My first parental mistake...

..will likely be the fact that I chose a Sock Monkey nursery theme.

At least according to the lady at Hancock Fabric. When I asked if they had any sock monkeys in the store so that I could find fabric in the right shade of red, her response went something like this...

"Oh Lawd No! And thank God we don't! Those things are scaaaarry. Please don't tell me you are doing a nursery in those creepy dolls. That child is going to need therapy....years and years of therapy."

I will admit it...they are a little bit creepy. But it's one of those things that are so ugly that they are cute, right?

So here is my attempt at a not-so-creepy sock monkey themed nursery.


















....okay, okay! I'll pay for your therapy.




Behind the scenes:
Adam was a lot of help in getting this nursery together. He wrapped letters in yarn, he put furniture together, he hung the bike and the curtains. Grandma was also a lot of help! She made the crib skirt, the blanket, and recovered the glider so that it was red and matched the room! We are so happy with the way it turned out!

We are so excited to meet you Ethan, and to show you your awesome room!!!

Your dad might be psychic + A few ultrasounds + Another weekly text update

Adam was on night shift with work for a while and after one night of being off he called me and said, "You should go look in my sketch book, I drew something I think you might like." I had no idea what he had drawn but I quickly got up and flipped through the sketch book to come to this picture.

(Ignore the poor scanning quality)

Now, I realize this baby's head is a little large and disproportional, but I immediately teared up knowing this is the picture he had in his head when he thought about our baby boy!

Soon after this drawing we had a growth scan. For some strange reason the doctor thought Ethan might be measuring a little on the large side. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that my belly is the size of a full term woman carrying triplets. We went in for our growth scan and it turns out yes, we in fact have a large baby. He was in the 86th percentile around 26 weeks weighing a pound and a half more than averages babies at 26 weeks...but the only thing putting him there was is the size of his head. We had another growth scan at 36 weeks and the tech said he was 7 lbs 4 oz, and will likely gain about a half a pound a week until he decides to come out.

Here are a couple of ultrasound pictures. I think Adam knew what he was doing when he drew Ethan's head the size he did. The ultrasounds are so much fun! I love getting to see him move around in there and try to make out what each body part is! And I love seeing his little profile!

Text from Adam sent August 30, 2011

"So week 18 and we have a 5.5 inch sweet potato that weights 1/16th of Guinto! Baby is flexing his/her arms and legs and is practicing all sorts of motions which Shell is feeling constantly now. She often has me put my ear on her tummy to see if I can hear or feel any kicking! Unfortunately it's not quite strong enough yet, which if it's a boy with my genes he will be sure to overcome that in the future :). If it's a girl the fallopian tubes are formed and in place now (which is a good thing because the "fallopian tubes" were at the top of my concerned list). The blood vessels can be seen through its skin and a protective covering is forming around its nerves. I pulled out a ruler today to look at 5.5 inches which looks gi-normous! While I normally hate sweet potatoes I sure am loving this one! Only one week until we find out if its going to spend hours entertaining us by singing and dancing or by putting holes in the wall while wrestling with me and the dogs!!!"

Shower Time!!

I am so blessed and there is no doubt Ethan is coming into the world with a lot of lovin' surrounding him! I had 3 baby showers (actually 4 including my work shower but I didn't get any pictures of that one), and each one was hosted by family and friends that poured hours of time, love, and hard work into every detail. And everyone that came out to celebrate the upcoming arrival of our little guy made each shower that much more special. We are so appreciative and thankful!

My friend Robin has her own cake business and she made these adorable cupcakes for this shower! How cute are they??

We got a lot of "Granparent" apparel at this shower!

I had my own personal present grabbing helpers!

My sister's shower!

I also had a photography/sock monkey themed shower! It was so cute! Here is a picture of the cake our Aunts had specially made for the event. Yep, that's a sock monkey holding a camera!

Poor Connor, all he wanted was to be the center of attention before Ethan arrives, and his family goes and does this to him. We had to compare head sizes!

Even the bathroom was decorated!

It was a long day for Connor, I think he's dreaming about getting into trouble with Ethan when the two of them are older.

You are the cutest baby in the family....at least until January! ;)

This was all of our shower fun! Again, thanks to everyone who hosted, and to everone who joined us! We are so thankful and so blessed to have you all in our lives.

Bikes, Candles, and Dr. Suess: Our Maternity Session + Another Text Update

I had a few posts in my que that I never published before Ethan was born, so I am going to go ahead and post them before our little man debuts on this blog! :)

The last time Adam and I had our pictures taken was on our wedding day. That really wasn't that long ago, 2 1/2 years to be exact, but none the less I was super excited to have our photos taken to document this exciting new chapter in our lives. PLUS we scheduled our session with Donna, a very talented photographer who also happens to be a good friend of ours, so I knew the session would be a fun and relaxed one! And the icing on the cake, our friend TJ showed up to document our story alongside Donna in a whole new way!

Here are a few (okay maybe more than a few) of my absolute favorites from our session!

























Text from Adam sent August 23, 2011

"It's already week 17 and only two more weeks until we find out if our little onion will be an all american baseball or softball player! His/Her skeleton is starting to harden from soft cartilage to bone and fat is accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting stronger and baby is getting personalized finger prints! He/she is about 5 oz and 5 inches long!...and we have the names picked out for either gender!"