Check!.... (33 weeks)

I am told it is normal at this point in the pregnancy to start running through the checklists in your mind....childbirth classes check, carseats check, daycare reservations check, newborn photographer selected check.  Zach and I LOVE lists (correction: we really like to make lists) so our baby list keep growng and growing.  There are so many things to think about and add to our list...

I think we have enough burp rags...37 sewn, to be exact. (Attempting to save our clothes from massive amounts of spit up, check!)

Glider has been painted and re-upholstered....thanks to Nate and Nikki for the chair and Adam and Emily for the footstool! (nursery, check!)...

This past weekend Zach and I enjoyed some time together just the two of us at the Denver Botanical Gardens (alone time, check!)....

Big smiles and lots of excitement, check!

Santa Fe (32 Weeks)

We had such a relaxing time in Santa Fe this past weekend.  Did you know Santa Fe is second to New York City for the number of art galleries?  We definitely got our fill of art for the next 2 months!  Here are a few pictures of our time there...

Can you ever really be prepared? (31 Weeks)

We survived our first birthing preparation class. A few things we learned:

1. All the other first-timers are just as clueless as we are.

2. "Acting out" birth is probably much funnier compared to the real thing (we couldn't stop giggling!)

3.   We still have a lot to learn….and there is only one more class!  (Good thing we still have infant CPR and Zach is taking a daddy preparation class.)

Zach has been busy getting the nursery ready….

 And I have been busy sewing or successfully avoiding other house projects (how cute are those little owls????)...

Tomorrow we are headed to Santa Fe for a weekend getaway.  We are looking forward to lots of good food and exploring museums and art galleries!

All Moved In - Sort of (29 Weeks)

We are in the new place and starting to feel somewhat settled.  Zach's lack of house projects for the last 6 months has now turned into lists upon lists of "opportunities".  We couldn't be happier in our home and are so thrilled to be in our new neighborhood.  Today we took the afternoon off from projects to attend the Stapleton Garden Club meeting (Zach got to learn all about chicken coops!) and after the meeting we rode our bikes around the neighborhood.

Some pictures of the house.....can't show all the rooms yet as it is still a work in progress.

Nursey - We still have a ways to go!

Sarah hosted a very special baby shower for me about three weeks ago in Minneapolis.  It was so nice to see so many family and friends - thanks to all of you that could be there.  As you can see from the nursery photo above, Baby Bisek received lots of great gifts!



Last night, Zach and I attended the Denver Health Gala.  It was fun to get dressed up and go out.  Earth, Wind and Fire performed and although we didn't know any of their songs, we danced along with the crowd. 

And finally, another addition for the baby's room that I made....



Ode to Big Mary's

(Big Mary’s is the name of our temporary dwelling that we have been living in for the last 6 months while our house was being built.  It is Zach’s boss’s house and Zach’s boss, Craig, lives next door.  The plan is to eventually tear Big Mary’s down (if that gives you an idea of the state of the house) but in the meantime, Zach’s boss graciously allowed us to live here rent-free.  The name, Big Mary, originates from the previous owner.   Two Mary’s lived on the street and in order to differentiate which house Craig’s kids were going to, one house was Little Mary’s and the other was Big Mary’s.)

With that being said, an Ode to Big Mary’s….

The wallpaper is terribly bright

And the walls are filled with cracks

But we love Big Mary’s “character”

And have slowly stopped noticing the things she lacks.

The bathroom vanity is in the kitchen

And the dishwasher is not

But we love Big Mary’s quirkiness

And pointing out her flaws we have stopped.

The wallpaper even covers the ceilings

And the floors are certainly squeaky

But we love Big Mary’s sense of style

And have learned to live with faucets that are leaky.

There are no outlets in the bathrooms

And the children’s drawings on the walls are funny

But we love Big Mary’s history

And certainly have appreciated saving money!

 A HUGE thank you to Craig – don’t tell us when the wrecking ball is coming, we don’t want to be there!

A few pictures of the wallpaper, curtains and drawings…

And a picture of the outside of the house… Our friends have said, “it looks way better from the outside!”

Life is Good (24 Weeks)

No other way to put it – life is good.  Baby Bisek is kicking and moving around and Zach is able to feel the baby moving every night.  Dr. appointments continue to go well – I am just told I need to work on a birth plan.  The last appointment I told our doctor that my plan was to just ‘go with the flow’.  She recommended that I come up with something a little more concrete….so now I have begun looking at signing us up for birthing classes.

Three weeks and counting until our move-in date.  The house now has cabinets installed and tile in the bathrooms.  It is all coming together and is finally beginning to feel like a reality.  We continue to annoy the contractor every week with our endless emails and nitpicky requests (what do you expect from an architect and his Type A personality wife?!).

We had a great time with friends at the annual St. Patty’s Day parade in downtown Denver (over 250,000 people in attendance).  Silly me, I thought we were going to just watch the parade but our friends had other plans….a bit of a bar crawl.  I didn’t bring my ID, since obviously I don’t need it anymore which only caused a problem at the last bar.  After motioning to my pregnant belly several times and telling the bouncer I was pregnant and obviously could not drink, he still would not let me in without an ID.  (seriously?!)  So, we played the old college trick – Zach got his hand stamped as he came out and quick came and pushed his wet stamp onto my hand.  Yes, I “snuck” into a bar while 6 months pregnant to drink water.

