Today

My sweet Mom dropped off a bunch of goodies for me yesterday and I've been spending the whole morning going through them and organizing everything. My mom teaches quilt making and she has the sweetest students that take her classes. They've been sending my mom home with gifts for Donovan for months now. I've gotten knitted blankies and caps, toys, and yesterday, the world's largest bag of hand me down clothing... to die for. My mom whipped up this little quilt in one day! It's the perfect size for Donovan to play or roll on.

Of course Miss Molly has to join in on the organizing.

She's extremely helpful.

This Baby Boy of ours has WAY too much to wear. On the far right side of his closet are all of the newborn and 0-3 months outfits. (some hanging & most onesies and pants folded in the little baskets underneath.)

The front left side of the closet is all of his 3 month digs. In the baskets below, his bibs, hats, socks, and 0-3 months onesies and pants.

The far left side of his closet is dedicated to all of the other "stuff." Blankets, sheets, bath stuff, diapers, wipes... the list goes on and on. Who knew babies needed so many things. Also, hanging off of the hooks are a few diaper bags that my crafty little Mom made for me.

And when I say we have major clothes, I mean it! There are 3 under the bed storage bins full of outfits for the future. 6 months and up. Thanks to many hand-me-downs from Donovan's older buddies Aiden and Hudson along with lots of gifts from loved ones and students.

This boy is blessed beyond measure that is for sure.

And as for me, I am trying to manage my impatience by doing a few of my favorite things... mainly watching Sex and the City reruns on E and dreaming up a postpartum wardrobe. I am loving the top below and debating on using some Christmas gift card goodness to fund my affection for this springy, flowy top.

Until next time... send your induction thoughts my way. Maybe we'll have a baby this weekend?!? And then again, maybe not. :)

I'm linking up with this blog today to share what I'm loving most right now. It's no surprise to any of my blog readers that I have baby on the mind 24/7 these days, and today's choice is no different.

I was introduced to Aden and Anais swaddle blankets a few months ago when I got together with my girlfriends and noticed that they all had their babes wrapped up in one. Of course, being a mommy-to-be with little to no expertise in the mommy department, I inquired and instantly was given rave reviews.

You can find them at Target or Babies R Us and lots of boutiques, but I found that Amazon seems to have the best selection.

I loved this little set that my friend Jessica was using with her Baby boy, Banks. I think they look sort of vintagey. (I made up that adjective.)

I have my first set washed and waiting for Donovan to be snuggled in and even one in my hospital bag to send him home in. They are huge (much bigger than any other receiving blankets I have) and light weight muslin. I could see so many uses for them: nursing covers, car seat covers, swaddlers, or just spread out on the carpet for the baby to roll around on.

*** Hollie, if you're reading: Do not purchase! I'm getting these for you as soon as I find out what you've got cooking inside that tummy of yours. :)

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Sneak Peek

So when the Mr. is away and the Mrs. has a whole week off work plus the help of her Mom and Dad there is a whole lot of progress to be made. Here is a glimpse at the nursery now. There's still a few things to add and do here and there. But I am definitely taking a huge sigh of relief knowing that if Donovan were to make an appearance a bit early, his things are ready and waiting. Plus, I just love spending time in his sweet little room. Many more posts to follow with lots and lots of details.

Thank you to the very best sidekicks a girl could ever wish for. Mom and Dad there are no words... you're simply the BEST!

Time to craft is a luxury...

And I am so thankful that I've had a whole week to catch up on little projects that I've been meaning to do. This was a fun one. Linda, (who planned my Baby Shower) bought these cute little wooden letters at Michaels to decorate the mantle for the shower last weekend. I have long been a fan of wooden letters that spell out a baby's name in a nursery. I have bookmarked quite a few on ETSY. But I can't believe how easy this project was to do myself.

I picked out a few of my favorite papers that compliment Donovan's nursery colors. I got them at Paper Source. Do you ever shop there? It is such a fun shop! The papers come in really large sheets and they're only $2.50 each. I bought three and barely made a dent in any of them, so I have lots leftover to continue crafting with.

I just traced each of the letters and then cut them out with an exact-o knife.

Then I used mod podge to adhere the paper to the letters. I brushed a thin coat to the letter itself, put on the paper, and lightly brushed over it again.

And that was it! So much cheaper than ETSY. :)

I can't wait to see what it looks like on his walls.

9 weeks to go.

I am SO Thankful for our little one this Thanksgiving. I laid awake last night feeling my son wiggling and rolling all around in my tummy and I started to feel sad at the thought that in 9 weeks I won't have that special bond with him anymore. Is that weird? I just love knowing that I can feel him all the time and that he's safe and protected inside of me. It is such a sweet experience.

On the other hand, I am reminded that my belly is growing uncomfortably large and then I get eager and excited for the day to come when he's out and wrapped in our arms.

Someone else is eager to meet the little guy too. Molly has decided that Donovan's nursery, while still in progress, is her favorite new spot in the house. Every morning she lays like this in the door way. And in the afternoon I catch her taking a snooze in the sun drenched spots all around his room. It's so cute!

