Bald Head Babymoon

This past weekend Jimmy and I took a mini getaway on beautiful Bald Head Island. It's crazy to think that we've lived here for over three years and we had never been to this little gem. Check out this map - it's in the lower middle of the map, just below us on the Atlantic.

To follow are some of our pictures. A quick recap - we stayed in the adorable B&B, Marsh Harbour Inn. I had a wonderful mommy-to-be massage at a spa on the island. There are no cars allowed anywhere, so you get a golf cart with your room. The lack of cars and the wealth on this island make it so pristine and picturesque. A big part of the attraction, for me, is the variety of landscape - West, South and East facing beaches, Outerbanks-like tranquility, pretty golf course and island style forests. I took about 100 pictures of all the pretty houses, but I'll spare you and only share a handful.

Pit stop in Southport to change ferry

Palm lined marina/ferry terminal on Bald Head

Pretty porch off our room

Our ride

Mature trees in someone's yard

Inland pond

Old Baldy Lighthouse - Built in 1817

Inside Old Baldy - Can you spot me?

View from the top of Old Baldy

Ocean views

Wooded golf cart roads

Another beauty

One of my faves - loved the landscaping/setting

Beach boardwalk

East facing beach

Thanks Jimmy for such a fun and memorable mini babymoon!

Hearts Apart

HeartsApart.org, a non-profit founded by the CEO of the company I work for, has been selected as as one of 20 finalists nationwide for the White House's Joining Forces Community Challenge. HeartsApart.org helps keep military families connected by providing our soon-to-be deployed servicemen and women with pictures of their spouses and children. Really amazing stuff. Readers - please vote here!! How sweet is this?

{Source}

23 Weeks Wednesday

Wow, nearly 6 months down and things are still going really well! The only real "happening" this week was selecting our pediatrician and getting our first "expectant parent" meeting scheduled with their office. The winner? Seaside Pediatrics. Dr. Horger received glowing recommendations from quite a few of our friends and colleagues, plus word on the street is he gives the best circumcisions, so Seaside Peds it is. "Word on the street" was the best thing I could come up with, but it was actually a friend at work who just had a boy in September who told me. Apparently, it's a known fact among the nurses and OBs in Labor & Delivery that Dr. Horger is the best. Anyways, enough about that. I think I feel baby O blushing.

You know you're pregnant when....

You spot a gummy bear under your desk that had fallen out of your purse last Friday and you seriously consider eating it.

Speaking of gummy bears, I really like them right now, along with any other fruity and chewy candy. Lucky for my teeth and baby O, I don't indulge...often.

In other news, the back pain I spoke of last week has moved up and solely to the right, directly under my rib cage. What's up with that? Anyways, it sucks and I can't get comfortable most the day. Oh and I learned the hard way why docs tell you to eat smaller more frequent meals. Completely starving for lunch one day and then dinner the next, I ate a "normal" size meal and ended up doubled over in pain. Heartburn, bloating, cramping, nauseous - the works! MUST EXERCISE WILL POWER TO NOT STUFF MY FACE!

Like Father Like Son

My mom and I went to the Myrtle Beach outlets today to return some things and Children's Place happened to be having some great sales, so we got baby O a few things.

I love a man in flannel

I know the novelty will wear off after about, eh, one more load, but I'm excited to wash all his little things. How do you fold something so tiny? Can't believe we actually have baby clothes in the house :)

Check-Up

Baby O and I had a check-up this morning and everything is peachy! His heart beat is really strong - most beautiful sound in the world. I'm measuring 21 centimeters, which is right on track. Though I definitely feel much more plump. Next visit is the glucose test - fingers crossed for good results.

Looking forward to a project-free weekend! Happy Friday!

22 Weeks Wednesday

Well today marks the end of my 22nd week! I've been incredibly fortunate to have had a great pregnancy thus far, but I'd be sugar coating things if I didn't share that this last week included some less pleasant pregnancy symptoms. First off, I've had a couple dizzy, think I might faint experiences which I'm chalking up to the characteristically low blood pressure around the 20th week. I'm also having back pain (aching and nerve pinching), usually starting at about 7:30 or 8pm when I've probably been running around and doing too much. I think more relaxing will help, but sometimes I just have things to do, so I'll have to deal with the discomfort. My only fear is this is a sign of more significant back pain to come when I'm carrying more weight, etc. Let's see, on to more happy things...