And have to end the blog with my latest sewing creation….a cowl neck jersey sweatshirt!

Life is good.  Hope all is well in your world.  Stay tuned for the “Ode to Big Mary’s” (Big Mary's is the name of our current house) blog update – coming soon!

Drywall, Daycares and Dr. Visits (20 weeks)

The house and my stomach continue to get bigger...

We started to visit daycares last week.  Our plan is to visit one per week so we aren't totally overwhelmed with all the choices. During the visits, I seem to find myself more interested in smiling and waving at the babies than asking intelligent questions (but that is what Zach is for!)  We are also looking into nannies so trying to keep our minds open to all options. 

And, finally, to the most important part of this post - the ultrasound pictures!  We got to see Baby Bisek yesterday on the big screen and it was really amazing.  The baby was sucking its thumb the whole time and gave the sonographer a hard time moving all over the place.  We left with a ton of pictures and huge smiles on our faces....and the sonographer didn't even slip up with a single "he" or "she"!

Sleep (19 weeks)

I love to sleep.  I dare say I don’t know a whole lot of people that like to sleep more than I do.  Gone are my college days where I only needed 5 hours of sleep and was feeling refreshed the next day to go to the bar again….I mean library (Mom and Dad – lots of long nights studying at the library!) 

What happened?  Why can I no longer function when I don’t get enough sleep?  Now I need at least a full 8 hours and still it is a major process to get out of the bed in the morning.  Zach has to open the bedroom door to shine light from the hallway on my face and I have encouraged him to be noisy while I am still in bed.  So the real question is….what the heck am I going to do when our baby comes and I will be getting up several times a night?

I know most say you will get used to it and after a while you don’t even notice the lack of sleep.  Hmmmmm….I am not buying it, people!  In the meantime, my solution is to get as much sleep as humanly possible before the baby arrives.  Lately, I have even taken naps on the weekends – something I never even ‘dreamed’ of doing before.  I even invested in a very nice body pillow which does seem to help me sleep more soundly.  My friend described her relationship with her body pillow as love/hate and I would agree.  She talked about how she seems to wrestle with it during the night and now I find myself doing the same thing (Zach often wakes up asking me if I am okay as it does feel like I am in a wrestling match complete with lots of huffing and puffing).

So, the plan is to be well-rested BEFORE the baby arrives…and after that?  Well, I guess I will just get used to it, right?  Or maybe we will get lucky and the baby will take after me!

Next week, we have our big ultrasound – we cannot wait to see our baby for a full 45 minutes!  We will be sure to post lots of pictures.

Busy Building (16 Weeks)

I tried to convince Zach to take my baby bump photos in front of all the ugly old lady wallpaper and curtains in our temporary house but the idea was vetoed as he wanted the pictures to look “nice”.  Don’t worry – I plan to dedicate a post to our current living quarters so you can all see the lovely patterns that we get to enjoy every day.

We are so excited for 2012.  Not only are we “building” a baby, but we are also building a house…here are a few pictures of the recent progress.  March 23^rd (when the house is due to be finished) and July 13^th (when baby Bisek is due) will be big dates for us in 2012. 

Sew Happy!

My fascination with sewing first began when I was a young girl, probably around 5-years-old.  I would watch my mom hammer away on her old Singer sewing machine working on her most recent project.  Her “adventures” ranged from curtains to teddy bears to Christmas ornaments to dresses and beyond.  The most memorable though was a full-size E.T. costume for Matt to wear one year for Halloween.  It was truly a masterpiece and I remember being in total awe of my mom’s sewing skills.  While she sewed, I kept busy and entertained by sorting through her sewing box which was filled with buttons, thread, patches, ribbon, Velcro and bias tape in every color and size imaginable. 

Fast forward more than 15 years later and to the other side of the world, and I found myself again fascinated as I watched my two host sisters in Turkmenistan sew every night for extra money.  The sewing machine and supplies looked much different than my mom’s but the adventure was the same.  Again, I watched as a bystander helping to cut or grab supplies as needed but I stayed on the sidelines. 

A few years ago, I decided to get into the action myself and bought a fabulous Janome Magnolia 7330 machine.  This is the same machine that I now dream about and miss almost as much as my morning coffee.  My wonderful machine is currently trapped inside of a POD (those containers that people fill up with their household items when moving and have delivered to their new home).  The problem is that you can’t get into the POD without paying lots of money and really irritating your husband.  So, my baby nesting sadly starts without a sewing machine to make burp raps, blankets, bloomers and everything else baby. ..BUT alas Huskystar to the rescue!  My generous friend, Sarah, let me use her husky (literally) machine this past weekend.  In case you don’t believe me that a machine is called “Huskystar”, I took a picture of it….

And here are the fun baby items I was able to make with it…Sew happy! 

Burp Rags

Play Mat