Nesting...

I thought I'd share a few pics with you... I've been nesting like CRAZY... Poor Chris must think I've lost my marbles.

TaaDaa... The cleanest you'll ever see my kitchen... I don't expect it to ever look this pretty again!!

And...Look at what a green thumb I've grown!! Haha. My little patio garden that my dad helped me start on Fathers Day is producing!! (thanks dad)...Yummy.

Also... I'm not sure quite yet... But I think my PomPom Decorations for Chloe's room aren't exactly what I'm looking for...Then again...there should probably be 3 ... Anyway... Luckily I still have 5 weeks to decide and/or Fix it!!

35 Weeks & 35 Days!

Yippee! We are 35 weeks and have 35 days left left!! ... Yes, I am fully aware that means that I only have 5 weeks of peace and quiet left. Don't worry. I'm enjoying them!!! Nothing exciting or new to report this week... I have been wandering around Chloe's room pretty much just shuffling her clothes and toys around...and then going back the next day to just shuffle them around some more. It's so fun to pretend and plan!! I've even managed to avoid Babies R Us this entire week (although on Friday they're having some super secret sale from 8-11 am evidently ... I wouldn't miss that for the world)!! I promise to have some pictures at some point soon... I am aware that my blog is lacking these days...

Despite how uncomfortable I'm becoming (I'll spare you the details for now), I have to admit that I'm pretty excited that Chloe is over 5.5 lbs by now (according to statistical averages of course)!!

...HOWEVER... considering she is a product of Chris and I who had a combined birth weight of about *20* lbs...she may already be over 9!!) Haha. I'm not sure I'll ever get over how big of a baby I was!! Perhaps I should be spending my remaining 5 weeks in therapy about it?? Nah! Not worth it... However, a massage, now that's a different story!!

Have a fabulous rest of the week!! Hopefully we'll only a few more of these weekly posts before she's here (I would prefer to have no more than 2 more...wishful thinking I know)!!

34 Week Post *Addendum*

Dear State of California:
Thank you for recognizing and rewarding me for putting up with a crummy work environment for all those months... this is really a dream come true! I won't forget how you spared me from Cruella DeVille # 3. Haha.

Sincerely,
Baby Mama.

Can I please just comment on how fabulous the whole Disability thing is?! I got my "Notice Of Computation" in the mail today - I will actually be making a difference of only $26.00 per day while I'm out. Ummm Hello... with the cost of driving to work and back, it's about even! Except I'm not up at 5 am, I don't have to take orders from my 4th crazy boss AND I get to focus on Fifi... Basically the state is going to pay me as if I was working except they've taken away the stress of work...and essentially spared me a frighteningly large mental breakdown during this pregnancy. Seriously the last few weeks were ugly. I'm pretty floored. I really expected the disability thing to go haywire and forget to pay me or jip me, etc. but so far... this is the first thing I've actually been impressed with in regards to our state/government. I approve.

ok. Now have a fabulous day!

34 Weeks!!

We're 34 weeks! YAY!!

You know things are bad when the employees at Quiznos ask you where your husband is when you go in alone... Poor Chris has been dragged there a LOT in the last couple weeks because that's all that has been sounding good for lunch! (We get to have lunch together now!!! It's been so nice...) I'm getting a reputation as a hungry pregnant lady I think!! Haha. How embrassing. I think Chris must have been intimidating to them because they all wanted to chat and ask me questions, seems like they'd been saving them up!!... Weird. Chloe has a following at Quiznos.

Well... other than my new friends, not much is going on, and that's probably the best news I could report. Although I slightly miss having a routine, I do NOT miss work. Let me repeat. I do NOT miss work. I am an entirely different person now that I'm not under all that stress... I even started cooking again a little bit!!

This morning was my 34 week appointment and everything looked great... the doctor doesn't even think Chloe will be 10 lbs either!! I'm not so sure, however... I think Chloe has some tricks up her sleeve. She could be hiding an extra few pounds somewhere... I'm not convinced until we see her cute little face.

It seems surreal that we've actually made it this far, while at the same time it seems like we've been pregnant forever ... I still haven't been able to grasp the the fact that soon we'll actually have a baby in the house. I don't think I'll ever get my mind around that fact until it actually happens.

That reminds me... the John Mayer concert is tonight! WOOHOO!! Hopefully I won't need to take up both of our seats all by myself.

