Anxiously awaiting baby!

Today marks 38 weeks 6 days in my pregnancy, making tomorrow officially 39 weeks. That's right folks, ONE WEEK until our due date! I can't believe we have reached this point already. It honestly feels like just yesterday that we were celebrating our surprising, happy news!!! While laying in bed just the other night, talking about these final weeks, Stephen said to me, "I cannot believe that next week we could have our baby boy here at home with us...it doesn't seem real!" We are getting closer and closer to meeting our son and it does seem SO unreal that we'll be meeting him any day! We are very anxious... :)

After this mornings check-up @ 38 weeks 6 days!

At this mornings check-up with Dr., we progressed from last weeks 50% effaced to now 75% effaced. He said my cervix is very soft, so now we are just waiting for baby boy to drop to start dilation. Baby has been facing head down for many weeks now, and seems to be happy to his heart's content! :) Dr. said that we will give it the next week or so, possibly to 41 weeks out to let my body progress and begin labor naturally. If by 42 weeks, no progress (and that is IF I CAN make it that long, haha), then we will talk about inducing labor and/or c-section (if necessary by that point). We are all hoping that baby decides to drop within this next week and get the ball rolling himself!!!

I have been enjoying some time to myself these last few weeks, watching my favorite shows, sleeping in, taking naps, and finalizing last minute things around the house. I have also been subbing occasionally here and there, along with keeping up with shows for my Arbonne business.

I have really enjoyed substitute teaching this year, and I am very glad that we made the choice to have me stay home for the year. I love, love, love that I can sub for a day and come home to R-E-S-T... not stress and worry about planning, grading, students and parents. ;) I have to thank God and my wonderful husband for giving me this opportunity to be able to stay home to prepare for baby's delivery AND to provide for my family once our son joys us. Honestly, I feel like the luckiest mama and wife!

Baby boy could be here any day now...stay tuned! :)

Nursery: Owl's Hollow ♥

As the last couple of months have been filled with all my nesting activities...I finally feel like we're ready to welcome our son into the world! :) I am SO happy to say his nursery is complete and I LOVE every bit about the room...it will be our little tranquil sanctuary.

We began the process of remodeling our old guest bedroom into his "Owl Retreat" earlier this Spring and worked through it over the Summer. It is finally complete - everything in it's place, clothes washed and put away, and crib ready to welcome baby!

This has been such a FUN project for me! Although I got antsy along the way and hoped for speedier progress at times...I really have enjoyed working together with Stephen (and our loved ones) to create a peaceful space for our little one to escape.

As many of you know, we decided early on to go with an owl theme. I wasn't finding anything in the stores that really caught my attention or peaked our interest for our nursery, so we decided to go with owls and create our own decor as we went. If you know me at all.. If I have a set idea in mind...I will not settle until it is created with perfection, haha! ;) So every little detail was thought of carefully.

EVERYTHING in his nursery (for our owl-theme) is homemade with love by myself and his grandmothers (our wonderful, amazingly talented mothers). Moms, thank you BOTH for all your dedication and hard work on his nursery items (bedding, curtains, pillows, blankets, etc).  It means SO much to us to have your presence in his room and to have him surrounded by soooo much love! We couldn't have created the space we did without your help - love you both so very much. Thank you also to family friends who have contributed handmade blankets and little items for our baby. Every time I walk in the room I feel surrounded by L-O-V-E :)

Entering the nursery...

His crib...surrounded by LOTS of love:

 with the handmade quilt/comforter from Grandma Keehr, handmade blanket from one of my student's mothers from last years 1st grade class (on the left), hand painted tree (w/ help from my mom, Grandma Leppich), and handmade mobile by me! He will always be reminded of our unconditional love for him with the saying "We love you to the Moon and back" which I created with my Cricut! :) I purchased the little vinyl owl perched on the tree from WeeDecor.

I googled owl mobile and found some cute & creative DIY mobile ideas - I meshed a few different ideas together and had SO much fun making this mobile our own! I drew the images, traced it on felt & fabric, and cut out each shape. Then I hand stitched and stuffed them to give the a 3-D touch. I purchased a musical box off of Ebay that we attached the mobile to, so it can spin around and play lullaby music for him too.

Night stand w/ monitor, lamp, and picture of us - Mom & Dad (we hadn't put one it at the time of this picture, but we chose one of our maternity photos by Sandie to put in it).

I also wanted to find some wall decor to incorporate the owl theme.... with little touches of boy! Again, couldn't find anything I just loved, so I decided to google DIY ideas and make my own. :) 

I found these fabulous 6 inch shadow boxes at Craft Warehouse

and decided to make 3-D images to put inside...

Just like the mobile, I drew, traced, and cut out each shape from felt & fabric that matches the crib bedding, owl pillows & curtains. Then I hand stitched and stuffed them so they have some dimension!