I am enjoying Thanksgiving with my parents today while my hubs is soaking up the sun on a cruise with his family in the Mexican Riviera. It was a gift to us last Christmas from his mom... but unfortunately there's policies for preggos and Donovan and I were apparently too big to join in on the festivities. It's the first Thanksgiving I've had without Dustin in 6 years or so. Boo! But don't feel too sorry for me. I am still in my jammies, being spoiled by my mom and dad, catching up on some quilt projects, and shamelessly looking forward to devouring my Dad's famous stuffing and yams. Yum!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! We have SO much to be Thankful for this year.

A shower of love

My sister in law Jill and my Mom's best friend and neighbor (my second mom, really) Linda threw the most beautiful shower for Donovan last weekend.

It was pouring rain outside but nice and cozy inside my Oma's house.

Here are Donovan's happy grandmothers.

The details of the day were perfect and so, so sweet. White gerber daisies in vases wrapped with pretty papers.

And take a look at this spread. Such yummy desserts and sweets to snack on.

I just LOVE this little sophie the giraffe teether that decorated the table.

The cake came from Susie Cakes in Newport. It was SO delicious!

I know, I know... desserts come after the lunch. Oh well. The lunch was so good that I think I made three trips back for more. There were tea sandwiches and fruit kabobs, scones, wontons with mango chutney, cheese and crackers and the list goes on and on.

Is your mouth watering yet?

Then there were the gifts. So many gifts! This baby is spoiled to say the least. I couldn't take pictures of everything, but trust me there were tons! So many homemade things too. Oma worked so hard to knit this blankie.

And my mom made a gorgeous quilt for Donovan's nursery. Each of the ship's sails has one of Donovan's initials stitched inside.

Donovan got more knitted blankets from Linda and my aunt Jacquie and homemade burp cloths and receiving blankets from my Aunt Denise. He even received a homemade taggie blanket with his name stitched on it from his auntie Jen.

His aunt Jill used her motherly wisdom to purchase all of Clare's favorite things for her cousin Donovan. A giant loot of lotions, bottles, toys, clothes, books... you name it.

Then there were all of the registry gifts that are baby must haves. Dustin and I were overwhelmed by the generous gifts we got! Strollers, Diaper Genie, swing, Co-sleeper, bath, mattress pads, and sheets, boppies, and breast feeding pillows, little toys, jammies. TONS of things!

Grandpa had a train made with his initials on it.

My cousin Brianne's daughter Ashley even drew Donovan a beautiful picture of a pumpkin patch with a waterfall. :)

I wish I had more pictures of all of the ladies that joined us.

It was such a special day with so many women that I love!

And here is a picture of the aftermath when we got home.

Surprise! and Some Progress

Last Thursday, Dustin had been golfing and made a quick stop at home before letting me know that he had some errands to run. He told me that he had to stop by Home Depot and then he would pick up some dinner for us on his way home. He took awhile... a long while, but he finally made it home and I was STARVING! We sat down to eat dinner and then after we finished he casually asked me to help him unload his car with the stuff he'd gotten at Home Depot. I almost screamed out loud when he lifted up the back door of his car to reveal a giant box with our crib inside!!! Woo hoo! I could barely contain my excitement. I was like a little kid on Christmas morning. So surprised! Dustin took the box apart and pulled out all of the pieces for us to look at. But believe it or not, even with all of my excitement, we were both exhausted from the day and decided to wait to put it together the next morning.

Sorry for the goofy picture. This was my uncooperative husband mocking me because he can't stand posing for "blog pictures."

The next group of pictures are all from Friday morning as we started, well he started actually, setting up the crib. Molly of course had to be a part of every step in the process. I think she approved!

She literally found her way right into the middle of the crib while we set it up.

So, there you have it. It's all set up now and we finally moved out the other furniture in the room to make a new "man cave" for Dustin in the garage.

I didn't want to show the completed crib pictures until we get the bedding and everything put in. With a whole week off of work next week, those pictures shouldn't be too far behind. I can't wait to see this nursery come together. And I REALLY can't wait to see the sweet Baby Boy that will get to call this little room his own.

A visit from Aunt Carol and Uncle Wally

Last weekend our family friends came by for a visit. They won't be able to come to my baby shower so they wanted to stop by, say hello, and drop off a gift for Donovan.

It's so surreal starting to open up gifts from our registry. Half the things we registered for, I have no idea how to use... YET. But I'm sure we'll learn quickly.

They gifted us with a sweet little swaddle blanket and a mattress cover for our crib.

We all enjoyed some dessert and dreamed up plans for decorating the nursery. (Well, the girls did, anyways. The boys just watched football.)

11 more weeks to go!

Things are coming along quite nicely around here...

Daddy to be finished painting Donovan's room and now we can concentrate on making the room fit for a baby.

Grammie to be, LaDona, called to let us know that she purchased Donovan's crib for us and that it will be available for pick up soon. I can't wait to put it together! She also gifted us with a bunch of sweet things for Donovan when we went up to Sacramento for a short trip two weekends ago. She bought him some cute little blankies.

And gave us these gorgeous crocheted and knitted blankets made by Poppa Don's Grandmother. (Donovan's Great-Great Grandmother) They are so intricate and still in such good condition.

She found this little frame. I can't wait to pop some pics of our cute baby boy in there as he grows.

My favorite little gift was this top which Poppa Don wore when he was a little baby. It is so fine and detailed. Donovan will have to be pictured in it and then I think it will make a great little decoration in his nursery.

So things are starting to come along. Up next: Decisions, decisions, decisions....