Introducing. . .

We LOVE our little guy more than we ever could have imagined! It was so good having him arrive just in time for Christmas. The delivery went smoothly and he is a big, healthy boy. We have enjoyed every minute with him. We love staring at him and holding him; and he loves eating, sleeping, being held, and hanging out in his swing. He is such a good baby. . . so calm and happy. We are so glad he is a part of our family! We love you Noah!

The Last Month

I thought on my last night of pregnancy, I should share some pictures of the last month. I get induced tomorrow morning, hopefully everything goes well and we get to meet Noah tomorrow! There is not much I will miss about being pregnant, I have hated almost all of it. BUT. . . I will miss Noah's little nudges and I may even miss his little hiccups 2-4 times a day :). I know it will be so much better to have him out though, can't wait to hold him!

Date Nights. . .

 Bass Pro Shop with Sam's Family. . . When Sam's parents were in town last weekend, we took his nieces to see Santa there, it was awesome and the Santa was amazing.

Sam's parents and us

Sam and two of his nieces

Sam and the taxidermy giraffe (he was obsessed)

Why the Waddle?

I have discovered that the nine month pregnancy waddle has a little to do with the baby dropping, and a lot to do with the fact that your feet and legs become so swollen you can no longer bend your knees. Lately, I feel a lot like this:

Except with a huge stomach.

Hoping Baby Boy Comes Before Christmas

I am now full term (37 weeks) and am hoping to have this little guy before Christmas. But. . . I think he is just way too comfortable in there. Any suggestions on how to get things moving?

One of my favorite things

If you know me well, you know I am obsessed with the Swiffer Vac. BEST INVENTION EVER! I discovered it a few years ago while Sam and I were living in NYC. Our apartment was all wood laminate and this little gem worked wonders (because who really likes sweeping?). Since then, I have become one of their biggest endorsers. Honestly, Swiffer should hire me. Anyway, my mom finally broke down and got one about a year ago and it is now her favorite toy. She uses it EVERYDAY without fail.  If you have a lot of hard surfaces in your house. . . get one, I promise you will never regret it. I got mine at Target. I think they are about $35. It would make a perfect gift for the clean freak on your list.

Baby Shower

A little over a week ago, my friends Cami and Sadie threw me a baby shower in Las Vegas. It turned out so beautiful! They had the cutest decorations, great food, and it was a ton of fun! I had a blast seeing so many friends and chatting. Thanks to Cami and Sadie and to everyone that came or sent gifts. . . I really appreciate it! Here are some pictures from the day:

Cami, Me, Sadie. . .check out the cute Noah Banner behind us

Mom, Kaity, and her BFF Katie

Cam

Lana and Cami

Samantha and Emily. . .came all the way from Utah

Mama J and Jen

Abby and Elaine

The group

The group minus the moms

Cami, Me, Sadie, Lana

Longtime Friends

Samantha, Me, and Emily

What We've Been Up To...

Ever since Sam has been home, we have been super busy. He has been so awesome about about helping with everything around the house. He has been home only a few weeks and has already painted the ceiling in the nursery, painted a damask accent wall in the nursery, hung the curtains, assembled a rocking chair, crib, and closet organizer, painted a side table, and made home decorating trips all over town with me. With such a helper, I haven't been too sad not being able to paint or do heavy lifting. Anyway. . . the crib bedding fabric swatches came the other day and I was able to order the bedding. This is the fabric combo I decided on:

 


  We still have a lot of accessories and finishing touches to add, but here are some shots of our nursery. Keep in mind that I am a horrible photographer and had a hard time capturing the whole room with my little digital camera.

Before (the nursery was a big brown box):

 

During (looking a little brighter):

After (these were taken with the iphone at night, not the best quality but you get the gist):

 Can't wait until it is all done. The nursery makes Sam and I happy every time we pass it. Can't believe we will be parents in a month!

*Thanks Rica for sending me the drapes! Thanks Cami for the cute Noah sign from my baby shower!

Custom Crib Bedding

Since I haven't been home this summer, I have not been able "nest" at all. Now that Sam and I are headed home to Utah, I can't wait to get the nursery together. A few months ago, my friend Cassidy told me about Modern Pea Pod. They have great custom bedding for pretty reasonable prices.

Here is one of their cute finished designs:

But, I have been set on a yellow, grey, and white color scheme for quite awhile. It is gender neutral, so I will just have to add some personal touches for each of my kids in the future. I have narrowed the fabric choices down to these:

PRINTS:

MINKY:

I need to choose 1-3 prints and one minky fabric.  I am leaning toward the damask and polka dot, because the yellow is brighter. Any suggestions?


I also love this combo, but it won't work for my nursery:

Alice Lane Giveaway!

Alice Lane, a great home decor store in Orem, UT is giving away this fantastic pillow:

It would look great in my home, as I am sure it would in yours. Enter to win here.

Pictures from the Great North

My trip to Alaska was not super eventful, but it really is beautiful up there.

Sam and I, out to lunch

driving

Downtown Ketchikan

Walking through the trees to get to the beach

The beach where we saw the whales

This is my attempt to get a picture of the whales, without looking away. There is a reason I am not a photographer.

Sam

Posing in front of the wall art in our bedroom. Yes, that is  a painted saw blade. . . classy.

Trying to get a picture of the seals

bald eagle #1 (Sam took this. . . obviously)

bald eagle #2 (still Sam)

Just one of the million waterfalls on the side of the road

View on the way to the airport. . . it has it's own island

looking inland