Significant Progress on the Nursery!

Oh, this is another post I have been anxious about writing! Progress on the nursery has been made! And significant progress at that!

A couple weekends ago, my sister-in-law helped me match paint colors to the crib sheets we picked out for the little boy. Then, last weekend, my mom and I took the crib sheet down to a fabric store and found the fabrics we will be using on his curtains! It is so fun to see these things coming together! It just makes the 4 months ahead seem doable. Lately, I have hardly had the patience to wait on this little peanut much longer! But, with things to do ("nesting") I feel like 4 months may go by quicker than I had imagined! Anyways, back to the task at hand! Nick left Wednesday morning for a golf tournament he plays in once a year with his buddy in Ohio. This seemed like the perfect time to work on painting the nursery. His closet is in the baby's room so I think the work zone would have taken its toll on him had he been home trying to get in and out of the room! My mom, who I cannot thank enough or say enough kind things about, spent her time Wednesday afternoon (while I was at work) taping the whole room! The real blessing here is the fact that I'm a fast and impatient taper, so... really.... it's better for me to be left out of this task. Otherwise, there will be paint on the baseboards, ceilings etc. By the time I got to the house, all we had to do was paint the accent wall! We painted it with this wonderful Benjamin Moore Natura paint that has no VOCs and was essentially odorless so I was able to help! The brown wall took us all of maybe half an hour. For both coats. The highlight of this accent wall is yet to come... hang tight! Unfortunately, Wednesday night, we discovered that we had been given the wrong green for our walls. Again, while I was at work, Mom went ahead and returned the paint, picked up the right color, and put a first coat on all 3 remaining walls, went back for more paint, and put a second coat on 2 of the walls. By the time I got there, all we had left was the second coat on the last wall, and again, that may have taken all of 30 minutes. Let me tell you something. I am not a good painter. I am not patient. I am messy. But when I am given small tasks such as- roll the paint on one wall- I can do a good job. I think she knows that which is why she put in so many hours while I was away :) Believe me, its a blessing! I still feel like I helped, but the walls look crisp,even, and well done. That's not a look you get when Aly Sharp does the whole thing solo!

This first shot serves 2 purposes. First of all- this is obviously one of the green walls. But second- this is the changing table I purchased last weekend (or maybe the weekend before- i can't remember!) It obviously is also a dresser, but stick a changing pad on the top and viola! (We don't have the changing pad yet.)

And this picture shows part of the accent wall and part of the green wall. I hate how the natural light kind of takes away from the look in this picture, but in person, its wonderful! The whole room feels brighter!

One more shot! Again, part of the accent wall, and then the green wall that you haven't seen yet!

In the meantime, my mom also ordered these cool wall stick ons called Roommates. They are pastel green and brown polka dots that decorate the accent wall (the brown wall). Here's a picture of them! Unfortunately, in small print which I am notorious for NOT reading... it said not to use on freshly painted walls for 3 weeks. I guess there's a chance they could adhere to the paint and would not peel back off the wall in the future! So... stay tuned. About 2.5 weeks from now, you will see a photo of the accent wall WITH dots!

 So that was the excitement of the nursery for the weekend. Next update will most likely be curtains! Maybe crib? Not sure! But there are many additions to come! OH! I almost forgot, my mom also bought the peanut this adorable monkey footie sleeper. LOVE! I didn't take a picture, but just take my word for it. It WILL be the first thing he sleeps at home in... unless he's a 10 pound baby in which case... he may never see time in that newborn sleeper!

In other news, and for the record, I have officially gained 12 pounds. At first I didn't really care. I read somewhere that you were supposed to gain about 5 pounds over your first trimester and then about 1-2 pounds each week after that. Technically, I guess I'm right on track at this point, but I feel like I went from a 7 pound gain to a 12 pound gain overnight. The scale is not my friend anymore. Betrayal. Anyways, thinking about possibly gaining another 18 pounds (1 per week remaining) is frightening! I hope I can level out here. 25 pounds was my goal, but I think I'm well on my way to 30. Boys will be boys. That doesn't apply here. Lets move on.

Here is my 22 week photo shoot. Not really a photo shoot, but its the first time someone else was around to take my pictures instead of myself holding iphone and shooting into bathroom mirrors!

