Baby Girl Update

I had a last-minute sonogram earlier this week due to some increased pain in my belly over the last few weeks.

Luckily, everything is just fine with our baby girl.  The verdict was that I am too active (what's new?) and need to rest coupled with the sonogram news that our baby is a BIG GIRL.

Although we are still on track for a scheduled May 22 c-section, baby girl is measuring two weeks ahead of schedule.  She is supposed to be about 34 weeks, but currently on target with 36 weeks.

She is already estimated to be 6 lbs, 4 ounces and has plenty of hair.  Hmmm.  This sounds familiar to Mr. Palmer's final sonogram.  Palmer measured 6 lbs, 12 ounces at 36 weeks.

She also has chunky cheeks and a long femur that might indicate she will be tall.

Meanwhile, I finished the nursery with this detail: I polished up a childhood silver cup of mine for a shelf.

One problem: when cleaned, I found this was actually Samantha's cup.  Wrong monogram.  Whoops.  Oh well, it went on a shelf with some of my personal items anyway.

-Bethany

Wordless Wednesday

-Bethany

Baby Girl Nursery Preview

Ahead of next month's expected arrival of our baby girl, I've been making final preparations to her nursery.

Because I'm so used to being a "boy mom" and honestly, a little overwhelmed by the frills and pastels that come with girls, I think the room is a good reflection of being a sentimental and special place without going too crazy.

Like Palmer's nursery, I tried to put together some touches that are special to her new family.

First, I am still in love with our first-born's nursery crib bedding and wasn't quite ready to part with it.  So, I repurposed Palmer's blue seersucker stripes and blue toile by adding a touch of hot pink to the mix.  I love the way it turned out.

This framed dress was my sister and my baptismal gown, made by my mom from the fabric of her wedding dress.  You may recall Palmer wearing the boy version of this outfit from the same wedding dress fabric.

In a mother-daughter spirit of the room, I wanted to be sure to include some photos of my own mother with her favorite daughter.

This room was one of our guest rooms before the nursery conversion and when Palmer was little I used the full-size bed in the middle of the night more often than I care to remember.  I decided I wasn't ready to part with the upstairs full-bed option and am keeping the bed in the nursery for now.  I tried to soften the room with sweet and simple white Battenburg lace for the bed.

Along the same family heritage theme, I blew up and framed a vintage postcard from Rick's mom to Rick's grandmother, Grace, when Gena was in her early 20s and traveling in Greece.

The count-down is on.  Baby girl is scheduled for a c-section on May 22.  We are getting excited to meet her.

-Bethany

Dumpster Diving

While in Austin a few weeks ago, we visited a friend of Rick's at his...errr...home.  Jeff Wilson knows Rick from undergrad and is an environmental science professor and the dean of Huston-Tillotson College.

A few months ago, he moved out of his typical comfortable American living accommodations and moved into a 33 square foot dumpster, housed on the Huston-Tillotson College.

That's right.

Jeff is living in a dumpster for a year, a space that is 1% of the average American home size.  His point is that we use and want too much in this country.  He and his students are spending the year researching sustainable ways to live in his smaller environment and tackling basic needs like clean water and waste reduction.

Palmer was very impressed with the "convertible roof" in the dumpster and promptly told Rick and I that he would also like to a dumpster in his backyard so he could live like Oscar the Grouch.

Professor Wilson's hope is to get a larger audience talking about the concept of living with less.  If you want to learn more, check out his website here or follow Professor Dumpster on Instagram.

-Bethany

Wordless Wednesday

-Bethany

Curious Palmer Turns Three

The stakes were high in Palmer's mind for his 3rd birthday party.  As I mentioned, he'd been planning the soiree for quite some time.

The political media firm where I used to work full-time has a very cool warehouse office with a movie theater that is just the place to throw a party.  Palmer had a Curious George Movie party to celebrate the occasion.

The kids started the party playing with riding toys and balloons.

Then, it was showtime.  I was so impressed that all of the kids sat through the 30-minute Curious George show.

Every movie needs popcorn.  Special thanks to Gram and Paw Paw who manned the popcorn machine.

Sweet baby Grayson made it to the party.

 Shannon and Carrie with baby Georgia.

I had planned to do a hot-dog bar for the party, but Palmer had other plans and requested a pizza dinner for his friends after the movie:

After the party, I asked Palmer about his favorite part.  Like his mama, he has a sweet tooth and said "the cake!".  I made the custom cake as requested by Palmer with "chocolate on the top, vanilla on the bottom, M&M and strawberries on top".

Happy Birthday, Palmer.  Now, we are done talking about your birthday.  The month of April is for MY BIRTHDAY.

-Bethany

Wordless Wednesday

-Bethany