30 Weeks

30 weeks.  Goodness.  It feels like we got here so fast, but yet it still seems so far away before we get to meet Madelyn. 

The last month has been slightly crazy.  We have travelled to and from the south twice (one unexpected visit included).  Yes that's at least 36 hours of flying.  Not counting the 10+ hours of driving in a car to get from airport to designated locations.  Going from the 90's to the 30's is a fun adjustment.  Needless to say, work has been fun playing catch up and my body may or may not be exhausted.  But it's been a blessing to see family and am thankful to have the ability to still be able to fly...even in my third trimester. 

This also means I've been terrible documenting weekly growth through pictures.  But here is the big week 30.  Maddie is growing! (And her nursery almost complete!)

I officially:
Have too swollen of fingers to wear my wedding rings, they reside on my pinky, if at all.
Feel like I have a bowling ball permanently strapped to my torso.
Can't make it up the stairs without having to stop to catch my breath.
Feel Maddie kickboxing/doing somersaults about 15 minutes every time after I eat.
Indigestion. Enough said.
Move a lot slower these days.
Am getting slightly nervous about that whole birthing part (I really haven't until this point).
Can't eat very much at one time due to my squished stomach.  But that doesn't mean I don't eat often. ;)
Whack Matt every night when I'm tossing and turning.  Sorry babe.
And that perfect vision I always took pride in?  I can barely read street signs now.

Thankfully these should all be gone once we have our daughter.  So many things to look forward to!

This weekend I did a load of newborn baby clothes that we have received through gifts and donations (people are so generous!).  It made me so anxious for her to get here. A little impatient, actually.  Matt often finds me in the nursery just sitting with a book or journal.  It's one of my favorite rooms in the house right now.  Good thing since I'll probably be spending lots of time in there in the near future. 

So only about 10 weeks left!  Can we fast forward, please?

Toy Chest

There is very little in the nursery that we didn't DIY, fix up, or recycle from another room (other than the crib).  I love that we were able to make it exactly how we wanted it and it sure has kept me busy rather than dwelling on the fact that my jeans probably won't fit again for a loonnng time. 

This summer Matt and I were garage sale-ing one morning and I came across this trunk.  It was full of another person's junk and was being used as a box for "$1 items".  It was nasty and cobwebby and apparently at one point used to store Christmas decor.  I asked if I could take it for $5.  And she gave it to me. Yay!  I love good finds.  

Along the way I primed it down and Matt painted it this lovely yellow color (it's actually more mustardy in person, but these dark winter days kill the natural light for pictures).  It will be Madelyn's toy chest. It's currently empty, but I'm sure over the years it will quickly fill up. 

It's going to go here...eventually...when Mocha is relocated to a new room...which is why it's currently sitting in the middle of the room.  She doesn't really look like she wants to go quite yet, and I'm not going to make her. (And don't mind the bandage on her leg, poor girl is falling apart these days:( )

I also found this amazing, random giraffe while back in Texas.  It's over a foot tall, but I made it fit in our suitcase to come back, no worries (though Matt might have thought I was ridiculous).  I had no plans on incorporating giraffes into the nursery (along with elephants), but I fell in love.  So here he is. :)

Nursery Mobile

I mentioned earlier I had quite the flop at my first attempt to making Maddie's nursery mobile.  I'm kinda embarrassed to even post a picture of my disaster. So I won't.  However, I then found this awesome design for fabric poms here (initially found on pinterest).  Seemed more fool-proof than my last design.  

All it required was:

fabric cut into circles (I used a 3" coaster as my tracer)

Styrofoam balls

hot glue gun

ribbon or something to hang them from

I ended up with 3 different colored fabrics - yellow, orange and gray - 1 yard of each for the two small styrofoam balls and 1 1/2 yards for the larger styrofoam ball.  And I used every inch, I actually planned on doing the two small ones in the same fabric until I realized how much it required.  So I had to take another trip to walmart to pick up another color.  It took an entire day of college football watching to finish these bad boys.  Below is one yard of fabric cut into 3" circles, if you were curious how many it takes.  Quite a few circles if I do say so.

I then just followed the instructions and glued them down as such.  Seems tedious, but after awhile it's easy to zone out and just get in a rhythm.

About 8 in it looked like this...I had a long ways to go.  Good thing we had 3 games to watch.

But after a Saturday of enjoying my Aggies beat Baylor, I had my mobile completed.  Matt helped me hang them the next day and I have to say they look so pretty.  I love the pop of color since it's a rather neutral room. 

I think I'm ready for this crafty, stay-at-home mom gig. 

A Baby Shower

A very special day when we were back in Texas is the shower that my sisters and mom threw for me, Matt and Madelyn.  They went above and beyond anything I ever expected.  It was a book shower - to gain a collection of our closest family/friend's favorite childhood books for Maddie.  Caitlin came up with the idea and I absolutely loved it!  We definitely have a great selection to chose from to read to our daughter now!   Friends that I have dearly missed since moving to Alaska made the trip out to attend which really meant a lot to me to have their support and catch up even if it seemed for just a few minutes.  So though it way too quick of an afternoon, I am so thankful to have that memory.