1. I signed up for Lamaze classes starting March 14 - April 25th (weeks 30-36 for me)
2. I'm able to see more of the inside of my belly button...uncharted territory
3. As anyone who follows me on Pinterest probably already knows, I'm considering orange and aqua/turquoise accent colors for baby O's gray nursery. Not totally sold yet though.
4. He's becoming more and more active, especially in the evenings. Even Jimmy gets to feel him every night before we go to bed. We=me and Jimmy. I'm pretty sure baby O stays up and contemplates life because he's still moving around like crazy when I get up to go to the bathroom...about 6 times a night.
5. A couple times now, he has contorted himself into a position that looks pretty crazy from the outside - 1) a ball on the right side of my belly...it's not a tumor (in my best Arnold voice) 2) a ball smack dab in the center of my belly which created a truly perfect looking baby bump.
6. People at work (guys) who missed the memo months ago, or were too afraid to say anything, are now starting to safely and with confidence tell me "congrats".

Happy Hump Day!

Home Improvements

We've been busy bees the last couple weeks doing all kinds of things around the house. Details you ask? Okay, if you insist.

Even though we've already done a lot to freshen things up, the original part of our house, the 2nd floor, still had some late 90s remnants, ie. brass door knobs and ivory light switch and electric socket plates, etc. So last weekend we, and by we I mean Jimmy, decided to tackle replacing the old switches and sockets with new white ones. Every light switch and electric socket had to be rewired and we had a lot of them. It was a much needed and much appreciated upgrade!

Old ivory plate - notice the white trim contrast

While he was at it, he added light dimmers in the kitchen, dining room and living room for ambiance! While we're on this picture, he also replaced our dinosaur of a thermostat with a new digital fancy one. Thanks Martha for the Amazon gift card to make this upgrade possible!

Old thermostat and new white plates + dimmers

Fancy!

Now for the more interesting, maybe someone will care, stuff. This past weekend we took on not one, but two paint projects. First up was exorcising the "Barney" from our bathroom. With the help of Jimmy's brother, Kevin, we painted our bathroom Behr Windsurf Blue in 2010. I always thought it was pretty (modeled after a Coastal Living picture I liked), but Jimmy always hated it's purple hue, so away it went. In it's place, welcome Behr Tide Pools - a really nice blue/green.

2010 - Windsurf Blue

2012 - A much brighter, beachier bathroom

Last, but not least, we painted the nursery! I decided a long time ago, regardless of whether we were having a boy or girl, that I wanted to go gray. Never did I think it would be so difficult to decide on the actual paint color. What an ordeal! I wish I had done more upfront research on actual paint colors and less just bookmarking of pictures I liked. Blue gray, purple gray, green gray, tan gray, oh my! After multiple trips to Home Depot, Lowes and Benjamin Moore, spending $24 on 8 paint samples I'll never use and multiple testing sessions, it was my co-worker, April, who finally helped me bite the bullet and go with Benjamin Moore Gray Horse - a true gray despite how green gray it looks on the swatch.  For anyone else with the same plight, April provided the following support to help solidify my decision.

http://stillplayinghouse.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/shades-of-gray/
http://www.chiccheapnursery.com/2010/real-rooms/bright-contemporary-nursery-for-baby-p/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebline/4587524726/

Before - early on in the sampling

After

Thanks April and everyone else I bugged for an opinion. We're very happy with how it looks. Love the contrast of white trim and wood floors. Now to start decorating!! I'll make sure to take the final reveal picture in natural light...

Confession

Hi, my name is Kaylie and I'm a Pinterest addict. This weekend I crawled out from under the rock I'd been living under and jumped on the pinning bandwagon. It's so bad, it's good. Enough with this blogging stuff, I have things to pin...

21 Weeks Wednesday

This has been another exciting week, as I'm sure every week from here on out will be. I continue to feel "bigger" every day which is exciting to me. I ask Jimmy to "Look!" as I turn to the side every other second.

I had a meeting in Ohio on Monday and hadn't worn my business suit since December. It wasn't quite Tommy Boy "fat guy in a little coat", but pretty snug nonetheless. The 24th week picture should be a doozie.

