The Nursery!

I almost forgot! The Nursery! Jason and I spent an ENTIRE weekend painting the nursery. And we say ENTIRE, we mean the whole darn thing! What we thought would be a simple project, but after 2 coats of primer, 2 coats of color, and 3 coats of edging, we decided we were glad to have chosen a neutral color because we are done painting for a LONG time! We are very happy with the results!
The beautiful curtains, window seat, and crib bedding were all handmade by Grandma Tidball! She did an amazing job...much better and more meaningful than anything I could have bought in a store. We are thinking of painting a tree on the crib wall and hanging wooden shelves that look like branches to put her books and stuffed animals on (we saw the idea in Pottery Barn kids). The dresser/changing table piece is set to arrive in a week or two and then we'll be all set!

*The blue room is the before picture.

32 weeks and growing!

Yes, only 8 weeks to go! We can hardly believe it! We had a good appointment on Thursday of last week, doctor said everything is right on track. The baby is CONSTANTLY moving, which I guess is a good sign since Jason is already planning her future as a tennis star. She is pretty good about giving me a break at night though. Maybe that means she'll sleep through the night at 6 weeks like her daddy (haha, I know all you mothers out there are thinking "yeah right!" but it's true!).
I recently had to give up my tennis playing days until little Norah arrives. That was a sad day, but for the best, as my last match left me frustrated for not being able to get to the ball as quickly. The brain wanted to get there and told the legs to move, but the belly wouldn't let it happen. And man, my opponents had NO mercy on the pregnant lady! I'm happy to say that I'm still able to workout though. I feel very blessed that I've been able to keep active and have had a healthy pregnancy the whole way!
The nursery is quickly filling up with beautiful little girl things from grandmas and grandpas. It's neat to see how excited they are, I can't wait to see what they'll do when she's actually here!
Jason and I attended our first of 3 prenatal classes on Saturday. This class was an 8 hour class on "Preparing for Childbirth." Although, there were some things that we thought were a little "new age-y," we learned A LOT about what to expect and how to handle that exciting day. We also feel blessed that we will be delivering at such an amazing facility (Jason says Grandma Ellis will to want to transfer to work here!). We were able to take a tour of the Labor & Delivery rooms, Nursery, and Recovery rooms, and they are top notch! The nurses who led the class informed us that Mom and Dad will receive a "Celebration Dinner" after the baby is born consisting of filet mignon, lobster and shrimp, twice baked potatoes, sparkling cider, and a "birthday" cake! As they were telling us this, Jason looked at me and said "they are joking right?" Oh no, that's just how they like to do things at Dupont. So funny!
Thank you all for your continued prayers and support! She'll be here before we know it!

29 Weeks! 11 to go!

Here are some updated photos of the belly taken after the 3D ultrasound yesterday. It just keeps growing and growing and growing.... Notice that the tank top no longer fits over the belly.

Baby Ellis in 3D!

Yesterday, Jason and I headed to Ft. Wayne for our 28-29 week check up and a 3D ultrasound (jet lagged and all-it was fun)! After a few tests, including one where I had to chug a bottle of fruit punch flavored, gritty, sugar water and have my blood drawn, we went in for our 3D ultrasound. It was truly awesome! I had seen pictures before, but it was so incredible to see little Miss Ellis moving about as if she was right in front of us. We got several really good pictures and they gave us all of the files on a disk, so they look a little better than being scanned. At first the nurse had a hard time getting a good shot of her whole face because she was sucking on the back of her hand. We're interested to see if she'll do this once she is born. We also got another confirmation that she is a girl and got to she her move/open her mouth. Technology is amazing these days! Here are a few pictures of Miss Ellis. *Please do not be alarmed if they look a little distorted, everything is totally normal on our little girl, but the ultrasound can look a little funky sometimes. :)

Daddy's Project

On Friday, the crib arrived in the early afternoon. Actually, to our surprise, as we have had a lot of trouble ordering this crib. This purchase was only made possible by the generous gift from the Tidball family at the Christmas Baby Shower in Washington D.C. We were very excited to receive the crib, Jason (Daddy) was so excited that he left work early to come home and set it up.
As you can see, the walls are still "baby blue." No, we are not trying to confuse our daughter. We will soon be painting them a cream color to make it more neutral and appropriate for a girl, and in case we have a boy in the future, it will be easily converted.
The unique thing about this crib is that it comes from a special collection at Target, appropriately named the "Ellis Collection." We thought that was very fitting. :) Also, this crib is convertible, meaning it will change into a "toddler bed" and eventually into a double bed with head and foot board. Very cost efficient, which is what we like!
Jason had the crib assembled in no time, but not without the help from our two "kids," Charlie and Chloe. They had fun sitting underneath the crib, watching Jason work. As we start to add to the room, there will be more photos to follow. We are so thrilled and setting up the crib made everything seem a little more real. Very exciting!
Thank you again to ALL of you who contributed to the generous Tidball family gift. We would not have been able to buy this beautiful crib without it. It will be one of those special pieces in our home with a good story and lots of meaning.

Paint

Oh yes...if you hadn't noticed...we painted our bedroom. All of the prenatal pics will now be featuring the olive green background. :)

23 Weeks

This is where I start getting a little hesitant about posting photos of myself. Although, I'm within the realm of "reasonable weight gain," an added 15 lbs can make anyone feel like the Hindenburg.
As far as baby, she is alive and kickin'! No longer do I wonder, "was that a gas bubble, or Miss Ellis." There's a huge difference now. Tonight, Jason could even see my belly moving on it's own like the famous scene from the movie Alien. Miss Ellis is about 11 inches long now and weighs just over 1 pound. They say that she'll be packin' on the pounds in the next few weeks, doubling her weight by week 27. Thank goodness I will not be doing the same! Enjoy the photos!