I think it's going to be really beautiful nursery... and I can't wait to see it all come together!

And We've Got a Name!

Since finding out that we were having a girl last weekend, there have been many discussions between Travis and I about what we would name our daughter. After much talk and consideration (man, was the boy name SO much easier! haha), we have decided to name her...

Blair Melisse Wright!

Now the next task I am working on is her room... not easy! I am not really liking much of what the stores are offering, which really only leaves me with designing it myself (not that I am unhappy about that!). Luckily I have only painted two walls yellow (in case we decide to change the wall color)! I am hoping to make some color decisions soon...

Speaking of Blair's room... look at this gorgeous rocking chair we will be using! Travis' parents used to rock him to sleep in it! It is so beautiful and it has been kept it in such great condition... I am so thrilled we will be using it! I will take it to be reinforced and tightened, but isn't it amazing?!?

This weekend, Travis and I spent some much needed R&R time out at the farm in Columbus. We had a wonderful time relaxing and taking in a slower pace of life. Raleigh loves to run around and bark at the "big dogs" (their horses). We also carved pumpkins (as we do every year), our masterpieces are below!

We hope y'all have a great week! :)

Week 15

Well, not much to report on the baby front. Things are still moving along. Travis and I began painting the baby's room (baby is the size of an orange this week, so we will refer to him/her as such). We are painting the room yellow... yes, how very gender neutral (ie clever) we are. Figure that way for Baby #2 we won't have to repaint the room. Still have no bedding picked out, but I have found a front runner- if Orange is a boy. Still no name and no bedding for a girl. We'll come up with something.

Two more weeks until our next appointment and we find out the sex! It is so hard to not be able to buy cute clothes and baby things. I will admit, that this week we bought one of those store "gender predictor" tests (Travis and I are super anxious!). The test "predicted" that we'd be having a BOY. Of course nothing will be confirmed until Dr. Schmidt says, but the test goes along with our hunch. FYI - you can buy the gender predictor tests at any Walgreens or CVS for about $40.

Guess that's about all for now. I have only painted two walls (and only one coat on each wall), so I still have more work ahead of me... the painting was exhausting! Hopefully I can get the walls finished (before we tackle the stripes and chair rail) this weekend, and the new blinds should be in!!

Hope everyone is having a great week! :)