Professional Prego

In other news, apparently baby O is nocturnal because he is most active when I finally lay down at night. I'm also getting the feeling that he continues to be on the big side (remember he was 84th percentile in our 19 week ultrasound) because his movements are intense. Laying in bed Tuesday night, Jimmy had his hand on my belly and I had my hand on top pressing down a bit and we both felt the kick or whatever it was from the outside. Plain as day.

Mommy readers - are those movements in my lower belly something else? Is 21 weeks too soon to feel baby O from the outside?

Year of the Boys

On Facebook this morning I learned that a couple more acquaintances are due with baby boys. I swear - If someone doesn't start making little girls we're going to have a procreation situation on our hands in approximately 30 years...

Silly Nana

Nana, that's what my mom thinks she wants to be called by baby O and future grandbabies, but she's not entirely sold yet. This is a decision she's very torn up over. I try to help, but I have so many other things on my mind as well. Anyways, the point of the post, a text correspondence between me and "Nana" this morning. Maybe only I think it's funny. 

P.S - baby carrier = one who is carrying a baby, not a baby bjorn in this case. 

I'm not that bad! Craving the rind shavings off an orange - that's a level beyond the ol' pickles and ice cream or, in my case, chocolate milkshakes and french fries. Gotta love Nana for being at my beck and call though. Speaking of which, she did deliver a chocolate milkshake to my office one day when I was too busy to eat a proper lunch. 

20 Weeks Wednesday (Belly Shot)

Yes, I know it's Thursday. I'm late again! Can't believe I'm already 20 weeks - half way there. Still feeling really good, though I have a serious weakness for chocolate milkshakes, preferably alongside some french fries.

Every once in a while I touch my belly and hit an "extra hard spot" kind of jutting out which I think is him probably balled up. I don't think his head or butt is big enough to jut out yet. I am no longer feeling the subtle flutters so much as more noticeable movements, but they're really infrequent. I hope this is a sign of in utero laziness and not that something is wrong. 

Let's see...other updates...I'm working on designing the nursery and selecting registry items which is beyond fun. Our little man is already too cool for school. Now, without further delay... the 20 weeks belly shots!

But first, for comparison purposes, me at 5 weeks...

*Warning: There must be some kind of law against flashing pictures of your bare belly on the Net after 2 Thanksgivings and 4 Christmases. Good thing I'm pregnant and the rules don't apply to me:)

Jimmy's shot - I don't think the angle does the bump justice. Or maybe I was just inadvertently sucking in...

A couple self-portraits experimenting with angles to capture the "curvature" of the bump. I'm really working it with the sideways twist in the second picture.

My sis-in-law finds my "headless horseman" shots strange, so this one's for you, Kel! Peek-a-boo!

North Carolina Christmases: Dec. 26th - Jan. 1st

Carolina Beach Christmas with my Mom, Grandma (in from OH) and Colin (in from AZ)

We left Maryland at 4am on Dec. 26th, beat all traffic and got back to the beach by 10:30am. We unpacked, rested for a few, and then headed over to my mom's to start our celebrating with her!

One of the many sinful treats Colin made

Blondies

Batch of loot #3

Grandma with her girls

Newland Christmas with my Dad

The shortage of pictures is not a reflection of a shortage of fun during our visit in the mountains - it was just the last leg of our trip!

Annual Fondue dinner - Colin is behind my big head!

Grandma donning Ali's wizard gear + Batch of Loot #4

Ali's delicious blood orange cake

What on earth did Jimmy and I do to deserve such fortunes?? Happy New Years everyone! 2012 is going to be a very special year for sure.

Maryland Christmases: Dec. 22nd - 26th

Sorry for the delay in posting! All our traveling and festivities have left me feeling blessed and happy, but exhausted all the same.

To save my energy, I'm just going to share some pictures instead of a play-by-play.

Annapolis Christmas with Martha & Ron

Batch of loot #1

First of many great meals - Breakfast casseroles

Connor is his Christmas jammies

Kelly getting Connor psyched about presents

Jimmy channeling his inner Steve

Woodbine Christmas with Dan & Marisol

Batch of loot #2

Grab bag with extended family

Year of the monkey gifts + a tattoo sleeve

Granddad & Connor at Redskins game

Best seats in the stadium - Your own private suite

Thank you Martha, Ron, Dan & Marisol for everything. It was wonderful as always!