The "Heine" girls - Kelsey, Amy, me, Caitlin and my mom



Amy made this awesome diaper cake.  Sadly I had to take it apart to get it back to Alaska.



I love the banners Caitlin made.  They are going to be hung in the nursery.



They also made these really cool stars...those sadly had to be left behind. :( 
It stinks being stuck to traveling with only a suitcase.  These would have been awesome in the nursery as well. 

And one cannot forget the amazing food spread. 
I wish I could go back and enjoy some more now.



Family photo shoot! 
27 weeks pregnant. We are getting so close!

It was a bit tricky figuring out how to handle the weight and space issue with our luggage flying back, with all the books, various gifts and shopping I did (I have been greatly deprived, so I thought I actually displayed great restraint overall).  But we made it back with only one extra suitcase and very heavy carry-ons. :)  Matt is currently working on painting a small bookshelf for the nursery that will display all the wonderful books Maddie received.  He has recently informed me he's about done with the painting and "re-doing" projects I keep coming up with.  But he has been a great sport about it - because there have been quite a few...

State Fair of Texas

It so happened that while in the Dallas/Fort Worth area the state fair had begun.  It also so happens that I've never been...even after a free ticket and day off of school most of growing up.  I can understand why now that I know how ridiculously expensive it is for just a bottled water.  Bringing kids there could be dangerous - however we had a great time. 

The boys - Matt and Karl, my bro-in-law - were by far most excited about the Cotton Bowl.  Maybe one day we can attend an actual game.

The classic shot of Big Tex with my sister Caitlin and my mom. 

 

 We all decided to splurge and ride the farris wheel.  Sounded like a great idea until we got near the top.  That thing is HIGH!

Karl, Caitlin and my mom

Matt, me and Amanda - my sister-in-law

If I were to actually enjoy the views rather than having a panic attack, they were rather beautiful at sunset.

 

Babymoon to Seattle

We just got back from a wonderful vacation - that went by WAY too fast.  Being 27 weeks pregnant, we wanted to go ahead and travel to see some family before I no longer could fly.  Especially since we will miss all the holidays this year (my first time ever for Christmas, my favorite holiday, I'm probably going to be a giant, sobbing mess...if I'm not already just thinking about it).  We also wanted to include a little just-us time in the trip.  One aspect of living a 8 hour flight away is that you almost always have to stop in Seattle (the half way mark to Texas).  Well, for no extra charge, we decided to stop for 4 nights, and leave the airport for the first time.

We got a hotel downtown and just walked and explored and walked some more.  Matt and I are both planners, so this was the most laid back vacation we had been on together. No plans. No expectations. Just relax and enjoy each other and the city. 

I loved Seattle.  It is really a beautiful city (of the downtown we saw).  So much character in the buildings.  Maybe because living in Alaska there is none of that, we appreciate it more. 

 I also secretly wish I lived next door to this market. It was PACKED each time we went by, but the idea of fresh produce and flowers daily would be amazing.  Again, maybe because we don't get that up here either.

And of course we visited the first Starbucks.  A hole in the wall.  We got a latte and hot chocolate - I sadly am not enjoying coffee right now and Matt never has - but we still had to indulge in something.

We spent an evening at a local sports bar so we/aka-Matt could watch the Oklahoma game (after a day of watching other games in our swank hotel room).  I'm a good wife. :)

Which is way when the first night in town I found a cupcake place, we naturally we had to stop at some point.  I don't really know what my obsession is about delicious vanilla cupcakes.  They are just so good...as were these.

Matt most anticipated stop - the Space Needle.  They charge a ton just to ride to the top, so we decided to go ahead and make it a lunch date and eat at the restaurant - at least we'd good a good burger out of the deal.

Only terrified for about half the meal (Matt says I'm irrational, but I was scared the whole building would topple over), we enjoyed lovely (and slightly cloudy) views of Seattle.

 Enjoying some more walking and sunshine along the pier.

When Matt and I went to New York two Christmas' ago, we took a picture in front of every Christmas tree we came across.  Which was a ton, but it was a fun way to document the trip.  On a similar note, Matt and I decided to take a picture in front of every Starbucks we came across for our Seattle trip, which I thought was appropriate...I'll spare you the dozens we found in only a 5 mile radius, but here are a couple.

In all it was a wonderful, long weekend.  Even at 6 1/2 months pregnant.  I just walked a little slower and had rest my feet a bit more, who knew carrying a 2 pound baby around was such hard work at this point? 

The best part was that we weren't going home just yet...we still have a trip to my mom's ahead.  It was like Christmas in the fall with the whole family.