He is definitely growing. I love it. Nick got home Sunday night and after 4 days of being pretty quiet on the movement front, the boy lit up a storm when his daddy was around. We watched the movie Se7en Sunday afternoon and the whole time Nick and I were sitting together, he was moving/kicking/squirming non-stop. I think he already knows his daddy :)

My verse for him this week/today is 1 Timothy 4:12. "Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity." We love you baby boy!

21 Weeks!

It is crazy to think that we are actually over halfway through this pregnancy. It's also crazy to think we are closer to meeting him than we were to conceiving him. Too much information? Sorry! Those types of realizations just boggle my mind. To think that by Christmas I'll be holding my own baby and its already July... that blows my mind! While 19 weeks still seems infinitely long to wait on this little peanut, I am starting to believe that time may just fly after all! He is quite the mover these days. Last night was probably one of the most active evenings he's had since I've been able to feel him. It's absolutely wonderful. Every single time he moves, my world just stops. I firmly press on my belly until he reacts. And he does. Each and every time. In fact, at work last week, I was able to pull Molly and Kelsie into my office and the boy performed for both of them! That makes 3 that have felt this guy! Nick got to feel some more kicks last night as well. I just love when other people can share in the amazing fact that there is a living baby moving inside of me! I always asked and wondered what it felt like to feel a baby move. If someone were to ask me that question, I would say "It feels like there is a baby moving in your stomach." Some people say butterflies, some people say it feels like gas, but honestly, it feels like a person moving inside of you. Helpful, right? But I'm serious. I can't wait for him to grow enough to where I can see a foot or an elbow or a fist pushing on my stomach. Until then, I will enjoy just feeling him shift around to get comfortable!

My mom and I went to get some fabric samples this weekend for the nursery. That was exciting, but overwhelming. There are so many cute options for the color scheme we are working with. We have yet to come to a conclusion on what pattern and what fabrics we will go with. But, I'm pretty sure there's no bad option that could come from the options we are working with! I also went out to lunch and to the nail salon with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Oh how I love getting my nails done. Such a luxury I wish I could afford on a regular basis! It was so nice to be pampered :) However, all of the employees looked at me like I was a freak when they found out I was pregnant. Apparently I'm not showing enough for it to be obvious. That was slightly disappointing, but, I know my time will come. Maybe just another month or so!

Totally not baby related, but, Nick and I had a date night this weekend as well which was truly one of the best I think we've had since getting married. I have already decided this will need to be happening on a regular basis. We had an amazing dinner at Thai Emerald. If you live near Roswell/Woodstock- this is WORTH trying! Wow. I could eat there once a week. I had Pad Thai, Nick had Cashew Nut Chicken. I would HIGHLY recommend both menu items! We will be going back. For sure. After that, we went and picked up some groceries to make a healthier version of peach-blueberry cobbler and we picked up the Lincoln Lawyer. AWESOME. MOVIE. If you haven't seen it yet, rent it! Worth the money. Especially the $1 we paid for RedBox! Can't beat that price. I realize I have a food blog, but I need to share this recipe with you! It was so simple and so affordable. All we really needed from the store were blueberries and peaches. Since both are in season, no significant harm done to the wallet! So, ,we came home, made the dessert, then enjoyed the movie. It was such a fun evening! I can't wait to start planning our next date night! (Nick pictured below popping dessert in the oven for baby and me..... and him!)

Nothing else too exciting or memorable to report. Here is the official baby bump at 21 weeks!

Our 20 week Ultrasound!

I have been anticipating this post for awhile now! It feels like so much has happened in the past week. Mostly just really exciting things have happened in the past week so it makes it seem like a lot. I'd say we had 3 significant milestones though!

FIRST... on Thursday evening, this little boy kicked/squirmed/moved more than ever before. I was actually home along and just naturally had my hand on my stomach while laying in bed. He kicked. I pushed down where I felt him and he responded. Not just a flutter. It felt like he was aiming for my hand with a vengeance. I loved it! I texted and called Nick immediately, but he was out shooting with my brother and my dad. By the time he got home, I thought for sure the little boy would be gun shy. WRONG. Nick only had to put his hand on my belly for less than a minute and the baby was eager to show off for daddy! It was absolutely wonderful! Even more wonderful was watching/seeing Nick react to the feeling. I don't think he really thought he was going to feel anything so he was completely caught off guard and amazed. I think I'll remember that moment forever! The movements have been spotty since then, BUT, there's a reason. Keep reading if you want to find out more!