Dresser/Changing table area. The little cart, from Ikea, is stocked with diapers and wipes!! Let the fun begin! :) We plan to hang some newborn pictures of baby boy after his arrival on the wall above the dresser...those pictures are soon to come ;)

Each drawer is lovingly packed with clothes galore! The top drawer is full of little socks and leg warmers (which I purchased from a store called "In Bloom" that conveniently just opened up right down the street from our house), and newborn onesies and sleepers - for easy access during those mid-night changes! ;)

The second drawer is also packed full of 0-3 onesies and pants.

The 3rd drawer is ALL sleepers - size NB to 12 months! We are set on sleepers I would say :)

Willow Tree Angel and sign from my mom. :) So excited to venture into this new journey of Motherhood! Thanks, Mom ~ xoxo

Opposite corner of the room - with bookcase and closet. The amazing valance was made by my Mother-In-Law, Janet (aka Grandma Keehr). :) I found the leave/branch curtain rod at Lowe's to go along with the outdoor/owl theme.

His closet! This is one of my favorite spaces in the room....ok, 2nd to his crib space! :) We decided to take off the existing closet doors and keep this space open to add a little more depth to the room. Stephen did an AMAZING job of building new shelves and putting in a new rod to hang some (key word - some) of his clothes. haha! We bought cloth cube baskets and some wicker baskets from Wal-Mart and Target to store extra clothes from when he gets bigger, along with stuffed animals, and other baby gear! The wonderful bench was a gift from some dear friends at Lewis & Clark Elementary where I taught 1st grade - thank you again ladies!! It adds the perfect touch to the space. :) I made the "Little One" sign from my Cricut to hang above the closet.

These ADORABLE owl pillows were handmade by my mom. Love, love, love them! The represent our little family :)

I have always been obsessed with "little" things and one of my baby shopping addictions has been little teeny, tiny, baby shoes! Oh my, they are SOOOO stinkin' cute! He already has a good little shoe selection going: complete with Robeez (slippers), cowboy boots, DC's tennis shoes, Timberland boots, and beach sandals for next summer! Of course there are a few pairs of newborn shoes which he will probably only be able to wear for a week or so, but they are adorable, too!

Here are some of our maternity shots, the Fabulous Sandie Salisbury, took in the nursery.

Thanks, Sandie for capturing these memories for us!

Here are some more photos of the remodeling/progress of putting his nursery together:

My parents visited over Memorial Day weekend for my Mom's birthday and

one more quick visit before baby.

My mom helped me paint the tree above the crib. :) Thanks, Mom!!

The finished product!

Stephen working on the closet shelves: :) Thanks, Honey!!

Before & Afters:

FINSIHED! :)

Before & Afters:

Pickin' Pumpkins

Last weekend, October 15th, Auntie Lauren and Uncle Jordan came and gave us a visit once more before baby boy joins us. :) We took our infamous trip to the Pumpkin Patch together!!! We look forward to it every year! I cannot wait to continue the tradition once we BOTH have kiddos and it can be a family event with the little ones...SO excited for that!! (wink, wink you two, haha)

This year we took a trip to Bill's Berry Farm (near Prosser) to pick out our pumpkins. We hit the road with Sbucks Caramel Apple Spices in hand -YUM- and couldn't wait to arrive at the patch for some favorite Fall fun!

Bill's Berry Farm is absolutely awesome! This was the first year we tried this patch and I think it's our new favorite. :) They had SO many fun family oriented activities:

-fire pits you can reserve for making smores and relaxing after picking pumpkins
-3 pumpkin patches with different sized pumpkins (the Wee-Bee's for the little critters, pie pumpkins - medium sized for baking, and the large pumpkins for carving!
-apple sling-shots where you could win a dozen FRESH homemade pumpkin donuts if you made it through the donut hole (Stephen made it through and WON us a dozen!)
-make your own apple cider
-a LARGE mystery corn maze where you have you solve mysteries using clues along the way to find your way out. We didn't have enough time, but it looked like a lot of fun!
-hay rides and kiddy tractor ride

It was a lot of fun. Baby boy had his first trip ever pumpkin patch experience (in momma's womb of course) and even got his own Wee-Bee pumpkin! We are excited to carve our pumpkins and welcome baby in the next couple weeks.

Wee-Bee punkin for our Little Pumpkin! :)

Picking out our pumpkins and comparing Lauren's pumpkin to the little pumpkin in my belly. Well, not so little - but he's our pumpkin! ;)

The boys guarding our wheel barrel of pumpkins. :) They were ready to go fling some apples!

Family picture at the Patch! L-O-V-E it :)

Lauren & Jordan in the Patch...cutest engaged couple! :)

Soooo many pumpkins to choose from!

Our good lookin' pumpkins and bucket of little pumpkins & gourds.

Where to next? How about Fruit flingin' for the boys...?

The boys preping their slings for the ultimate shot! Who can fling the farthest...? ;)

Round two...

We WON a free dozen of homemade Pumpkin Donuts - they were delicious!

Belly shot @ the Patch - 37 weeks :)

I would highly recommend this patch to anyone in the area! Here is a link to their website: http://www.billsberryfarm.com/ It is free to get into the farm and you pay based on what you want to do. So worth the trip out there! :) We are looking forward to taking our little one back there next year for his 1st official Pumpkin Patch visit.