We had our second prenatal class last night... the instructor put Chris on the spot (please let me remind you how shy he really is)... Needless to say, I'm pretty sure he doesn't have an interest in going back ...Well... that and also due to the fact that they made him massage me while I had a "pretend" contraction. I thought I was doing good until I learned that putting ice on your hand to simulate a contraction is nowhere near an actual contraction. Big surprise.

Chris in his macho way has conveniently let me know that he could go through the pain of childbirth without any drugs.

...Sounds like a challenge if you ask me...

One I'm not planning on taking part in...

Have a Fabulous Day!!

Baby Gifts!

So I promised I'd post about the wonderful goodies from my sister-in-law...and I always keep my promises.

First of all...She made the moses basket! It is so gorgeous and luxurious! Chloe will be rollin' in the finest of fabrics and ribbons. She also made a boppy with a couple of adorable covers...a couple flannel blankets which will come in so handy!! And another blanket that is like lined in satin! I want it for myself...

She thought of absolutely everything, from creams to boo-boo ice packs (teddy bears that you put these special ice cubes in), wearable thermometers, changing pads, diapers, socks, outfits, a frame...and more!!

She even got some of the seasons in there!

Then, (also locked in the garage) was a gift from Grandma Laura - look how adorable! There's everything Chloe will need for a 'tubby' - how cute! There's even an inflatable tub in the shape of a ducky that goes in the bathtub!

A Huge thank you to Jennell and Laura... your gifts, although locked in the garage during the shower, have not gone unappreciated!!! They were fabulous! You have taken care of not only a lot of the little practical things we were needing (not as much fun to buy), but also some really cute things that I'm so excited to use!

Hurry up and come out, Chloe!

Ok... no... actually, keep baking a few more weeks, then you're welcome to make your debut anytime after.

33 Weeks

Well, We're officially 33 weeks according to our ticker thing floating above... As a parenting milestone, we went to our very first prenatal class last night, and it dawned on me that the class is 6 sessions long but they skip one week so it's like it's 7... which means that we'll be 40 weeks when we're done! That's just silly! I'm not sure why that made the whole home stretch thing click, but it sure did. In any case, I haven't posted one of these lately, and honeydew isn't too offensive so here goes:



Over 4 lbs?! Yay! Totally explains why I'm getting more and more uncomfortable and her jabs are getting so much stronger!! I have to admit that the worst side effect of pregnancy is the lack of nighttime sleep and utter daytime exhaustion!

I'm bundling them together as one big, nasty annoyance. I'm up at midnight, 3 am, 4 am and for good at 6 am, that is until i'm too exhausted by around 8 am to even keep my eyes open and must either nap or try and push through... at which point by 2 pm I just roll over and take a nap. Yes. I am officially tired. Thank god I'm not at work.

That reminds me...I have the best husband. Have I told you that lately? What kind of husband tells his wife to stop working? (Ok... so it was better I didn't work and remained sane than the opposite...it woulda gotten ugly quickly)... but anyway. Best guy ever. Nuff said.

Thank you!!

So this weekend was my baby shower and it was so much fun!! Thank you to everyone who came. I loved getting to catch up with everyone. Chloe is so lucky to be coming into such a supportive, loving environment. I can't wait for everyone to meet her!

Hopefully Christopher's delightful insight into the world of parenting kept everyone entertained through the gift opening portion of the day. I know everyone is looking forward to pictures of the shower and gifts (especially those who couldn't be there), so enjoy!! (and yes, I always manage to make sure there are pictures of food in my blog entries...big surprise this post is no different)


Thank you again to my fabulous hostesses... Suzy, Tracee, Paige and Christina; you have outdone yourselves! Thank you so much!















*disclaimer: if your gift isn't displayed in the pictures for some reason, I apologize, I tried to get everything in but please let me know if you don't feel adequately represented... I'd be more than happy to focus an entire blog segment on you!!* Hehe. :)

Which brings me to my final disclaimer for the day: My sister-in-law made a fabulous gift that will get it's own segment since there may have been some 4 am fishing-infused testosterone that unfortunately locked her gift in our garage rendering it unable to be retrieved for her to bring it to the shower.

(get all that?)...

I'm sure he'll be better with Chloe at 4 am than he is about remembering about shower gifts...

...Right??

Meanies!

Seriously Now... all y'all who are wishing a 10+ pounder on us... YOU can come over and carry her around!! And change dirty diapers. There. That's your punishment. Nuff Said. Seriously NOBODY thinks we'd have a baby between 6-7 lbs?! Fine...

