Thursday, June 28, 2012

Name Reveal

Introducing....


Nora Katherine Melville



Please only write me to tell me you LOVE the name (which essentially means "woman of honor," by the way). I've had a bad week. Our cat, Chloe, decided to ruin our living room couch. Yeah, you remember that nice room that we just got to our liking in order to have a sanctuary in our home??? Yup, that would be the room that's ruined. And our very expensive new couch cushions won't be here in time for our annual Fourth of July party next week....

Let the positive reinforcement begin!

Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't send a special thanks to my bestie Amy Norton for helping Jonathan and me narrow our short list to a workable baby name!! Thank you, Amy!!!!!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

So much excitement!

Last week was a tremendously BIG week for us!!

First, Jonathan celebrated his 30th birthday...and boy did his birthday keep on giving. First, I surprised him with THE television he's been lusting after — and this was after I had thoroughly convinced him that a tv wasn't in the cards. Then we scheduled an ultrasound and learned the sex of our baby. Afterward, our wonderful community group from church surprised Jonathan at a local Mexican restaurant to celebrate his birthday. Poor thing, he's not used to being fussed over, so his first inclination was to think that our community group just happened to be dining there and that we stumbled into them. So humble it's cute!! :-)

Ok, now back to baby talk.

We found out that we're having a baby GIRL!!! We could not be more excited. We wanted a healthy baby first and foremost, but I think we both secretly (or not-so-secretly) wanted to have a daughter first. Don't get me wrong, I've never been a fan of pink or frilly, but I am so looking forward to being the mother of a daughter — and ESPECIALLY of seeing Jonathan with his daughter (my heart won't survive). I'm equally terrified because I will want to protect her from everything even though I know that's impossible.

The moment we found out the sex it was time to hit the ground running on a nursery. This weekend we (Jonathan) started ripping the crown molding out of the room. Can you say BIG MESS???!!! Looks like we'll be calling in a contractor...

We also think that we've named our baby. In fact, we're pretty sure — we're just test driving the name for a bit longer before the big reveal :-) You'll just have to be patient.

This weekend my parents visited from SC and Jonathan's parents and grandmother came over to our place to belatedly celebrate his birthday. We grilled out and had a BLAST!!

Here's me with my parents:



Jonathan's gift from my parents was the pantry that my dad has been slaving over for months now. I had the vision for this much-needed pantry and my dad came up with the plans for it after I became frustrated that I couldn't find anything I liked in a store!

 Here's how it turned out!!!!!

(And here's J doing touch-ups!)

Here's some more goofy randomness from this weekend:


(I was testing out the "I love my daddy" bib)


Here's my fave ultrasound pic of Nugget (sorry it's a cell phone pic, we don't have a disc):

(She's sucking her thumb! She's already precious!)

So many things to look forward to! Thanks for sharing in our joy :-)

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

5 months!

I am 5 months pregnant today! Can you believe it?? I sure can't.... But, we're one step closer to the halfway point!!!!

The big news this week is that we're slated to learn the sex of our baby (assuming he or she cooperates) on Thursday — which also just happens to be my sweet husband's 30th birthday! It's funny because I thought I'd be okay with waiting until delivery to learn the sex of the baby, but now that I'm pregnant, that's ridiculous! I'm the most impatient person in the world. What was I thinking!?!?

I'll try to be good and get on here to share our news with the world once we know. It may not be immediately because we have a couple of days of birthday festivities to look forward to. :-) Yeah, I keep saying the same thing to our parents, and it's not going over well with them, either!

Also, I'm thankful that the first trimester blahs seem to be making their exit. I haven't been nauseous a lot, though I've made up for that with tiredness! And, I still get into my random gagging fits — usually at the mere prospect of brushing my teeth. Jonathan just laughs now. In his defense, they are kind of funny.

The belly is also continuing to grow. People are finally getting confident enough to comment on my pregnancy. This must be the fun part everyone speaks about!

Ok, more info/pictures later!!!! Have a great week everyone :-)

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

On a Whim

Jonathan and I got into a redecorating frenzy Saturday night — and by night I mean our project didn't get under way until around 10:30. We had both just grown sick of never using our nice, formal living room — and all because it didn't have a television in it. We previously had our television in our less-formal sitting room, but that room has been small and uncomfortable since day one.

On Saturday we decided it was time for a solution and rearranged our living room in such a way that we were able to add our entertainment center and television (which is about to grow 10 inches in screen size!!).

Here's the before and after shots of the room:

(Before)

(After: Don't judge my iPhone pics at night!)

(Another angle)

We added a few little pretties:

(This charming magazine rack from TJMaxx)

(A little corner wall art)


As happy as we were with our "new" living room, we were equally uncertain about what to do what with our former sitting room. I mean, we had one giant blank wall and no plans for the identity of that room. Here's what it looks like after a little more rearranging:

(Yes, still blank.)


After a lot of careful thinking and a little consulting, it looks like our plan is to make that space a true study. I think we may create (or pay someone to create!) a built-in desk unit in the corner of the room by our built-in bookcase. We could also benefit from more seating. Not sure how we're going to accomplish that one yet!

All of these changes have just happened so fast though, that I need time to think this through! In the meantime, feel free to give us suggestions for something cool that could go in the sitting room, especially keeping in mind that our family is growing! I mean, we would have never thought to add a bar sink to our bar area if a friend hadn't mentioned it in passing just days before we purchased our granite! So, speak up if you have crafty ideas!!

P.S. We are using the heck out of our new living room this week. I even just created this blog from the comforts of my cozy couch!