Babymoon :)

This last weekend, Stephen and I took one last trip away together as just Husband and Wife before we become Dad & Mom in the few short weeks to come. :) So weird to say, Dad and Mom, haha!

So, we planned a "Babymoon", a 2 night get-away to Cameo Heights Mansion Bed & Breakfast in Touchet, WA. This mansion is tucked away in the hills of Touchet - in between Tri-cities and Walla Walla - only about 25 minutes from our home - can't beat that!

The B&B is surrounded by fruit orchards including apple, cherry and grape trees galore!! The mansion B&B is owned and run by wonderful inn-keepers, Alan and Deanne Feilding. They were so good at making every little detail of our stay perfect & priceless....and it WAS! From our beautiful room (the Italian Suite) with a gorgeous view of the orchards, to the incredible homemade food - this place definitely fulfilled my "wants" and "needs" for getting away from reality for just a few days before our lives realllllly change (for the BEST of course)!

While enjoying our stay, we slept in (...yes, 8:00 is sleeping in at our house with little Bella pup on our hands), enjoyed a movie in the B&B theater, took a stroll through the mansion grounds & orchards/vineyards, ate delicious food, and also took naps!! :)
Here are some photos of the beautiful mansion and our stay! :) Enjoy...

Cameo Heights Mansion Bed & Breakfast

WHERE'S STEPHEN??? Can you find him, he is hiding!!! haha :)

Gotcha....Looks like the big foot photo, haha!

 

Arriving at the mansion - gotta get a belly shot @ 36 weeks

Front entry way & stairs leading up to our suite...

Our Suite "Bella Valle" or the Italian Suite....

...absolutely gorgeous!

KING bed - I want one! :)

 

Air-jetted soaker tub - So relaxing... another thing to add to my "want" list..haha!

Loved the tile work in the bathroom

 

The view from our french doors - so pretty!

Our morning wake-up room service!! 10/10/11

(mint hot cocoa, fresh squeezed OJ, hot homemade apple danish, flowers, and a note with the days weather report and interesting facts/things to do).

The 2nd morning was blackberry-creamcheese danishes - yum!

Stephen picking out a movie for us to watch....

Monday morning was cloudy and rainy, So we decided to watch a movie in the Cameo Heights Mansion Theater! What better way to spend the day together...relaxing & cuddling :)

Hospitality bar...filled with....

TONS of drinks and snacks including popcorn for movie time

& also, smore packs for the outdoor fire pit by the pool.

 Mixing virgin mimosas (sprite and OJ)

I am ready to relax with my man (AND LOTS of pillows, haha) and watch a movie!

  Ready for movie time - we watched Salt -

Stephen's cheesy smile, too! haha!

Game room...we got our ping-pong on.

 It was hilarious - that ball flew everywhere, haha!

Stephen serving and me concentrating REAL hard on

hitting the ball correctly - HAHA!

Strolling through the orchards after the ran finally stopped for a bit...

Lots and lots of apple trees!

We finally found the grapes up on the hill. Deanna, one of the inn-keepers, said that the grapes didn't do well this year, they froze with the harsh winter last November. Many of the grape vines didn't produce - but we managed to find a few little bundles of grapes. We ate one too - SOUR!

The Vine - The mansion/B&B Restaurant.

Incredible breakfast and dinner!

(You can make reservations to eat there without staying @ the B&B, too)

Our beautiful table all decorated for Fall dinner.

We had Fondue for Two..OH HEAVENS...amazing!

Waiting for our first fondue course to arrive after enjoying

 incredible apple spinach salads with cougar gold cheese on top....

Course #2

Italian cheese fondue....our favorite items to dip in the 3 cheese mixture were

grapes, cucumber, and pears....sounds odd....but SOOO good!!!

Course #3

Grilling course - peppered steak, teriyaki chicken, and shrimp with potatoes and veggies to grill

Grilling our meets and veggies!

Course #4 - Dessert Fondue

German coconut pecan chocolate sauce with lots of fruit, cheesecake chunks,

rice crispies, marshmellows!

The amazing chocolate dip - sprinkled with coconut & pecans.

We were STUFFED after eating all that amazing fondue -

we called it a night and rolled ourselves upstairs (haha) to bed for the evening!

Our little get-away was everything I was hoping it would be. :) 

We spent quality time together, worry and care free! It felt like we got to rekindle our love just like 6 years ago when we first started dating...although our bond is 10 times stronger today.

I honestly couldn't be happier to have Stephen as my better half....I feel SO lucky and blessed to be carrying OUR child!

 We have been through ups & downs, MANY good times and some bad over the past years and we have gotten through everything TOGETHER! I can't wait to experience the newest journey into parenthood alongside him, too. He is going to be the most amazing father to our son and I am looking forward to watching their father/son bond!

I look forward to the many memories we have to create as a FAMILY in the future.

We are so blessed!