All things BABY, baby!

Finally ... I took some pictures of how the nursery is looking now.  So without further ado, here they are!

Changing table, dresser, and crib

There are some newborn disposable diapers we got before deciding to cloth diaper, so we'll use those in the beginning mostly cause they'll just fit better when she's tiny and brand new, but also cause there's nothing else to do with them and I'd hate for them to go to waste.  The piggy bank on top of the dresser got its first deposit from Grrdad.  Honeybun says thanks, Grrdad!  I've gotta do something about that plain lamp shade too ... any ideas?

Storage (without much to store yet)

Apparently, yellow cubby baskets are hard to come by, but we found one online so it should arrive in a week or so.  We want to get an extensive collection of Dr. Suess books, but right now, we just have one.  Hey, ya gotta start somewhere.

Where I'll be spending a lot of time

That's pretty self-explanatory.  I can't wait for it!

Valentine's present from her Daddy!

I was so surprised by this!  After Cory and I went on our little Valentine's date and came home to swap our presents, he brought out a huge gift bag and said, "This is my Valentine for __________."  (Yes, we think we've settled on a name, but we're not ready to advertise it yet.  Sorry!)  So I opened the bag to find this great big fluffy puppy!  She's gonna love it!!

Some clothes

And some more clothes

I'm telling ya, this girl is gonna be set up!  That long row of clothes are all the ones we were given by sweet friends in Wichita Falls.  The others are just a few we've picked up here and there. 

There is still plenty to do in the way of decorating, but I'm excited that the furniture is done. Cory is planning to make a toy box which will fill the one empty spot in Honeybun's room so that's really the only element left.  I can't wait for that project to be done, but it hasn't even been started yet, so it might be a little while.  I have no doubt it will be awesome!  As my crafty projects are accomplished, I'll update the pictures.

Now, for what might possibly be the greatest thing ever....

Oodles of all-in-one, one-size cloth diapers!!!

There are 33 in all, and some cloth diapering families have a stash as little as 15-20 diapers in their rotation, so we are very well prepared.  I credit my dear friend, Kristi, for planting the seed of curiosity.  I started researching and talking to Cory about it, and surprisingly, it wasn't a difficult decision to make.  I am so thankful that he was open to consider it for one thing and also that he did a fair amount of research on his own ... after which he jumped on board.

Believe it or not, there is a huge resale market for cloth diapers, so we started hunting for quality used ones to get started.  I don't mind saying we spent about $400 on these diapers, which also came with liners for extra absorbency and some other extras.  Frankly, it's everything we need to diaper Honeybun until she's potty trained because these particular diapers are designed to adjust to fit from newborn to the potty training stage.  If you've diapered a kid in disposables, you know we are saving a bundle!  I am very happy with our purchase and our decision to use cloth.

That pretty well catches you up on all things baby-related ... at least for now.  Oh, wait, there is one more thing I should share.  We had a baby doctor appointment today, which was short and sweet and perfect.  Heartbeat was music to my ears ... as always.  Weight gain was right on track and I'm pretty much all belly ... THANK GOODNESS!  Here's a belly shot from earlier today:

24w2d

I don't look as much "all belly" from the side as I do from the front and back, but all I really care about showing is how great baby girl Baker is growing. :o)

Let's Recap

Well I feel like there is a lot to blog about, but lack of pictures at the moment is dictating what I will and won't share.  That's just for a short time though until I've had a chance to take some photos of new, exciting things.  Despite my lack of timeliness, I wanted to share about some of the events that took place during the weekend of the great DFW snowstorm of 2010.

Thanks to this great snowstorm, I got sent home from work at 2 on Thursday afternoon, and campus was closed all day Friday.  So Cory and I made the most of it!

First, we made a snowman...

...but only after we managed to get into the backyard through this mess...

