It's a Lion on my Liam!!

(Courtesy of Swirls and Twirls Henna)

Bumpdate: 26 weeks

Good morning loves! I hope your mornings are starting off well. As you can see from the title -- it's time for a new bumpdate!!! And believe me, we have a lot to cover, so let's not waste anymore time and get this show on the road:

Quick stats
     

26 weeks 2 days! My hair looks amazing!!!

In my last Bumpdate I said I was going to try and crank these out weekly...well not a lot happened last week so I decided to skip it, but now in my 26th week of pregnancy I am over the moon excited! I mean think about it, I'm 5 days shy of my third trimester! That's 13 short weeks until Monk Monk is here!! (Honestly I think it'll be more like 10 or 11 weeks but we're trying to keep with the schedule here). We don't have a scale but I'm sure I've gained at least a pound since our last chit-chat, and although earlier in my pregnancy I expressed some apprehension about gaining the dreaded pregnancy weight I've more or less come to terms with it because I know it's what's best for my little Prince. I'll admit, it is still a little hard to look down and see a belly but aside from the occasional freak-outs, I'm finally starting to adjust.  


Baby Buys

     A little over a month ago I put myself on a strict no buy until after the baby shower and believe it or not I've been doing pretty darn well if I may say so myself. We did end up buying another crib but I'll talk more about that during "Operation Nursery". We also bought some art supplies, but I don't really count it even though they are for decor purposes. (Again, we'll talk more during ON).
     I am going to order the baby shower invitations this week, so I guess you can count that as a baby buy. They're beyond adorable...gotta love Etsy! Oh, and speaking of the baby shower, we have released our registries!!!!

• Amazon 
• Target 

Please feel free to take a look at them and if you do plan on ordering, especially from Target, do it ASAP. The baby shower is scheduled for August 2nd and Target is slightly notorious for putting even the smallest things (i.e. a really cute jacket) on a boat (6-8 ship time...minimum). It doesn't happen all the time but we don't want to take any chances.

Don't Forget About Mama
     
       I bought my first maternity shirt!!! I got it second hand so it was only $5 and while it is pretty cute, I probably won't be buying a whole new wardrobe. It is super hot in Okinawa and I plan on living in maxi skirts and dresses the entire time. I might get a pair of shorts or two but I don't want to get ahead of myself.
      Not really baby related but I took my Senegalese twists out last week and although it takes me longer to get dressed and ready now I am loving having my hair back! I love my curls!

Operation Nursery

      Now it's time for what you have all been waiting for!!!! Operation Nursery is definitely a go and although I won't show you everything (got to leave a bit for the imagination --- aka a big nursery reveal in August), I will give you little sneak peeks of our progress. Last week was all about the dresser and as you can see from the before and "kind of after" photos, it's undergone a major face lift.

                 

Before

Kind of after

      Eeek, I can't wait until you all get to see the finished product! It was definitely a labor of love but I think it looks great! As mentioned earlier, we bought another crib and while it was a hard pill to swallow, it's better this way. Originally I had purchased a used crib from Okinawa Yard Sales and with every intention of painting it I was super excited about finding such a quality piece of furniture for "cheap". As I researched different ways to paint and refurbish the crib, I met a lot of resistance, especially regarding the safety and toxicity of whatever paint I would ultimately choose. Nonetheless, I pressed on, fully determined to sand, prime and paint my dream crib. Well, insert rainy season, a broken sander and a husband who sleeps during the day because of mids, I quickly realized that this was project I was simply not ready nor equipped for. After licking my wounds and coming to grips with a failed project, I put on some pants and headed out to the BX. Luckily, I found the perfect crib for an even more perfect price and we're putting it together tomorrow morning so I'm a happy camper. 

***DISCLAIMER*** For anyone thinking about refurbishing a crib, please do not let my experience discourage you! It is definitely possible but please do your research, gather an abundance of materials and prepare for a lot of work.

      Is it just me, or does Pintrest bring out your inner arts and crafts guru? While licking my wounds about the crib, I decided to get a jump start on some of the decor I want in the nursery and since I had all the material for my canvas boards I figured why not knock these out of the way. I still have a few left to do but I'm loving the results so far. 

I love it! And it was super easy!!!

Extras

     I do have a few extras to report but I think I'm going to do a separate blog post on them because they're kind of a big deal and really cool! 

<3 ya!!

Operation Nursery is a go!

Hey y'all!!

This weekend is super exciting because we're finally starting to set up Liam's nursery!!!! We were going to finish sanding and painting the crib this weekend but Jeremiah jacked up his shoulder lifting weights, so we're painting the dresser instead. I am so excited! We're going to do a basic navy blue all over, and then once I buy the acrylic paint - in yellow of course, I'm going to add some pinstripes to give it a bit more life and detail. Hopefully we can also change out the knobs, it just depends on what we find out in town. (I'm telling you! Don't take Home Depot for granted people, because one day you will find yourself on a tiny ass island overseas and something as simple as finding knobs for a dresser will turn into the hunt for Atlantis lol.)  

Because the dresser is currently housing his OS diaper stash, extra inserts, liners (so excited about cloth diapering) and various gifts (mostly clothes) we have received along the way, I'm going to take this opportunity to start organizing his clothes and closet. I know it doesn't seem like much but I'm super excited to finally start setting up Monk Monk's space and with my third trimester coming up (although I feel great), I really want to get all the big things, i.e. furniture projects taken care of so I can really focus on adding all the finishing touches for the remainder of my pregnancy.  

The other day I was telling Jeremiah that I feel so incredibly blessed for experiencing such an easy pregnancy. In addition to the fact that we're married, stable, loving and absolutely over the moon about our son, I haven't really experienced any of the "ailments" of pregnancy. I've had very little to no morning sickness (there was that one time a few weeks ago with the mac n cheese though), debilitating fatigue, soreness, pain - nothing really and it has truly helped curb some of my anxieties about being a FTM. (My emotions can be all over the place sometimes though.) And as an added bonus, it has made it all the more easier to enjoy this wonderful phase of life. With that said, I understand that everyone is not keen to this type of experience. In fact, I understand that for some people, pregnancy is a very scary and difficult time in life. For anyone who may be reading this who has experienced or is experiencing a difficult, high-stress or high risk pregnancy, please know that my genuine prayers are with you. And regardless of what you are going through or dealing with, whether it be emotional, physical or environmental, always remember that no matter what you are an angel on earth who has been hand selected to watch over and guide one of the Lord's most precious creatures. You are the second coming of Superwoman and the original 3-D printer! 

GET SOME!!!!

<3 ya!!

P.S. I will try my best to capture our weekend project/adventure on camera...I just need to find my battery charger!!!! 

REGISTRY!!!!

A lot have been asking so here ya go!!

Amazon
Target

<3 yall!!