Nursery Preview Part 2

Hello friends and fam,

At the risk of 'not wanting to disturb you,' I happily remember that:

a.) just because I'm writing this post during one of my lovely periods of 'wakefulness' does not mean that's when you actually have to read it and

b.) You only have to read and enjoy if you want to. I think i worry that i could actually FORCE my little blog into people's inboxes and lives. I have only to remember how much I enjoy blog-stalking others, and my hesitancy runs far away. :)

SO! That pontificating and philosophizing out of the way, I'm happy to report that we are moving right along in the nursery. Really thanks to my hubbin. If it were up to me, I would walk in there, get overwhelmed, collapse into a heap on the floor, and bawl my eyes out thinking about what an awful mother I'll be. (LOVE hormones. Love 'em.) Pour Mr. Ryan has gotten quite used to the Jekyll and Hyde syndrome that at times is known to take over my normally completely lovely personality as of late.

But alas, he tarries on, like a good soldier, and works with me through my crazy to get amazing things done. Honey buns, if you ever read this blog, know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are my hero. You are going to be a ridiculously awesome and patient daddy. Your wifey will ring the banner of your goodness for many moons to come. :)

Well, anyone who knows ANYTHING about nurseries (or furniture period) knows it ALL begins with IKEA. Below are some action shots of the mister putting together that crazy european 'pictures only in the directions' furniture.

Be patient, be patient.... the dresser willlllll get fininshed.

Ladies, don't stumble. That' MY backside. And yes, he is INSIDE the dresser.

Our mascot Kenna Loo Pants is ever on the ready to help when called...

And of course I had to take a break b/c the kankles were ginorm. Yes, that's an indentation caused BY A SOCK. For the love.

THEN, the coup de grace. You guessed it - POTTERY BARN. The crib had arrived!!! Side shout out to Pappy and Gigi for their incredible generosity with our adorable crib! And Mema and Archie for the mattress! So blessed by fam. Mister Honey Bear got right on the assembly while I, his trusty side kick, well, took pictures. :)

...and then got distracted by how VERY many preggie books I have accumulated over the last 9 mos (this pick doesn't even show HALF).

Flash forward a few weeks through Stephanie Sewell's AMAZING wedding, Gigi's AWESOME 60th surprise party, and a wonderfully relaxing vacay at Horesehoe Bay with the whole Nixon fam (all of which deserve their own posts...but sigh, alas, anon), and we have made serious progress. I'll leave you with a few pics of Stephanie's wedding as well as a teaser on the current state of the nursery (looking MUCH better). Pics of Gigi's party and Horseshoe Bay will have to be saved for the next sleepless awakening period. And finally, also coming in the next post, a very special prayer request list for you to join with us in praying for baby, should you be so inclined... :)

Me with the DAZZLING bride. Steph, you were gorgeous.

With sister Melly-Poo. ALSO looked amazing. Love the side-sweep hair bunny thing.

Not only did I get to do music with 3 of my FAV people, but we ALSO got to sing in Perkins Chapel on SMU campus. Acoustics were A-Ma-Zing.

Reception at Belo Mansion, done by DFW Events, and you KNOW they do allllll that crazy junk up right. They even did a special write-up on her wedding on their blog!

And, for the nursery teasers....

Peek-a-boo Lilo Cat!

And the coolest antique rocking chair I found in College Station over Risa's wedding weekend! Loves it! more to come next time...

Big Mamma Belly Out!

35 Weeks.

Oh Holy New Potatoes Batman.

35 weeks along = 35 DAYS LEFT.

List of things one can do in 35 days:

- Grow a pimple, and see it through its cycle.

- Have a lady cycle

- Lose 10 pounds (so I hear)

- develop a habit

- ruin a good habit

AND APPARENTLY....

- Finish growing a baby.

Things I am afraid won't happen in 35 days:

- The nursery is a skeleton. I will not finish it.

- My mama is out of the state and it feels like she is never coming home.

- Be ready to push a baby out of maself.

- NOT lose 10 pounds.

- Hopefully not GAIN 10 pounds.

Oh baby pants, I feel you crowding up in there, getting ever bigger, and, in not knowing where to place your foot, seeing that the ONLY proper place for it is in between my ribs. I really can't wait to meet you. I am washing your clothes and sheets so you won't get itchy. Your daddy is putting together your strollers. I now regard sleep as an amenity. I never knew I could make such ginormous ankles look so incredibly sexy.

