Well, those five pounds in four weeks were real.  

Check out the belly!

Pat had a growth spurt...or so I like to say.  

As of yesterday, I'm 28 weeks preggo.  I started my SEVENTH month of being pregnant.  And we are now in the third and final trimester.
We go to the doctor every two weeks now.

Oh boy.

(Or a girl...)

I'm still feeling good...waking up several times a night because I get tired of sleeping on my left side, trying to deal with some inconvenient back pain, but really very, very good.  I have just loved being pregnant.  Love all of the kicks, the wishing and anticipation and absolutely even my growing belly.

Time if flying by.

Work is busy.  Photography is busy.  Life is busy.  

We've been fitting in work here and there on the baby's room when we can.

Andrew knocked out some book shelves that we hung under the west window next to the chair and ottoman to create a little reading nook.

Notice we are already starting a book collection for Baby M!  I have only bought a few things for the baby besides room necessities and decor, and I'm obsessed with one of these books.

First, I love board books.  Second, this is a collection from artist Alexander Girard and it is FULL of amazing colors and patterns and cute copy.
Let's be honest - I bought this for myself.

The second thing(s) I bought for the babe were the only cute gender neutral clothes I've seen thus far.

From Old Navy no less.

Three grey and cream onesies that match the nursery perfectly - one plain, one striped and one chevron.  It was meant to be.

Especially hanging there on my favorite Ikea purchase from our Dallas/Cotton Bowl trip in January.

I cannot get over these dog tail hooks!  OBESSED.  They make me smile every day.

Every.  Day.

It's details time and things are coming together.

More to come...

Frank can't stand the excitement.

How many weeks ago did I pin mobile inspiration ideas for Baby M?

Too many.

I went and bought the supplies and then just got cold feet.  I wasn't for sure exactly how to start.  I knew I wanted different shapes of things that were meaningful to Andrew and I, but that was about it.

Originally I started out with three designs.  A chunky M, a profile of a dog and a Powercat.  Well, the dog and Powercat were a beast to cut out.  I only got a couple strands worth of dogs and Powercats cut and strung before Franklin found my stash one night, grabbed them off the table and bent some, chewed some, slobbered on others and then it was settled.

I wasn't loving them as a group anyways.  Thank you, Franklin, for making that decision easy.

Glad I spent all that time cutting those out.

But, in the end, Ms were the only way to go.  It was meant to be.  

It's a little dream-catcher-esque.  That wasn't my original intention, but I think it's just perfect.  It can catch all the sweet dreams of Baby M.

From Pat's view, it's pretty dreamy.

LOVE.

I'm feeling very 27 and a half weeks pregnant today.  

I don't want to complain.  I feel like I've had such a good pregnancy thus far.  My energy level is good, I have yet to get sick, and I am loving being pregnant - all the movements, milestones and anticipation of what's to come.  

But, I feel like I'm hitting that point where my body is starting to show some wear and tear.

My back hurts.  In no less than three places.

I lose my breath climbing one flight of stairs.

And, when I went to the gym, I made a mistake and weighed myself and couldn't believe the scale when it said I had gained about five pounds since my last appointment three and a half weeks ago.  Come again?  I have been so excited about only gaining a couple of pounds between each appointment.  I wasn't ready for this.

I know in end all that matters is that our little bean is healthy, but selfishly I also don't want to be a whale at the end of our short three months to go.  

Just being honest.

I would feel like this forever for our little one.  It's just nice it only lasts for a bit more.

And that I cashed in on my V-Day gift and got a massage tonight.  Mmm.

--

Franklin wants everyone to know not to feel bad for him even though Pat and Pat's room are getting so much attention.  

As long as he gets his breakfast and 2-mile walk in every morning, he is one happy boy.

That, and plus he got a new bed.

Clearly he enjoys it.

Clearly I need to vacuum.

Just like fur, I prefer faux winter over real winter.  You get the same effect, but nobody gets hurt.