Yes, folks, that's the awning over our back patio (as viewed through the backdoor window).  At some point on Thursday, it collapsed under the weight of the snow.  After the snow melted and we were able to survey the damage, we realized there was no salvaging the poor thing.  The frame was bent, so buying a new cover was pointless.  *sad face*

We recovered from the devestation of losing our awning fairly fast and ended up celebrated Valentine's Day early because we were suffering from MAJOR cabin fever.  So Friday evening we went out to dinner and to see the movie "Valentine's Day."  The plans were a little last minute, and although the theater wasn't sold out, we were stuck in the second row.  Let me just say...not the best seats in the house by any means.  But the movie was cute...predicatable, but not unlike what we expected.

The roads cleared up really fast and we were able to get out and about for various errands over the weekend although not much of anything important was really accomplished.  But it was nice to just spend the time together goofing off.  It made for a great Valentine's Weekend. *happy face*

A few other highlights...the dogs LOVED the snow.  Especially Marley.  She bounded through it like a gazelle.  Hilarious to say the least, and I wish I had videotaped it.  The cat HATED the snow.  Nuff said about that. 

Oh, and Cory got me three new cactii for my Valentine's gift!  Strange?  Not really.  Ya see, he went to Arizona to visit our friends, Derrick and Jen, a couple of years ago and brought back three "love cactii" to say he had missed me.  Sadly, I wasn't able to keep those cactii alive.  *sad face*  I felt REALLY bad though when I realized they were a lost cause, but thought it was pretty imaginative of him to replace them for Valentine's Day. *happy face*

My short blogging hiatus

I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks, but it's not for lack of things to blog about.  It just seems like I haven't had the time to sit and collect my thoughts or organize pictures in order to make a blog post that's worth reading.  But I will soon.  I promise.

Making progress

Going to see my family this weekend gave me the opportunity to pick up the stuff my mom has finished sewing for the nursery.  The bedskirt and bumpers turned out AWESOME!!  She even took the liberty of adding a few extra touches that the pattern didn't call for ... like coordinating piping on the bumpers ... cause she's got mad skills.  See the pic below.

And there were a few other surprises that I didn't know about.  Perhaps my favorite is this precious stuffed bear who has found a home in Honeybun's crib (at least for now).

As soon as we got back home today, I ran out and got a sheet to put on the mattress because Cory and I were so anxious to start putting it together to see how things looked.  I have to say, I'm pretty darn happy with it so far.  We still have a few pieces of furniture to purchase, and I have plenty of decorating projects in mind, but we still have a good 18 weeks to finish everything up.

Besides the bumpers and bedskirt, mom made this little basket which I have prematurely stuffed with newborn diapers.  Hopefully soon I'll have a changing table to set it on.  And we just happend upon the piggy bank when we ran into town to get a few things Friday evening.  You'd think it was made with my baby girl's nursery in mind!

There was also a little Valentine's gift to Honeybun from Gamma and Grrdad.  (Note: my dad was originally "Grandad" but when my nephew started talking, it came out Grrdad ... and stuck.)

Some onesies and matching pants plus cute little booties and mittens.

And what Gamma could resist this adorable Christmas dress?  It was on sale for $2.50!!  I can picture her wearing it now with little white tights and shiny black shoes.

More to come soon!

75 years later

This is what 75 years of marriage looks like.

Not bad, huh!

On this day in 1935, my grandma and grandpa got married.  He was 18 and she was 16.  We had a huge celebration for them yesterday in Canyon, Texas.  Tons of family from Arkansas and elsewhere came to be part of it. 

Thanks to pictures, I remember their 50th wedding anniversary.  My cousin Alyssa and I were 2 and my mom had made us matching dresses.  Weren't we cute?

 

This is what Alyssa and I look like now ... 25 years later ...

She's expecting baby boy #2 on May 17th.

It was the first time ever that ALL the grandkids were together in one place.

Wendy, Chad, Alyssa, Stacy, James (my bro), me, and Alyssen with Grandpa and Grandma

My dad and uncles told hilarious stories ... some true and others a little bit of a stretch I'm sure ... but it was such a fun time.  It's not everyday you get to celebrate such a momentous occasion!  All that fun sure can wear a body out though as displayed by my nephew.

