One Week

Our sweet Surrey Gray is one week old today.

Nine Months

Spoiler Alert

You're right. It's been over a month since an update. In fact, it's almost been two months. I'm not proud.

But while we're talking numbers, let's talk about an even more staggering statistic...

13 days til our babe's due date. That's less than two weeks people. Unreal.

Jeremiah and I are finally feeling ready for our girl to arrive after a couple weekends in a row of errands and necessary baby prep. Her room is ready to go, our hospital bag is as packed as it can be, and the car seat is installed. I never thought the day would come, but everything seems a bit natural and normal as her arrival gets closer. Don't get me wrong, it's still absolutely nuts to know that two weeks from today our life will be completely different. We'll be parents. We'll be in charge of a baby, of a child, of another life. Crossing our fingers we don't screw it up!

And now without further ado, the nursery reveal. Drumroll please...

And lucky, lucky you. You've gotten a sneak-peak at our little lady's first initial. Ahh!

My sincerest apologies. As if I'm not terrible enough at taking pictures, S's room doesn't have a single window and has a crazytown lamp, all making pictures nearly impossible to visualize the room as it appears in reality. So sorry. I tried with and without flash and both versions are horrible.

In the words of En Vogue... now it's time for a breakdown.

Crib - BabyMod Parklane, from Walmart

Bedding - my crazy talented mom

Rocking chair - Plow & Hearth

Ottoman - Target

Changing table/drawers - Ikea

Changing pad and cover - The Land of Nod

Mirror - Target, spray painted by Jeremiah

Curtains - fabric from Joann, sewn by my mom

Futon - Ikea

Fabric ribbon board - my crazy talented sister

Pillows - my mom

Bookshelf - Ikea (years and years ago), backed with wrapping paper

Chifforobe - my dad's grandmother's I believe

Ceiling and floor lamps - Ikea

Mobile - handmade by me

S - painted cardboard letter from Joann, rosettes handmade by me

And wouldn't you agree we're in big trouble if the ultrasound techs were deceived...

Under Construction

And here's a little taste of what we're working on. More of the little lady's room to come in the upcoming weeks.

Only 8 weeks til her big debut, are you counting down with us?

Grade A

Sitting in my closet, you will find this lovely Anthropologie ceramic egg crate. Although instead of finding a dozen Eggland's Best Grade A eggs, you'll find an assortment of otherwise flailing around earrings and bobby pins.

I can't take much credit for this ingenious idea. The instant a friend opened this exact bridal shower gift on Wednesday night my mind raced immediately back to something I had seen on my favorite of all blogs. And considering the jewelry atop my closet dresser looked like a scene from Twister, I knew it was high time I did something about it. Because (a) it looked unsightly, (b) it indirectly made my life chaotic, and (c) that movie scared me during my previous (see also: ongoing) fear of all things storms and I don't need those memories resurfacing anytime soon.

So, off to Anthro I went yesterday after work to make this $14.00 life-changer mine.

Three's a Party

So says Andy Warhol.
And so seems to be our situation as our new roommate blasts youtube sensation Rebecca Black's "Friday" hit each week to ring in another weekend.
That's right, Cameron has officially moved in to our place here in Midlothian, Virginia. We've all been in and out since his pilgrammage down mid-July, but we're staring routine and daily life together in the face as Jeremiah and Cameron get ready to head to work in about a week. It's about time. This working during the summer stuff makes me ugly with jealousy.
Other than the pressures of having food in the house constantly (which I'm failing miserably at) and needing to contribute weekly towards his quest of becoming an MVC at Kohls, so far so good.

Baby Link, meet Grandmother and Aunt Martha Stewart

No, we're actually not that famous. Our daughter has no relation to the Martha Stewart. The Martha Stewart who I just found out is 70 years old. Say what?! I don't believe it.

But even though we're not officially related, I think we could really fool some people with the just-as-good-if-not-better-than-Martha's work my mom and sister produce. They're so incredibly crafty and creative it's almost sickening. Usually I feel very sub-par to the two masterminds, always jealous of their attention to detail, patience, and magnificent end results. Luckily, this time around I was on the receiving end of their perfection and reaped every single benefit.

A couple weekends ago my mom and sister threw me (and the little lady on the way) my first baby shower. Woo hoo! It was a much-anticipated event for me, being that pregnancy hasn't really been what I expected. Namely, it hasn't felt real. I had high hopes that being surrounded by love, encouragement, and baby goodies (and my own swollen feet) would help it all sink in a little more. And it did. At least for a few hours.

Plan A was to have a backyard/garden shindig set amongst the summer foliage; however, mother nature threatened heavy with cloudy skies and high humidity. Fortunately, Plan B worked at wonderfully. Just a few steps away from my house was a delightfully air-conditioned room at my parents' church awaiting some decorative love. They took a p(l)ainfully bare room and made it pretty adorable.

Not one detail fell to the wayside. Pinwheel centerpieces. Coordinating fabrics and colors. Handsewn items. Real plates. Placecards. A freaking amazing cake (by none other than Chef Andria). Polka-dot and color-themed food. Delicious food. It was perfect I tell ya. Perfect.
Unfortunately, my pregnancy brain was in full-force, as I failed to snap even one photo of the celebration. Kate Joyce, where were you?? Luckily, my dad tried his best to capture a few moments pre-shower and we even got a handful of me with some guests post-party.
Enjoy!