Can't wait to meet you little pumpkin.

On a side note, just finished Sarah's Key for book club. (Yes, I'm in a book club) Worth it to read. Go pick it up.

A Lil' Nursery Preview for yo Bootay.

Heyo! Happy Post-4th of July!

Calpal, back for another 12:19am sleepless installment of bloggyness time. This time? Some nursery previews! (And garage apartment remodel) Well, a touch, anyhoo. Below, see a compilation of 'colors' if you will. The paint tags mixed with fabric swatches that will color the room and make up the HOT-mazing bumper my momma is gonna make. YES she is Suzy-homemaker. NO I did not get that gene. Yes I'm tore up about it.

Basically the colors are teal, chocolate brown, white and cream. And yes, we STILL don't know what we are having. We were asked today by some dear friends if we were still SURE (7.5 weeks out) that we were going to be surprised. They just wanted to make sure we didn't make it all this way just to go and find out early and keep the world in the dark about it. :)

So, one thing I haven't shared is that our upstairs underwent a little bit of a makeover. (Sorry, Apartment Son David, you did not get to reap the benefits of this - mostly so Pappy and Gigi will come stay with us when the baby is born!)

Ryan and I got to play with tile for the new bathroom!

Fresh coat of paint and brand new sliding mirror doors! Snazzy! (Hot photog.)

Here is what the furniture looked like 'in process'

And we finally dry-walled the garage! No more Hot pink stuffing! (or what is that stuff called? insullation? who even knows.)

And the bestest happiest helper in the whole world!!!

Love that pup.

And finally, a few amazing decor pics of the Dallas "Baby Dinner Party" some of my sweet friends threw me. The decorations were adorable...Lindsey Sheppard is a rare talent. Though I still don't think I've figured out how to spell her last name correctly. See below!

Makes me excited! Thank you Lord for amazing friends!

More nursery pics to come!!

SYTYCD: I am Yours Forever.

Unkay. Did anyone see SYTYCD on Tuesday of this week? O. Ma. Gowrsh.

Last night was one of the most freakishly awesome dances I’ve ever seen. Alex Wong is a BALLET dancer and he just krunked this thang out like it was a part of his little mini-asian ballet-ness. A-MA-ZING. I loved loved loved it. Check it out here.


Also, I know I said that i would NEVER do a belly pic....BUT if you remember, I think I may have drawn the line at a BARE belly pic. Well, so we sent this picture to our SWEET awesome friend Lindsay Todd (who is coming home to us so soon!). and technically, the sign gave a partial belly-cover. Sooo, I'm posting a partial sign-covered belly-pic. :) Don't get excited, now - this ain't gonna be a common occurence. But enjoy my large belly and puffy face to yer heart's delight.

(Paper says come home soon Aunite linds. So presh).

Ok folks! Happy 4th! I'm off to sing in my 5th wedding in a row - starting to get a little hard to breathe, I'm not gonna lie. But this will be the last before baby comes, and it will be SOOOO awesome because I ADORE this bride. Very near and Dear to my heart.

Muah.

We the B-I-G Girls.

First of all, Happy LATE FATHER'S Day and EARLY birthday to my amazing, wonderful, godly, handsome, roaringly sexy husband of four faithful and fun years. My Baboo. My honey bear. You wear so many names to me love, but "Divine Romancer" and "Sharpener of my Soul" are titles that suit you most perfectly. I'm so glad you were born, and I can't wait to be a momma to your Daddy-ness. :)

Well, it's been too long since I've written. Too dern busy. And no priorities for updating the bloggy blog. Really, every time I think and want to do it, I'm on a break at work, which would just be wrong. :)

So, I'm huge. Now, as we have previously discussed, even in life I'm not yer sweet little petite pumpkin, so pregnancy is SOOOO becoming on me. It's so funny - when you hit the stage everyone talks about, it's like your experiencing it for the first time. So yes:

* It IS harder to tie your shoes

* #2 is a different experience

* Sleep is just a suggestion (marked by this 4am blog-post)

* Beware of getting down - you WILL have to get back up.

* Your face being one color is a blessing, not a guarantee.

* Co-workers WILL think you left some secret

snack in the potty they don't know about b/c you frequently visit.