SECOND... I have kind of kept this to myself with the exception of a select few, but I am getting baptized on July 31st! I had my video-taping session Sunday afternoon, and I was waiting for that to be over before I made the announcement! I just wanted to make sure everything went as expected up to that point but now it's really happening and I am so excited to tell everyone that I am finally, after way too long, going public with my faith! This little boy inside of me was the greatest of motivations. I want to set a good and Godly example for him and the rest of our children to follow. I want to be able to tell them when and why I got baptized and I want to encourage them to do the same when the time is right! All that aside, if you want to come and be a part of the celebration, my baptism is at 9:00am on Sunday July 31st. It is at North Point Community Church. If you need me to save you a seat, just let me know!

THIRD... the obvious. The ultrasound today. Oh it was wonderful, as always. We were probably with the ultrasound technician for a good 10-20 minutes. She spent the majority of her time focusing in on and measuring parts of his heart. I wish we could have spent more time on his profile, hands, feet, you know, the recognizable parts of a baby, however, nothing is as reassuring as seeing a healthy heartbeat. Seeing the ventricles forming and functioning properly. The tech was able to see his bladder which means he has kidneys and they are working! Praise God! Everything was normal. And I couldn't be happier. The tech was also able to snapshot and ZOOM IN on the male parts of this boy. He made his daddy proud, to say the least. I'm sorry, but I just can't expose my child on this blog, but take my word for it, we are 100% positive that we have a boy growing inside of me! Unfortunately, I have recently started having some lower back pain, specifically a portion of my back is painful to the touch. My doctor confirmed today that there is most likely pressure on my sciatic nerve and that this pain won't get much better until I deliver. Yikes. Son, you are worth the pain! The other takeaway from today was the fact that there is a 50-50 chance that my placenta is either on the front of me or on the back. Basically, if its on the front, when baby kicks/moves, it will be like there is a pillow in between him and I so his movement will feel different to me than it may other moms. Eventually he will be bigger than the placenta and that will change, but it gave me some comfort in knowing that my baby's movement will not always be obvious and noticeable every single time he moves. (If only I had known this a week and a half ago when I rushed to the doctor, right?)

So, some other significant events in the life of the Sharps- my family's neighbors, who have moved around the country and out of the county, came to visit! Actually, they came for a wedding that we were all going to on Saturday evening, but it still felt like a visit. I always enjoy when they come in town. I actually ended up purchasing a dresser/changing table for the nursery and they were willing and able to load it in their pickup truck AND carry it up the stairs for me. Could you ask for better friends? I think not! All we are missing in the nursery is a crib, but that should be coming within the next several weeks. Oh I just cannot wait. Pain will be going up in about 2 weeks! Fun times ahead! 

Okay, photo time! First, and most boring, my picture at 20 weeks 3 days, before heading in for the ultrasound!

There's his pointer finger!

And peanut's profile!

Profile with belly!

This one is hard to see as it copied, but he is face forward here! Looking right at us!

Psalm 139:14 "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. I know that full well"

A Lake Trip, a 10k, and a Growth Spurt ... All in 1 week?

Oh man, the weeks are flying now! I never thought I would say that, but alas. I shall eat my own words. I truly love being pregnant. I sure do miss certain foods, and other random delights of non-pregnant folk, but I can't complain. This is the greatest gift/blessing ever. Totally jumping ahead of myself here, but, at one point this past weekend, I felt this little guy move/kick/jab/roll- so I pressed on my stomach where I thought I felt him, and sure enough, he did the same movement again against my fingers. Oh I just loved it. I'm sure he was super irritated that I was squishing his home, but, he's gonna have to get used to it! I like playing with him too much to stop!! Where to start....

Last week is kind of a blur now. All I recall is that I was extremely paranoid that I had hurt this little boy by accident while moving furniture between rooms the weekend before. I had felt him move around, and then for a couple days, felt nothing at all and I couldn't handle it. After being convinced by 2 girls at work that I should just run over to the doctor and have them check for a heart beat, I called and they got me in within about 30 minutes of that phone call. I LOVE MY DOCTOR. They could have easily turned me down as it was the day before a holiday weekend. They could have told me I was being irrational because I shouldn't be feeling baby consistently yet, but she just said come straight up to my office and I'll get you in. No checking in. No insurance garbage. Just honest, sweet, nurses. She said it happens all the time and that I didn't need to apologize or feel bad about it. I laid down, heard the heartbeat, sighed with relief and left the office. I was probably away from work for 40 minutes total! This includes travel time. So, to sum up, it was so nice to go into a long weekend knowing that baby was okay and heart was beating just fine!

