Nesting

The final countdown has begun. I cannot believe we're already to this point! My doctor appointments are now weekly, we are less than 1 month away from Oggie's official due date....and our life together as we've known it for 9 years is going to change forevermore in VERY short order! :) And we couldn't be more excited!!

But we need him....we would appreciate him .... not making his entrance until after the 1st of July. Every time I video skype with my mom on the computer, she gets teary and emotional when she has me stand up in front of the camera to show off the belly. :) GOD BLESS MODERN TECHNOLOGY!!!!! But my dad....my dad ....he is too cute! If they have the TV on when the phone rings, the caller or the source of the call pops up on the TV and when he sees it is from Virginia, he told me that he thinks "No! Not yet!! It is too early"....fearful that we're calling with news that I've gone into labor. Hahahah! And now...my parents are in Europe with the Sonoran Desert Chorale and my dad called from Budapest last night (at 12:45 am their time, I might add....nothing like burning the candle from both ends!!) . And while I got the run down on what they'd seen so far...he was far more concerned with how I am feeling. He is really quite worried that Oggie is going to decide to come while they're across the Pond. :) It is so cute I can hardly stand it!!! :)

Anyway...while we are hoping that Oggie decides to "incubate" a little longer :), we are practically ready for his arrival! :) This fact is really helping temper my increasing anxiety. His "Travel System" (stroller/carrier/car seat) arrived a couple weeks ago and Dave got it all put together. It is rather an amazing item (with owls to boot!) and we are thrilled to have it!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH to the people who sent us the stroller!! I have been breathing easier since it arrived! :)

Very early on in the pregnancy, I was researching bathtubs and found something called the Tummy Tub. After seeing several videos demonstrating the pure genius of the item (regardless of Dave saying we could just go to Home Depot and buy a bucket!)...I became obsessed with getting one. Leave it to the Europeans to come up with something like this!!! Well...it arrived just a couple days ago and I am beyond excited!!

Official Tummy Tub Video

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And then, there is the nursery!!! We decided to transform the "office" into the nursery and make the guest bedroom into the guest bedroom/office. Once the office was moved...we were left with the realization that not only was the paint (a creamy beige) and trim (a mauve/salmon pink) in the nursery a horrid, HORRID color but that it was just dingy looking. So...we decided to do an overhaul of the room. It isn't a complete overhaul as the "geniuses" :( who lived here before actually painted over wallpaper and I just do not have the inclination to fix that terrible mistake....since we are renting....but what we did do has made a WORLD of difference. :) To really appreciate it, I would suggest clicking on the picture and bringing up the larger version. :)

With my mom's help (she has SUCH an eye for this stuff...even from such a distance!), I decided on Whisper Yellow for the walls and Pot of Cream for the trim. It is now a completely different room!!!! :)

Our families and friends are not the only ones anxiously awaiting the arrival of little Oggie. Starting in the back row and from the left we have: Daisy Duck, Duck Duck and Bertie Duck. In the front row and from the left we have: Wilbur the Cow, Fred the Monkey, and George the Hippo.

This is the wall where our office desk/old kitchen table used to be. Dave put the bookshelf together this past week and got the pet net up a couple days ago. He also insisted...absolutely insisted...that one of his NASCAR pictures adorn the walls of the room. As this was an improvement from his earlier request of having all of his 5 NASCAR collages in the room...I readily agreed to the one. He chose the one his family gave him of Dale Earnhardt Sr. in the pits at the Indianapolis Speedway. :) The collages are now hanging in our bedroom...and I am fine with that! :)

Just seeing the crib makes me smile!!! Oggie will be sleeping in our room in the pack n' play that we already have for the first couple months but we've decided that from the get go, he will take his naps in the crib. Notice who is next to the crib on the floor. Yes...that is Hilde. Already, she is showing signs of being a protective and herding Corgi. If I go into any other room of the house and leave her on the other side of the door, she is fine. But if I go into the nursery and leave her outside the room, she starts to cry. And as soon as I let her in, she curls up right next to the crib. :)

This is looking into the room from the door. The picture hung in my room when I was a baby and I am so thankful that 1) I kept it and 2) that my mom sent it to me to use in Oggie's nursery!

We still have some things to work on when it comes to the room. I have to figure out some sort of way to store diapers. And Dave is going to get some blinds up in the windows and then my mom is going to make a valance or curtains for the windows. And my mom is also going to make a slip cover for the rocking chair as the yellow in the current cushions kind of clashes....and the floral pattern just doesn't fit. :) And my dad is going to fix the current and horrid fluorescent lights fixture on the ceiling when my parents come and replace it with a better light fixture.

But besides those small adjustments...the nursery is basically done! And to be quite honest....I love to just open the door and look inside from time to time. It is such a cheerful room and is already full of so much love and hope!

The one question that we've been wrestling with for almost the whole pregnancy has also been solved: what to do with the cats. No...we weren't ever going to get rid of them. But they occupied the guest bathroom and when people would come to stay with us, we would move them into the office so the guest bathroom could be used. But...now the office is the nursery and...not only did they need a new spot but we wanted to be able to use the second bathroom. Well, we found the solution and now we have a second bathroom...which is a truly lovely thing!!!! :)

And the cats....well...they've never been happier! We found an extra tall pet gate and have made our utility/laundry area of our kitchen into the cat area. We are thrilled because we have use of our second bathroom AND the cats don't have free reign of the kitchen....something that for hygiene reasons we did NOT want!! And the cats are thrilled (as thrilled as cats can be) because they have a perch (the washing machine)...a window that looks right out on the bird feeders :) ...and they can see out of the gate which is a huge difference compared to the solid door of the bathroom.

And on top of all of this....when we're home and it is during the day, they can come and go as they wish. Before, we used to have to keep the bathroom door closed and then wait for them to roar at us to let them in...or out...because the Corgi would go and eat their food. But now, they have a little door at the bottom of the gate that they can walk in and out of and the Corgi doesn't bother with it and everyone is very happy!!! Seriously...they seem less stressed these days...and they weren't ever stressed cats to begin with.

So....we are all (both furry and non-furry) ready for Oggie's arrival. This week's agenda includes interviewing perspective pediatricians on Wednesday and packing my labor bag so that it is ready and waiting! These past 9 months have flown by so quickly....so quickly!!! But Dave and I are both ready for this new chapter in our life!!