Are we there yet…

Poor G has been working non-stop to satisfy my nesting needs. Over the last few weeks, he has assumed the role of a plumber, electrician, yard man, carpenter, designer, and husband to a very large and demanding wife. He rarely complains and always strives for perfection. God love my sweet, sweet husband! Here are a few of the projects we have been working on…

Hutson’s nursery is still a work in progress…We chose Top Sail by Sherwin Williams for the color on the walls; the pie-safe was a hand-me-down from my sister, and the flags were sewn from scraps of fabric in my sewing room.

Hutson will use the same crib and changing table from MR’s room; the rocking chair was handed down from my grandmother; the pelmet boxes are made from foam board, fabric, and bias tape (the tutorial can be found here). JuJu Bea has kindly offered to purchase a custom name print to go between the windows.

My wonderfully talented sister-in-law painted this mural for the nursery (we plan to hang it as soon as we find a side table for the room). G has his private pilots license, so as soon as I found out we were having a boy, I knew I wanted to incorporate aviation. We have also ordered this sweet airplane mobile to hang above the changing table. 

And while sweet Hutson had absolutely no say in the design of his room, MR had everything to do with hers…a few weeks ago, I took her to my favorite fabric store and let her pick out fabric for her new curtains. Much to my dismay, she stuck her nose up at the cost-effective lavender gingham that I had picked and instead chose a much more expensive pink floral design. We have yet to paint her big girl room, but hope to do so this fall.

A large blank wall in our breakfast room proved to be the perfect spot for a magnetic/chalk board. G taped off the area and painted several layers (6 or 7) of magnetic primer; followed by a few layers a chalkboard paint. Picture molding purchased from the hardware store completed the look.

Look closely…a bed full of weeds was no match for sweet G. He spent all day (yes, all day) on Saturday digging up weeds and laying down 50 bails of pine straw!

Before… 

After…

Before (side bed)…

After…

Finally….my ribbon is now in one place! G helped me transform an old shutter into the perfect ribbon holder for my sewing room.

The playroom is by far our favorite room in the house. Right off of the kitchen and living room, it stores all of MR’s toy’s. A few months ago, I had G transform an old filing cabinet into a reading cubby for MR and Hutson.

Believe it or not, this was me last August (a far cry from the 60 pounds I have gained over the last 11 months)…behind me sits the old filing cabinet. Wish I had taken a true “before” picture, but at least this picture is a reminder that one day I will be back into non-elastic jeans, fitted shirts,  and cowboy boots.

 G removed the drawers and the metal brackets, sanded the cabinet, and painted it. It was such a easy transformation and has proved to be a great storage solution for the playroom.

In the two weeks since my last post, we have embarked on several home improvement projects, visited with family from Griffin, Cumming, Athens, and Waycross, welcomed the arrival of sweet Anna Bea, watched the fireworks in the Marietta Square, cheered on the Braves at Turner Field, and counted down the days and seconds until Little Man’s arrival…as of today, we are down to 14!!! And while our to-do list and social calendar is growing smaller, I am most definitely growing larger.

John Thomas’s  first birthday celebration in Griffin

Reynolds and Mary Reese

Waiting to welcome Anna Bea

Sweet Anna Beatrice (Anna Bea)

July 2, 2010

 8 pounds, 8 ounces; 20 inches long

Four precious cousins

The July 4th weekend included fireworks in the Square, a visit from Danny, and a trip to Turner field to cheer on the Braves.

G, Danny, and Aunt B

MR and Uncle B

Thanks to the annual boys fishing trip in Eulonia, I have had this sweet little girl all to myself this weekend. 

After 5 months of pullups, we’ve traded in the diapers and are on day #5 of big girl panties. We’ve had a few accidents…

and a few discipline problems involving a tube of lipstick and a Sharpie marker…

but all in all, we’ve enjoyed every second of our girls weekend. G returns home tomorrow with a cooler full of fish and MR and Nene head off to Athens for a few days with Gran C and Big Daddy. I’m going to miss my sweet girl, but am hoping to use the time to get some things done around the house.

A big Happy Fathers day to my sweet husband who continues to spoil his girls rotten. He’s not only a great husband, but he’s one heck of a daddy too. I dont brag on him near enough, but I am so grateful to have him in my life!

The larger I get, the longer my G’s to-do list grows. Last weeks task was to paint Hutson’s nursery. Window treatments and bedding are on tap for this week. With only five weeks remaining, it seems like time is flying…the next three weekends are full of family, fishing, a birthday party, and the arrival of sweet Anna Bea. We’ve got lots to do and so much to be thankful for!

The nursery colors are pale blue and red; I will post pictures once the window treatments are up.

This past weekend couldn’t have been any better…

A visit from Gran C and Big Daddy,

a cookout with Julie, Bill, Nene and Boss

and a girl’s spend the night party (complete with pjs and a bedtime story from Big Daddy).

Heading to church on Sunday.

Spending a week at the beach with my two favorite people,

Stopping by St Simons for the afternoon to watch the cousins play,

Trading in the tv and computer for feeding the seagulls, building sandcastles, and collecting shells,

Eating with the locals,

Acting silly,

Getting all dressed up with nowhere to go,

and realizing that in 6 weeks we will welcome precious Hutson into our lives! Thank you to my sweet husband for a week of nonstop rest, relaxation, and fun!

By 8 am this morning, I had completed 5 Petey Pie orders, sewed MR a new pair of shorts and a dress, mowed the yard, unloaded the dishwasher, and completed two loads of laundry. Feeling a bit like Superwoman, albeit a rather large and bloated version. We are down to 8 weeks until baby Hutson’s arrival and I’m doing my best to trick my body into nesting mode. Most days, I fail miserably on my “to do list”, but excel on my daily caloric intake. I’m hot. Anxious. Big. And ready. But also nervous about entering the newborn phase again. It certainly feels real–I’ve already gained the recommended weight limit for pregnancy– but then again, it doesn’t. Its hard to imagine what life will be like with two babies. I’m looking forward to the changes and learning to embrace (and not rush) these last remaining weeks.

If you ask MR to name a few of her favorites things, she is likely to respond “grecian music”  and “sprinkalas”. In grown up words, this translates to “Christian music” and the “sprinkler”. She calls her daddy her hero and gives the best kisses and hugs. Life with sweet MR gets sweeter by the day!

I’m officially as wide as I am tall. My bra resembles something purchased from a prank store and my panties could fit an elephant. Still, I am giddy with excitement at the thought of meeting our little man in just 9 short weeks. Until then, we’ve been doing our best to keep busy…Popsicles on the porch have become a nightly tradition. We’ve also been doing our part to cheer on the Braves. G and MR attended Friday nights game and convinced me to join them again on Sunday. And although Sunday’s game included zero time in the stands (we met Dora and played in the Kid Zone instead),  it was a nice reminder that an air conditioner, couch, and bag of Doritos is truly a pregnant girls best friend!

First game of the season; G and MR met our friend Jeff and his son Brayden for a daddy’s night out at Turner Field.

The kids has a blast watching baseball and playing in the Kid Zone.

The daddies had fun too…

so much fun that they did not return until midnight with two very tired, sacked out kids.

 Dora (the Real Dora as MR refers to her) stopped by Sunday’s game

                
MR and Aunt B; Sweet MR makes this face when she doesn’t want us to know that she is having fun. Gone are the days of modeling Petey Pie shirts; this is all I get when I ask her to smile.