Nursery

I spent the first 5 months of this pregnancy putting a nursery together in my head, the last 3 months bringing it to life... and it's finally complete!  Perhaps I spent a little too much time and effort trying to make a room perfect for tiny boys who don't care much what it looks like, but I'm really proud of how it came out and I think they will be very comfortable in their first room.

Here is the view when you first walk in the door.  I know what most of you are thinking...  you are having 2 boys, why is the room green and not blue?  Daddy Ben is a crazy Duke fan and what do Duke fans hate??  Everything about UNC... and what are UNC's school colors?  That's right - baby blue and white... so green was the next logical (and safe) choice. 

I really wanted modern looking cribs which are insanely expensive so I shopped around and ended up finding these at Wal-Mart, of all places.  They even came with the mattresses for a very reasonable price and they transform into toddler beds so hopefully they will last for a few years.  Surprisingly, our apartment didn't come with overhead lighting so I decided to go with a paper lantern I found on Amazon for practically nothing.  I'd like to give a special shout out to my Dad - THANK YOU for painting the room AND hanging the light and to my mom - THANK YOU for making customized crib skirts! 

I found a bookcase to set under their window to load up with all the really fun books we've received as gifts, as well as Ben's 5 home run balls and some stuffed animals.  I found that so many of our adorable baby gifts came in in equally adorable baby gift bags so instead of throwing them out, I saved them to hold little toys, pacifiers, and other various odds and ends.  It saved us from having to buy baskets or boxes and I think they are cuter anyway!  It's hard to see from this picture, but we also have a music box that Ben's mom saved from his childhood.  I can't wait to play it for the boys while Ben changes their diapers.  hehehe

Across from the cribs we have the changing table and rocking chair.  I didn't think a big piece of furniture would fit well in this room, or that I'd want to spend hours sitting quietly in a room without a TV (is that bad to say?) so I didn't go with the typical chair.  I'd seen this style rocker on various "mod nursery" websites but it was shockingly expensive... until I found a knockoff at overstock.com for about 1/4 the price - WHOO HOO!  It's actually much more comfortable than it looks and it fits in the room perfectly. 
The changing table also came from Wal-Mart and the top comes off so it will be a plain old dresser when the boys are out of diapers...  which seems like an eternity from now!  My favorite part of the room has got to be the custom animal pictures my Dad painted.  Rather than buying prints, I took advantage of my Dad's artistic talent and asked him to create something simple.  As usual, he did a perfect job and made a one of a kind happy hippo, giraffe, and elephant to smile over the boys as they sleep.

For some reason, I was kind of obsessed with moses baskets and luckily I found this one unused on craigslist for an excellent (ie LOW) price.  I can't wait to see the adorable pictures my mom takes of the boys in here but for now it's home to "Tim" and "Percy", the Gator bears Ben's mom and sister made especially for the little ones.  The blanket was handmade by Ben's Great-Grandma for him when he was just a baby!




Does anyone not think baby clothes are adorable?  I can't stop going in the nursery just to peek into the closet and drawers at their wardrobe.  I cannot believe that 2 people tiny enough to fit into these outfits will be joining our family...  especially since I feel so huge I fully expect 2 grown men to walk out of my belly!

Babylicious

I don't know about you, but when anyone I know gets pregnant I am extrememly curious to see how their belly changes.  I mean, it's amazing how one day someone has a normal stomach and a few months later they magically have enough room to hold a whole person in there!  Imagine how excited I was to learn that I'd get to witness first hand how my own body would expand to hold 2 whole humans.  I had to document this...  but I waited until I actually looked pregnant instead of like I just ate too much.  I mean, what girl wants pictures of herself looking chubby, right?

Click here for the maternity photos my mom took.  How lucky am I to have a photographer for a mother???

And here are some that Ben and I just took in our apartment, but you really can see that belly grow.




21 weeks

22 weeks

23 weeks

24 weeks

25 weeks

26 weeks

27 weeks

28 weeks

29 weeks

30 weeks



31 weeks



32 weeks

33 weeks

34 weeks

 35 weeks

Oh my gosh, you can TOTALLY see how much my belly has "dropped" by week 34!  Baby A is really trying to escape so I'm on bedrest for the final 3 weeks.  I'm hoping, wishing, and praying that I can keep them comfy and happy in there until they are scheduled to come out on Oct 23.

Welcome

A friend of mine recently had a baby boy and created a blog to document his adventures.  Everyday I look forward to seeing what he's been up to and how much chubbier and cuter he's gotten. 

Pretty much everyone we know and love doesn't live anywhere near us, so I copied her brilliant idea and started a blog of my own.  Hopefully this is a way for all of you to get to know our growing family even though you can't fly to Cali every week to visit. 

ENJOY!