end of the 9 month argument...

its a GIRL!
this little peanut FINALLY listened to mom and decided to come a little over a week early. (thanks to some help from the night shift at work...)

little miss claire was born on july 20th, weighing in at 7 pounds 2 oz, 20 inches long. 
we couldn't be more excited! 

and even though its been almost a week...its still really surreal that shes ours. and very odd to think this little one was the one inside me moving around, giving me heartburn, and so on. and heres to knowing we will probably be going broke with all the cute outfits out there :) 
 

pinterest resolution

resolution for june: complete five pinterest projects. 

up first: a diy memory game for my favorite (and only) nephew. (shannon--act surprised) i started with taking pictures of everyone and making them into a collage to get them to the right size. then i got a memory game from goodwill and thought id "be creative" and paint one side orange. which was a good idea. key word: idea. turns out i got it all over the opposite side of the pieces.

so i decided to just keep it simple and not paint them. using some modge podge i glued & sealed the pictures onto the pieces. done and done.

project 2: finish that silly mobile. the first one was a bit too chaotic. so i bought a hoop thingy, had the hubs paint it and used fishing line to hand half of the pinwheels. 

project 3: a birthday onesie. so this one isnt really completed but everything is in place to quickly complete it once little ivan or dot makes his or her arrival. simply finding a calendar for the correct month, flipping it to the mirror image and printing it onto some transfer paper to be ironed onto the onesie. since theres a chance that this little one wont arrive until august...i did twice the work. and then all ill have to do is iron the correct one on and use a sharpie or paint or something to circle his or her birthday. and take pictures of course.

 

project 4: laundry bag for the nursery. this one was an easy project too. the actual plan says to use a pillow case but i had some extra fabric so i just made a little pillow case type thing. add in an embroidery hoop some string and a hook = done. hopefully it holds up!

project 5: no clue. i wanted to make a little fabric puff to put on the nursery door so that the door wont make any sound when opening it. however i have not started this. oh well.

80% is good enough right? riiiiight.

mn baby shower

waaaaaay back on june 23rd we had our mn baby shower. it already seems like forever ago. 

we played a few games one in which i learned a lot of advice about everything baby related. 
you know like: 

a) whats the best thing daddy should do to the help with the baby? 
---pamper baby's mom

b) what do you do when the baby cries?
---run away faster than dave

c) what kind of diapers should you use?
---the ones with a coupon 

and since most of these ladies have children & grandchildren of their own...you know this advice HAS GOT to be right! so ladies, thanks for all the advice! i know it will come in handy! 


i even had a special helper to help open gifts...which is good cuz these days its getting pretty difficult to stand up & sit down gracefully...or just without a braxton hicks contraction. 

again, we were super blessed with the amazing generosity of everyone. but i have to say one of my favorite gifts was some beef jerky from my cousin. mainly because we always have arguments over who gets all the beef jerky. im surprised it lasted the car ride down to the shower! :) 

and check out this super cute diaper cake stuffed with accessories (spoons, forks, bottles etc) from my aunt!

baby update

these past few weeks have flown by very quickly so heres a quick recap of baby happenings.

34 weeks - flew by. the week of the mn baby shower.

35 weeks - flew by even quicker.

36 weeks - gained some more weight. my baby belly now measures 44 inches around. too much info? i dunno. the first of the weekly doctors appointments begins. baby is still head down. heart rate was 140s. officially dilated to a ZERO.  i feel like i cant get any bigger but i know i will. and maybe im dreaming but i think now i can sometimes feel a leg or knee. and im beginning to wondering (ie get slightly nervous) about how big this little one will be.

(still head down, liver & kidneys in working order; lungs still maturing)

we are still slowly getting the nursery in order. we've got almost everything washed and have pretty much everything put away, just have to tidy up some odds and ends. and the hubs is even REQUESTING a to do list :) so ive been busy making the final lists of what needs to get done in the next few weeks or sooner. i figure he will never again request a list so gotta make the most of it :) 

next up: installing the car seat & getting that checked out. and packing our hospital bags. 

check out the difference 6 weeks makes at this point (a lot at least to me):