Although if I'm being completely honest, it did feel nice to wake up today, feel how cold it was when Franklin went out and use it as an excuse to decide I wasn't doing anything.  Also a bit disheartening because the to-do list is five miles long and our baby clock keeps ticking faster and faster towards May, but I did enjoy my cozy winter day inside.  

Sad I skipped out of prenatal yoga, sad I had to postpone a family photo shoot, but glad to have the time to myself.

And Pat.

Whom we SAW move a few days ago.

There's no chance of making out extremities at this point, but it was almost like a bubble popping out of my belly over and over again.  

Such a little miracle!

--

We had company this weekend.  Halley was so nice to come visit us and help me wipe down the inside of the nursery dresser drawers.  

And encourage me to do a bit of shopping.  

What?  Shopping during no-spend month?  

Andrew forgot three days in on Friday to take his lunch (his normal eat out day with his work buddies) and was forced to eat out during work.  Hahahahaha.  I'm $50 richer and then some as K-State can't seem to pull it together to win a game which means Andrew slips a few (quite a few) off-limit words at a $1 a pop.

February is turning out to be a very lucrative month for me.

I definitely thought I would be the one to slip and prepared for this month by buying things during January instead.  

Like our  new rug for the family room.

A Crate and Barrel find.  

The 8x10 is such a better fit, and I love, love LOVE the grey and white stripes.  

(Especially with the horse chair gone and my new Ikea curtains hemmed and hung.)

Imagine that.

Husband-accepted, Franklin-approved.

Apparently, Franklin also approves baby book tips.

We watched Happiest Baby on the Block today.  It's a book, but you can also find the DVD from your local library, which was amazing because I do not have time to add any more baby books to my nightstand reading list.  I will struggle to get through the four I have now!  (Baby Wise - done; What to Expect When You're Expecting - almost done.)  Plus, this way Andrew could learn too since he doesn't know how to read...I mean doesn't like to.  

I wish I would have recorded the commentary coming from Andrew about the 5 S's.  OMG.

We tried them out though on Franklin, and guess what - they worked!

Swaddled, side position and shhhssss and we didn't even need the other two S's.  

S = SUCCESS.

The last piece of the puzzle is in place.

As far as furniture goes.

Handy Andy has really outdone himself with this room!  

He is soo good to me.  And Pat.

I found this beat up clunker of a dresser on Craig's List.  

Andrew was not interested.  Especially when we had to make two trips across town to pick it up.

But, I LOVED the shape and the lines and thought it would make a great dresser/changing table for the little one.  Well, sometimes, I am right.

(And sometimes, Andrew is creepy.)

The original plan was to kind of grey/white wash the wood once Andrew had everything sanded down.  But, the stain I had picked up looked terrible on our first run.  There was almost no color, and regardless of the number of coats, we never would have gotten the coverage we were after.

Instead, Andrew ended up having a stain specially made that acts more like a paint, meaning it covers much better right off the bat.  But, unlike paint, it still leaves the wood grain showing through which was very important since Andrew spent hours sanding everything down to the bone.

One coat of stain and three coats (with light sanding in between each) of polyacrylic later, we have one glossy, beautiful grey dresser.

Pat:

Your father spent a lot of time refinishing this dresser for you.  So, if you're a boy, please don't ram your toy cars and trucks all over it.  And, if you're a girl, don't you dare spill finger nail polish remover on it.  (From experience, he will not be happy.)

Consider this Life Lesson #1.

There will be many more.  

The bean's room is looking like, well, a nursery.

A real one.

I ordered our chair and ottoman from NFM after we did some post-Thanksgiving browsing in the kiddos section.  I actually didn't order it until after the holidays via phone and made a last minute change on the style so it was a relief to get it delivered on Tuesday and know I made the right decision.  Especially since it was a special order and can't be returned.  Yikes.

Both the chair and ottoman rock, and sometimes I just like to go in and sit and think about the precious little person about to change our world.  