Ok. now that we've cleared that up...

WOooHOoooo! This weekend is my baby shower!!! I am unbelieveably excited and am DYING to see everyone!!! I'll post pics afterwards but honestly this weekend couldn't come fast enough... !

Today we are officially 32 weeks!

A quick update...

"By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth."

Fifi's Room

So it turns out that fixing up Chloe's room is not a one weekend job. Or 2. Or even 4.

However... I finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. Then again, I could stop, but it's actually fun! (Can you tell the nesting has begun?)

Chris, however, has done his part and keeps making me promise that he is done (I'm surprised he hasn't asked me to get that notarized, I'm pretty sure that he wants it in writing).

Now it's just the girly touches to complete -

...that and perhaps some good ole' grandpa Chuck elbow greeeezee. (yes, that's grease for everyone that doesn't say warsh instead of wash like grandpa chuck).Ok. Inside joke to those who don't know evidently. Sorry, Kip. We Love ya. Can't wait for you to come visit and lend me some of your mad skills. Don't worry; you won't work the whole time. Promise.

I spent a good part of our wonderful 3 day weekend in search of the perfect spare bed accompliments for Chloe's room. It's hard enough finding the 'perfect' crib bedding...then trying to outfit a bed to match without breaking the bank is nearly impossible!! I finally found a quilt from Nautica that didn't make my head spin and I'm pretty proud of myself I must say!

Ohhh and have I mentioned that I changed out the door knobs in Chloe's room?? All I can say is that I'm AWESOME. I seriously think it would be easier to become an astronaut than try to figure out how to change a door knob. It's a serious engineering feat and I'm pretty sure there's some kind of door knob conspiracy. Here are before and after pics so you can understand why the old ones NEEDED to go.

Anyway - Below are some pictures of the wall letters I finally got the guts to hang up. They're not perfect but I had lots of fun being creative and making them... now they certainly need some help from grandpa Chuck -- he has a knack for making things look much better.

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

31 Weeks!

Well. It's official. We're 31 weeks along, and she's due 2 months from today!

She's now over 16 inches long and over 3.3 lbs. She's a very busy girl and is beginning to be a huge pain in my side... Literally... But in a good way!

She really likes to go to town around 10 pm when I'm trying to go to bed, but don't worry. She's an early riser with her mommy and is up at 5 with me most days and kicks all the way to work.

Ok... I'll leave you with a picture of Chris with his catch after his fishing trip this past weekend. I know he'll shoot me for posting this, but isn't he cute?!

Happy Anniversary To Us!!

You probably guessed by the title or perhaps you recall our super duper fun (or at least we like to think so) wedding, but today was our 1 year anniversary! It's amazing how time flies...but this really has been a great year. We have so much to look forward to and so much to be grateful for!

Chris actually started celebrating a couple days early by having a local bakery make us an anniversary cake. No, it didn't really resemble our actual wedding cake, but I can't even believe the man remembered the tradition of eating the top layer on your 1st anniversary. I mean I'm literally shocked! (We ate our top layer at our brunch the day after our wedding, which was totally the best thing we could have done with it!!)

Well, turns out they were closed on Mondays so we got cake early! What a great Husband! I'm planning on milkin' this anniversary thing for as long as possible.

And today I came home from work to beautiful flowers!

He actually marched his hiney in to the store to buy them for me (also very impressive considering he would rather buy things off the internet).

This is turning into a long-winded post that is boring to anyone but myself probably but I'll keep the attention on me for a little while longer. :) Big surprise, right?!

Tonight we went to our favorite restaurant in the area, Mattei's Tavern.

...We gorged ourselves on all kinds of delicious fare (my favorite mud pie ever!)

...At the end of our wonderful dinner were given a piece of paper that said our dinner had been paid for!

A HUGE thanks to Mom & Dad Richey for the ridiculously sweet and generous thought. It was a surprise we wouldn't have expected in a million years!

(I have yet to figure out how they actually found the restaurant considering it's spelling and in-the-boonies location)...

And for your viewing pleasure, a picture of the two of us (Chris is getting to be a pro at holding the camera himself)

Before I say goodnight, I want to know who the wise guy is that thinks we're gonna have a 10+ pounder...and no, I'm not talking about fish. (see poll at left).

Fifi's Room!