I wanna talk about me

A month or so ago I thought it would be fun to start jotting down some interesting little tidbits about myself to share with my faithful readers.  I've been adding to it here and there as things pop into my head.  Today I reached 50 and decided to stop.  I like round numbers.  Oh, maybe I should've put that one on the list.  We'll just call it a free factoid, on the house of course.  So here they are, in no particular order...50 fun facts about the one and only ME.  :o)

1. My real first name is Jensine (pronounced Jen-see-na), not Sena.
2. I have the greatest husband in the whole entire world. Sorry to disappoint the rest of you gals who think you have the greatest husband. *wink*
3. I can't cook without making a mess.
4. I'm annoyed by people who do ironic things like run a stop sign but then insist on driving 10 or more miles per hour under the speed limit.
5. My Fantasy Football team got last place in our league this year.
6. Mostly I don't like the food on my plate to touch, yet there are combos that I insist on mixing like corn and mashed potatoes.
7. I have an entire room devoted almost totally to scrapbooking, but rarely ever scrapbook anymore.
8. I can't go a day without Burt's Bees lip balm.
9. I have truly enjoyed being pregnant ... even through the morning sickness phase.
10. I'm getting the same crease between my eyebrows that my dad has from scowling too much.
11. My iPhone is awesome.
12. I hate having short fingernails.
13. I'm named after my mom's grandmother who came to America from Denmark.
14. I'm overjoyed that I'm going to have a daughter.
15. When it comes to golf, I'm a natural.
16. I get annoyed quite easily.
17. There is not a coffee drink in existence that I like ... sorry Starbucks.
18. I graduated high school with a whopping 32 other small town kids, several of whom I went through school with all the way from Kindergarten.
19. Watching The Biggest Loser while eating something mildly unhealthy is a weekly ritual for me.
20. I want to be a stay-at-home mom for a little while.
21. I have never tried smoking.
22. As a creature of habit, it's a challenge to get ready in the morning if I'm not at my own house.
23. My dream job is to be a photographer.
24. I don't like to read. (But, obviously you do!) :)
25. I was always a dog person ... until I got my cat.
26. To my knowledge, I don't have any severe allergies ... I only suffer from the seasonal type on occasion and one rare type noted in number 42.
27. I like to look at my pregnant profile to admire how well my baby girl is growing.
28. The dragging of one's feet drives me bonkers!
29. I avoid people with prickly dispositions.
30. I wouldn't ever get on Facebook if it wasn't for my iPhone app. (Did I mention my iPhone is awesome?)
31. I think one of my biggest pet peeves is being interrupted.
32. When I'm shopping, I don't like to take the item at the front of the shelf.
33. The same goes for getting lids for drinks at restaurants. The top one just seems icky.
34. I sometimes suffer from road rage.
35. I only have one more course to take in order to finish my Master of Education degree, but it will have to wait until after Honeybun is here.
36. "New Car" scented air fresheners are awful. Only genuine new car smell is good.
37. I can have entire conversations that actually make sense with my family (mom, dad, brother) using nothing but movie and TV quotes.
38. I took dance lessons for 10 years when I was growing up ... ballet, tap, and jazz.
39. I used to think that every little girl needed a big brother, but now that my younger kid(s) will have a big sister I tend to think that just having a sibling is something to celebrate.
40. As much as I despise procrastination, I can't seem to avoid it.
41. I can almost always substitute "I should be studying" for whatever I happen to be doing. For instance, I should be studying, but instead I'm making a random list of things about myself.
42. I think I might be allergic to work. Literally, I sneeze all day every day when I'm there and hardly ever when I'm not.
43. I love oldies music.
44. I have a ton of memorable childhood Halloween costumes, but the best might be the Tweety Bird one my mom made. My brother was Sylvester.
45. I have a good sense of direction.
46. I don't really like talking on the phone much. My husband and immediate family are the exceptions.
47. As much as my husband encourages me, I rarely try new foods. Sorry, honey.
48. I HATE having wet feet. I mean, it's fine for the bath or shower, but you won't catch me out in the rain in flip flops.
49. I have a tendency not to fill my car up with gas until the low fuel light comes on.
50. My limits were challenged trying to come up with this list. I blame pregnancy brain.

There you have it.  Now you know some stuff about me you probably didn't know before.  Make it even and tell me something I don't know about you!