I can't wait.

We pulled the rug I purchased last year from Urban Outfitters into the baby's room.  Not what I originally planned when I bought the rug, but after we found out we were pregnant it just made more sense.  It's a better size for this little room, and I already got a replacement for the family room.  

More on that later.

And how amazing are the curtains!?  

I had seen so many great chunky striped curtains on Pinterest, but just could not find them anywhere.  Or even fabric.  And then I remembered Emily and Adam had a chunky striped duvet from West Elm.  I thought maybe they also sold matching curtains, but no such luck.

At least on that.

I did get lucky in that my mom and I did some creative thinking and decided the duvet could actually be turned into panel curtains.  It was just the right size.  And my mom is just the best and surprised me by getting them done and shipped way before I thought she would have time to.  

I LOVE THEM.

They are totally making the room right now.

Handy Andy has been slaving away on the dresser.  I am making slooow progress on the mobile.

Promise to have more updates this weekend!  

I hit the 24 week mark this past Saturday.

This signifies entering into our six-month of pregnancy.  SIXTH!
And hitting the 10 pounds gained mark.  And celebrating Andrew's 26th birthday. 

And buying actual maternity clothes.

I did it.  I bit the bullet.

I made a solo day trip to Kansas City for Emily and Baby Jackson's shower and squeezed in a quick trip to Destination Maternity which has Pea in the Pod clothing.  It can be pricey, but seems to be great quality and much cuter than everything I kept finding here at our Wichita Motherhood Maternity. 

So, I bought a few basics to get me by for a while. One pair of skinny jeans, one workout tank for prenatal yoga class on Sundays and a really cute 3/4 quarter-sleeved navy dress that can be dressed up or down as needed.  I figure I can hit up Target and Old Navy in town as I need things, and then look online at Gap and Loft too.  It's just annoying to buy clothes that will only be worn for less than four months.

Of course, today is February 1 which marks the beginning of no-spend month and our swear jar competition.  Last year, we did this in January, but with baby room projects going on, we never would have made it through the month without buying things considered "extras".

I'm not sure we are super motivated for no-spend month.  Andrew said we could just do it until someone slips and then they owe the other person $50 as they surrender.  I told him I would just give him $50 now.  But, I'll see how far I make it into the month.  Typically clothes are an illegal purchase during no-spend month, but I think maternity clothes should be an exception.   

If not, I can just see how much longer my normal clothes fit or cave and fork over $50.  I'm sure I can make that back from Andrew's swear jar.  Each swear is $1 this year instead of a quarter, and if K-State keeps losing, it won't take me long to get there. 

--

I had a major pregnant moment on Monday. 

As mentioned, I went to Kansas City on Saturday.  Well, I also had a shoot that morning, watched the Cats play that night with friends when I got back into town, and then Sunday cleaned like a mad woman all day and had another shoot before we had the normal group over for dinner and cake/ice cream for baby daddy's birthday.  Monday was so crazy at work with a bazillion meetings, and I didn't get home until close to 7pm.  Andrew was off work that day and had made dinner.  So sweet.  Except it wasn't ready.  And, I was starving.  And exhausted.  And impatiently waited for an hour.
And it still wasn't ready.

So I did the completely normal and sane thing and started crying and continued for a good 10 minutes.  I made a peanut butter sandwich and just stood at the counter crying.  Then Andrew got annoyed because I could not get myself together, which made me cry more, and I took my sandwich into the bedroom and just stood there and cried some more.  Ha. 

HOT MESS!

I feel like I've really kept my emotions in check for the most part during the first half of the pregnancy, but there was no holding this back. 

Yikes.  Glad that's behind us.

And in more baby-related news, I have yet to really crave anything, but there are a few items that popping up on my plate lately.

1. Rye bread

2. Dill Pickles

3. Oranges

(And for clarification, these are not all eaten together.)

Oh, Baby M, why are you making me a crazy person?