* Men give you the funniest looks - especially those with no children - "Good GOSH man, what happened to you? Something is sure to have INHABITED you!"

* Women LOVE to comment on summer pregnancies/babies in Dallas. yes, people. I'm hot. :)

* I'm wondering if I just get to skip the cankle (calf-ankle) phase and go right into the keg phase (calf, leg) :)

And wanna know what? I'm loving every bit of it.

I'm posting a few pics from Ryan's surprise going away party we had for him in May, and then after I get some shower pics, I'll post those as well.

Also - nursery FINALLY in progress! Stay tuned for some before/during/after pics!

Abby is on the lookout!

Adorable gals.

Below: He is surprised!

Momma Gayle flew up from Austin. She loves her boy.

Best HP highschoolers EVER.

Tim and precious Lowell. Good Daddy moment.

Da girls! :0) Sloan and Charlotte will be friends forever!

The whole gang. It was a blessing! We'll miss you HP Klife!

Half Way There.

Half way through this race! The time has literally flown by. I don't take for granted that most of why I get to say that is because I have felt so good. Thank you Lord that the ride has been manageable so far! I tell ya, 2nd trimester is the bomb. Fo Real.

Why you ask? Maternity pants = magical squishy stretchyness. Feeling like exercising again. Bella band is kewl.

Why it's not kewl? If you are not pencil thin (which CLEARLY I am), people give you that loooook (which CLEARLY they don't give me b/c I AM pencil thin). You know the look. The look that shows them asking themselves, "Do I ask? Or not ask? Is she preggy? Or has she just really intensified the daily trips to the vending machine and has just completely let herself go?"

The poor souls, I really do feel for the debacle going on inside their minds.

Another scare: now the Registering challenge begins. Don't get me wrong, we are still 100% positive that we want to wait until we meet our little boogar to find out the sex, but MAN do they make it hard on your for registering. "Hello Mrs. Nixon, here are your color choices: Pink, Blue, and you guessed it...GREEN." Blah. Not a huge fan of green people. I have even thought of just picking out two full nursery schemes and then just allowing people's purchases to offer as a 'bet' for what they think it is going to be. :)

So the pic is from week 18, but it's been a busy few weeks and it's taken me that long to get these up! I really am pretty amazed by this little wonder growing inside me. That is a seriosuly stinkin' hot profile. It's hard not to sound cliched when you speak of the miracle of life. It's all the things you used to role your eyes at before. Now it just all seems wonderfully magical in that doughy gooey delightful way. I am just embracing it. God is so wonderously inventive to allow us to experience these emotionally charged moments that are so much 'bigger than life,' that draw us out of ourselves and into His dominion. We were not made to be long here in this place. But a wonder the things He allows us to experience while we are here!

Below is the labeled pic. Let's be honest we can all tell what is what, but it seems more fun for me to be able to be the 'labeler.'

And finally, the crazy alien face look. When my child someday asks me where they came from, this picture really will suffice for the 'you came from aliens' argument to keep them content until we are ready to explain the birds and the bees. I mean, I'm totally making them memorize the whole of Psalm 139 when they are 4. TOTALLY.

So exciting! Thanks for walking this journey with me!

Here's to the Baby Moon.

Oh how delightful. We just got back on Monday from the most delightful babymoon the world has ever seen. Inspired by many friends telling us to get 'one last hurrah' in before the new little buddy comes into our life, Ryan and I headed down to Puerto Aventuras south of Cancun on the Riviera Maya, Yucatan Peninsula. AWESOME! Truly - we owe so much thanks to Pappy and Gigi Nixon, without whose generosity we would NEVER have been able to a) find a place like this and b) be able to take this kind of vacation. Every part of it was more than I could have asked for. I am overwhelmed that I have a husband who truly cares for me, serves me more than I deserve, and sets a standard of Christ-like leadership that I LOVE that I have to strive to keep up with. I'll share a few pics from our special vacay - the rest can be seen on facebook!

From the ruins at Tulum.
POWER RYAN.
Good, slow-moving study mornings.
The few from our breakfast table.

I've just decided. Vacays are the absolute best. For the rest of my life I will monthly put $$ aside, even if it's only like $25/month, to build up to the next vacation. I just LOVE getting to see different places in the world! LOVE IT!