40 weeks and counting!

Well, it's been 2 months since I've posted anything!

So much has been going on during those 2 months, it's no wonder I've been silent.

We found a replacement for my job, got her successfully trained & I have now been unemployed for 4-5 weeks.  It's wonderful. 

During those first few weeks of being home full-time, I've been cloistered in my little house--cooking and freezing meals for my post-partum days, washing baby clothes/blankets/cloth diapers, helping Aaron move items out of our bedroom and the spare room (which is now officially dubbed "nursery")onto our outdoor kitchen area, making sure we're stocked with all necessary baby items for those first few weeks of Baby Hilburn's life, and, of course, preparing the nursery.  My nesting period has lasted a LOOOONG time.

And now it's just the hurry-up and wait game! I knew from the beginning of my pregnancy that I'd follow in the footsteps of the women in my family and go over my due date. Yep! I'm 40 weeks and 3 days today...but not nearly as late as my Grandmother, mom and sister were when they had their firsts. Oh, well! I'm just enjoying this nesting and resting period before this baby arrives and puts his or her own spin on our life.

And what has Aaron been doing all this time? He's been the man working feverishly to make it possible for us to have room in our house for a baby!  Weeknights and weekends (except Sundays) he continued to construct our outdoor kitchen.  I couldn't be prouder of the work he's done.

 

 

 

 

After he got enough flooring down so that we could start moving furniture out of our bedroom and the spare room/nursery, I painted that section.  We don't want little knees or feet getting splinters, & it'll be much easier painting each section before we put furniture on top of it.

 

After painting, we moved out furniture, shelves, etc.

This outdoor kitchen will eventually be enclosed with walls and windows.

All of these items can be spread out as we expand the floor and wall it in.

 

Onto the next sections!!!!!!

 

And now we actually have more room in our bedroom.  As you can see, everything's in baskets on shelves.

Underneath the shelves, to the right, we have our home-birth supplies ready & waiting.  We've been required to have these compiled from a list the midwife gave us since 36 weeks. 

And now for the little baby's little room...

 

It isn't much, but it's Good Enough!!

 

P.S.--Will this belly EVER stop growing?!?!

 

January Goings-On

Aaron keeps plodding away on our outdoor kitchen/pantry addition.  He's almost ready to put Tyvek on the roof & then it's on to the roofing tin. 

We're loving the way it looks!

Meanwhile, I'm continuing to grow outward!  It's crazy to look back at pictures from Christmas & see how much this baby bump has popped out.

I'm now in my 3rd trimester.  I'm still feeling really good; although, it's starting to be a bit more difficult to find comfortable sitting & sleeping positions (and it ain't over yet!!).  I can usually tweak a few things here and there (add pillows, etc.) and do alright.  Other than that, I have no complaints.  Appointments with the midwife have shown a healthy & normal pregnancy.  I'm starting to feel little legs and arms scrape against the inside of my belly.  The hiccups I've been feeling that started out as gentle, rhytmic flutters are getting stronger.

I'm also busy reading about natural childbirth & the Bradley method--getting my mind & body prepared for probably the hardest thing I've ever done.

I've registered for the onesies, footies, swaddlers, cloth diapers & covers, stroller, high-chair & everything else I've been told to get by 3, 4, 5 and 6x mommies.  Since we're bringing this little one into our small living space, my main question to these moms has been, "what do I REALLY need?"

Life is exciting and full, and we're having a blast!

Christmas 2012

Like a lot of folks across the country, we had a Christmas & New Year holiday filled with sickness. And it dragged on...& on...& on. I had my share of the stomach flu & respiratory problems, but they could've been so much worse.

The sickness started with my sister on Christmas Eve & then passed to me the day after Christmas. I still managed to get some good pictures of the family, though.

We drove to Ft. Smith, AR. the weekend before Xmas & then stayed home the rest of the time.



Elianna & Mommy (my little sister, Rheagan)



L-R: cousins Carrie & Robyn, cousin-in-law Kristi, & Rheagan
Center: Grandmother Gentry



Randy (Cousin-in-law) & Papa Gentry

 

The great-grandkids (minus 2)





L-R: cousin Jeremy, Dad, little brother Gentry, bro-in-law Juan & Aaron





Just 2 of their many costumes: the best Christmas presents ever!!!



Making cookies with Mommy





Elianna & Papa



I hit the 24-week mark just after New Year's



Christmas Presents 2012

I had a good ol' time making presents for the girls in my family this past Christmas. 

Here's a recap:

PHOTO TRANSFER TO WOOD.  Very fun & not too hard.
Here's the tutorials I used:
1. "DIY wooden picture" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NjYbAAQ4vw
2. "How to Transfer Prints to Wood: An Awesome Photography DIY Project" http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-transfer-prints-to-wood-an-awesome-photography-diy-project

Granny Carter & her entire family 

Aaron's dad & uncle Mark

Aaron's dad & mom

Aaron's uncle Mark

Aaron's sisters: Stephanie & Adrienne

My uncle Holly & mom

My mom, sister & me

For Adrienne's (Aaron's sister) nursery

My Grandmother & me

1. Scan your picture
2. Flip it & print off in black/white or color: this must be printed on laser jet printer only. Color from an ink jet printer will just sit on top of the wood & not soak in properly.
3. Put the photo face down on your untreated piece of wood (already cut to size).
4. Cover with Gel Medium & let sit overnight.
5. Next morning, wet the paper with a sponge or washcloth. There's a balance between being too wet & too dry. You'll learn as you go.
6. Slowly start rubbing off the paper. It's exciting to reveal your masterpiece a little at a time.

7. Once all of the paper is completely rubbed off (this is the most time-consuming part), let it dry overnight.

8. Next morning, brush Mod Podge over the picture. You can do an additional coat or two, just let the picture dry approx. 30 min. between each coat.

9. Attach desired brackets on the back (or none at all)

**************************************************************************
And then there were 3 headbands for my little niece.

Unfortunately, I did NOT knit the pink flower on the far right.  I'm not quite there in my skills! It was a pin that I conveniently had hanging around.

Let's start planning for this year!!!!!