Brooklyn-22 Months

How has another month passed already...? It is crazy to think my baby girl is going to be 2 in two short months! This is the big month she becomes a BIG sister!! Things are about to get crazy over here!

Brooklyn is very opinionated and a little bossy! She is my daughter for sure! She wants to have a Minnie Mouse birthday party and wants to be a purple butterfly for Halloween!

Royals Game

After taking Brooklyn to the Royals game back in August (here) that is all she has talked about since! The carousel, Slugger, hit ball, bat, clap are her ways to describe the Royals game!

We decided we needed to take her again before the season ended! It was just as much fun, although we didn't get to see Slugger close up! She was such a good girl! We started our evening in the outfield, doing all the fun kids activities-carousel and park!

After we played for a bit we headed to our seats to eat and watch the game!

After Brooklyn was good for a few innings we headed back to the outfield to play again! And, to look for Slugger!

"Slugger...where are you...?"

Pretend Slugger will just have to do!

We went back to our seats to watch another inning or two, then headed home! It was a fun night!!

And, good season for the Royals! They got so close to the post-season, but couldn't quite get in! Maybe next year...

Circus

We went to the Circus!! The Orth's asked everyone if they wanted to go and get a group discount and we said yes! I had never been to the circus and I knew Brooklyn would love it-especially all of the animals!

It was fun! It was a bit long for Brooklyn, but we survived and stayed for the entire show! I did not get many pictures on my camera or my phone.  Oh well..

The elephants were the favorite! 

lions and tigers...

This was my favorite part!! So cool!

It was a fun first circus experience for me! I don't think we will go back next year, but we will be back eventually, when the girls get older and can sit still longer! Thank you to The Orth's for organizing our fun group of friends to all sit together!

The Pink Dresser

When planning the nursery, I knew I wanted to do it on the cheap! We spent a good amount of money on Brooklyn's nursery furniture, but we just couldn't do it this time around.  Brooklyn will have her furniture forever, so it works out well! We already had a queen size bed in Molly's room that we had to put in the basement storage, so we went with a simple crib, and someday the queen bed will be back in Molly's room.

Ben has had this dresser since before I knew him.  It has always been in the spare/Molly's room.  I knew that I wanted to use the dresser for Molly's nursery, to help save money and put a good dresser to use! The dresser was actually Ben's younger brother and sisters nursery dresser.  The crib that matches the dresser is the one Brooklyn sleeps in at the lake!

Long story short, I knew I wanted to paint the dresser pink.  After talking with my mom, she said that she could see if her handy man could paint it.  I didn't feel like tackling the task on my own.  The handyman said he could get to it the last week in August.  I wanted everything done by then, so we were pushing the limits.  Another long story short, handyman took on a project that was taking him a lot longer than planned and he wouldn't be able to paint the dresser. 

I was upset, but quickly got over it and my mom and I decided we could tackle the dresser! We gathered our supplies and started one Monday night.  Mom used a liquid sandpaper and got all of the shiny finish off the dresser.  I stood back and watched because that stuff was very strong smelling!

Next, we sanded and primed.  Sanded and primed!

Then, we painted pink! Two coats of pink!

After the pink was on and dried for 24 hours we applied a glossy protective finish!

It all sounds so simple when typing it, but the project took an entire week, working in the evenings from 7-10pm every night! It is truly a labor of love! Molly better love the dresser!

The last thing to do was find hardware.  After searching online I knew the options were going to be slim because the size I needed was 3 1/2 inches for the pulls-who knew that was such an uncommon size-guess it was popular 22+ years ago! Instead of spending a lot of money and custom ordering pulls and knobs I went with one of the three choices the locks and pulls place had.  I don't love them, but I don't hate them-they work and they cost right at $50.  Win-win!

 The Locks and Pulls store let me take a sample home to try it out! Ben and I agreed it would work!

 Ta-Da! (It is so funny how different the pink dresser and aqua walls look in every picture)!

I will NEVER paint a piece of furniture again, but I am happy that mom and I tackled this project! It has a little more meaning now! It is not perfect at all, but it is perfect enough for me! I hope Molly agrees!

I will do a full nursery post soon, and try to get all of the aquas and pinks to match and look alike in all the pictures!

Chalkboard Wall

We had a blank wall in our pantry that I wanted to put to good use! I wanted to make a magnetic and chalkboard wall for Brooklyn to play with! It was a pretty simple process and I am happy with the way it turned out!

We measured out the square we wanted and Ben used painters tape and taped off the area! 

I painted 3 coats of magnetic primer! It was very weird paint!

 The magnetic primer had to dry for 2 hours in between coats.  After the third coat it had to dry for 24 hours before applying the chalkboard paint!

After all the painting was done Ben headed to Home Depot and got some trim to hang around as a border! It turned out pretty good for such an impromptu project!!

 Once the trim was up I had to "prime" the chalkboard! Basically just put chalk all over the board and leave it there for 24 hours, then wipe off and it's ready to go!

 I added letter and animal magnets!

 I hung 3 baskets for eraser and chalk!

 Brooklyn seeing the chalkboard wall for the first time!!!

 Her favorite thing to do is write something and then erase it! HA!

It was a fun project and I know we will get good use out of it!!

Eviction...

Molly has been given an eviction date!! If sweet, baby girl does not come on her own, she will be evicted out of my big, warm tummy on...

Oct 3, 2013

Yay!! The end is in sight and we will be a family of four in 9 days or less!! Can't wait to meet her!!

Until then...Brooklyn and I are soaking up the last days of her being an only child! This girl is going to be totally spoiled for the next 9 days! We are doing something fun every day!! I am a little emotional about it all...

painting on the deck!

sweet snuggles!

walking home from the park!

Brooklyn totally knows Molly is coming soon...she is extra cuddly and loving! She wants me to hold her ALL hours of the day and wants me to be next to her at all times....sweet girls life is about to change...

Baby #2 Weeks 35, 36 and 37

Another week 3 weeks has passed and Molly Kate is going to be here so very soon! Ahhh, the anticipation and excitement! I can't wait to meet our sweet new baby girl!

Weeks 35, 36 and 37

How Far Along: 37 weeks 2 days

Total Weight Gain: 38 pounds

Maternity Clothes: YES! I am so tired of wearing maternity clothes.  I have been shopping and buying non-maternity clothes for myself and I can't wait to wear them! My maternity shirts don't seem to fit anymore, I am always pulling them down trying to keep my tummy covered!

Favorite Moment This Week: The nursery is 95% complete-just need to paint and hang the mirror! Found hardware for the dresser! Brooklyn has been very loving and cuddly this week-she knows things are about to change! She will randomly place her hand on my tummy and leave it there-so sweet! We have been doing a lot of fun things with Brooklyn-zoo, circus, Royals Game!

Gender: GIRL! Molly Kate

Movement: Is she ever going to slow down or run out of space-this girl is non-stop!

Food Cravings: Salad!

What I Miss: being comfortable in my own skin, wearing normal clothes and moving around easily!

Sleep: Not too bad!

What I Am Looking Forward To: Meeting Molly!

Symptoms: random contractions, heartburn

Belly Button: OUT!

Next DR. Appt: Tomorrow, Friday the 20th

Contractions: YES-random ones

Dilated/Effaced: At my 36 week appt last week I was only 1/2 cm dilated and she didn't mention anything about being effaced.  I don't think this baby will come on her own, I see an induction in my near future!! Which I don't mind...