The weekend was truly FULL OF ACTIVITY and MISSING SLEEP! I am exhausted. I needed one more day to wind down before starting work again. Saturday morning started early with Nick's alarm going off at 6:30 to head off to the golf course. Light sleeper here, woke up right along side him and decided to start the day. YUK. I had eaten breakfast and worked out by 9:30am. My mom and I went downtown to the Expo in order to pick up our numbers for the Peachtree Road Race. That was eventful, to say the least. We had lunch at Zoe's Kitchen and then hung by the pool for a little while before I left to shower. Nick and I then went to our niece's 6th birthday party which was fun. My sister-in-law is about a week ahead of me in her pregnancy so we always have a lot to talk about/compare notes on! I had 2 servings of pasta. 2 servings of dessert. Snacks in between. Yes, I am into the hunger state of pregnancy.

After dinner, we went to a movie and didn't get home until about midnight. Sunday morning was early as usual for Church, which was AWESOME. Unbelievable message from Andy. If you didn't hear it, you should go to northpoint.org and listen to "The Separation of Church and Hate." It was a message geared towards North Point's political decision making etc., but it had applications across the board and even into parenting. I was RAPIDLY taking notes as fast as I could. From Church, we headed straight up 400 to meet some friends at Lake Lanier. They were generous enough to take us out on their boat and provide a DELICIOUS lunch lakeside! It was wonderful. We tooled around the lake, parked, swam/floated, ate, relaxed. It was an ideal way to spend the holiday weekend. I am slowly getting more and more disgusted by my body in a bikini, but not ready for the tankini quite yet! While I was swimming, and my stomach was protruding, a fish came and BIT my little mole above my belly button. AND IT BLED. I was irritated by this fish. Bad story, but there you go. We drove home from the lake and then went out to grab a quick bite to eat before heading back to my parents house. We crashed there and then all woke up around 5:15am to pack it up and head downtown to the Peachtree Road Race. NO REST FOR THE WEARY!

Group shot! This is our 4th year with the same group! Love them all! Such troopers!

After riding Marta, we got to the race with about 45 minutes to spare. I spontaneously ran into Molly, which believe me, you cannot plan on meeting someone there if you WANTED TO! Snapped a quick photo with her and then we all had to break and get to our specified starting blocks!

I was in A which meant I got to take off with the first wave of runners right at 7:30. It was great. Still shady. Pretty cool. And I got to see North Point's Band perform the National Anthem! It was awesome! It took me until 8:40 to finish the 6.2 mile run, but I was able to job the entire time and felt GREAT. I felt so accomplished. It wasn't record breaking time. In fact, it was a good 30 minutes slower than last year's pace, but I felt good about finishing without walking! I racked up on the free food from all of the Publix tents and then headed up the hill to wait on the rest of the family to finish. I'm sure people at the race were judging me for running while pregnant, but, I really felt okay the whole time and BELIEVE ME, I AM ONE TO WORRY! We ended up getting home abound 11:30, ate lunch, and then all crashed by the pool. This was the afternoon, while floating on a raft, that I felt that movement, twice! It was wonderful. It was also at this point that I noticed my stomach had FINALLY popped out overnight! One of my pregnant friends told me it would happen like that and it did! I was so happy to see it sticking out there! Supposedly little peanut is the size of a small cantaloupe now! Isn't that crazy!?

Well, the wonderful weekend of activity didn't stop there. We went home around 4 to shower up and regroup for a night that was supposed to be full of fun, food, and fireworks. It turned into fun and food but no fireworks as the storms rolled in and were pretty constant from about 8-10. We enjoyed just spending time with friends though (and secretly enjoyed crawling into bed earlier than expected!) We were exhausted and still are!

Next Monday (a week from yesterday) we will be heading in for our 20 week Ultrasound. I am so excited for Nick to see his son move around on the monitor. I just know it will be so real to him, if it isn't already! There is just something magical at peeking in on your baby inside of you. I guess its just the fact that you are eye witnesses to a miracle! I cannot wait to see the little boy! Its been far too long!

Here is the most recent photo of the BUMP! 19 weeks 4 days. Look out ... its growing at a rapid pace now!

The verse that I want to jot down today is more for Nick and I as we parent. The blue sections is what I would like to impress upon this little boy as we raise him, the rest is for his mom and dad!

It comes out of Dueteronomy 6:4-7

"Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on their children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."