Sooo this weekend Baby Daddy and I spent hours in the lovely 100+ degree heat getting Chloe's room ready for her big debut... (I think the gas mask is in preparation for the infamous diaper changes...)

I actually had a lot of fun!

(You can see I'm not the only one!)

There are still a few things to do to get the room ready to actually decorate, but it's much closer now!

Before

Before

TaaaDAAA!
Awww. I'm getting so excited! Poor Chris moved out the last of his computers from her room yesterday (into our bedroom of course)...

I'm sure it feels real to him now that he's given up his man room!

Fathers Day

So I know it's late, but happy belated Fathers Day to all of you dads out there!! We had a pretty full house this weekend...well...full of testosterone at least. Chris's dad and my dad both came to go fishing...and Harley even tagged along!! Gosh he's cute! He took a liking to napping in Chloe's room.

For fathers day, the dads got Wii's (mine also caught a cold along with lots of fish on Saturday)... Evidently he had fun being the tough guy using the crappy fishing pole that was extra work... ironically enough word from the fishermen is that he caught the most fish of them all!!

And as a father/daughter bonding experience we planted a container garden out on our back patio. It's so cute; I can't wait to see if anything actually grows (I have a brown thumb unlike my dad's side of the family).

Hmm...let's see... that's about all the updating I have for ya now... Not very exciting, I know...

2 posts in one day!?

Yes.

That's right. You're all blessed with 2 posts today.

However, this one is about Restoration Hardware. They have copied our bedding!

...AND stolen our babys name (see blanket)!!

(If only our nursery looked like that finished!)

Their new baby line is just way too cute to go unmentioned.

Look at their ridiculously cute moses baskets!!


















If you just can't help but drool over deliciously overpriced baby supplies... be sure to check out http://www.rhbabyandchild.com/


(No, unfortunately I don't get anything for mentioning them!)

Someone please take my credit cards and cut them up. It is officially over. I should be locked up for the next few months ...well... no... indefinitely; 3 months wouldn't be long enough.

Time To Post?

So I guess It's been a while since my last post. After Monterey, it seems like there hasn't been anything exciting to write about. Chris has started classes again (he probably won't be caught smiling again until August when this round of classes is over) ... and my new boss has become my old boss and quit. We'll be onto 4 bosses in just a little over 2 years. We're getting a reputation for being mean! Oh well, I guess our 'babysitters' just can't handle our spunk.

Time seems to be flying by and I can't believe we're about 28 weeks along now. Chloe has her quiet days and then she has her busy days where she is a ferocious mover/kicker and sometimes I'm worried she's going to just kick right on out. She's also much higher, she's been spotted moving waaay above my belly button now.

While on the subject of belly buttons, I'll let you in on some useless knowledge ... I still have an innie! How about everyone keeps their fingers crossed for us on that one??

We're getting more and more excited to meet Chloe and we're slowly starting to realize how different life is going to be soon... While watching baseball the other night I looked at Chris and said, "Do you realize that Chloe will be here watching the World Series WITH us?!" And I don't mean next years WS, I mean this years!!

Speaking of baseball, this last weekend Chris and I went to see the Santa Maria Indians play. They're a collegiate league team in our city. Not great, definitely not like true Southern California baseball, but still entertaining (and we didnt' even need binoculars).

Ok. Enough Boring talk about our lives. Perhaps I'll be more inclined to entertain you later in the week?

Happy Birthday To ME!

We just got back from Monterey and gosh did we have fun! It's also now official that I am a whopping 24 years old and almost 27 weeks pregnant (yes, we're entering our 3rd trimester now!)

We stayed at a new hotel in Monterey - the Intercontinental Clement Monterey. It was gorgeous and HUGE (it took up both sides of Cannery Row for almost a block!) They haven't been open long enough to get all of the kinks worked out, but it was still truly amazing. With all the pictures we took, I can't believe that I didn't get a single one of our hotel! I guess we'll have to go back...
We had fun reliving memories from previous trips while making new ones. We even went back to the aquarium for a trip down memory lane! (and shared a delicious sundae at Ghiradelli).

We spent a good chunk of today just meandering our way home along the 1, making various stops along the way. My favorite was the infamous Julia Pfeiffer Burns state park.

I've decided it's my favorite place in the entire world.

I could have spent all day there.

Our last stop of the day was San Simeon to see the Elephant Seals (what seems like 8 million of them). It's so neat to be able to get so close; they're amazing creatures!! See the two flirting in the water? :)