The nursery, in progress

Since we are moving before Evan is born, I can't start working on the nursery the way I have in the past. It's been a little frustrating for me to be limited in this way (I'm a planner!!!) but I'm coping.  -smile-

You may or may not have already heard my rant about little boy stuff...  I'm not a huge fan of anything with sports items on it, little fire trucks, puppies...  it all just seems so babyish to me, and something that he will grow out of quickly.

I figure since we will be painting his room, I'd like to plan on making it work until he is transitioned into a regular bed!

So, the solution I came up with was to purchase the full size quilt we will eventually use when he is in a regular bed, and use that as the inspiration colors for his nursery.  I know, I know... perhaps this is a little bit TOO much planning ahead, but I think it will save us a lot of work in the end.

So, this is the bedding we bought for Evan to use eventually:

We bought two of those little throw pillows, so I'll use one of those on the chair or something I'm sure...  But, as far as everything else for the nursery?  I'm planning to make it.  Whew.  Now perhaps you understand why I was fabric shopping on the last day of Jan. when he is due in June.  There's lots to do in four months! And, with two little ones under foot to keep me busy, I'm going to be squeezing in quilt making whenever I can!

My photo below ended up looking a little more red-ish than it really is (I'd say the stock photo above is more true to the colors) but you get the idea.  I'm going to use all the little squares around the edge to make his baby blanket...  it will be a little bigger than the ones I made for the girls so we can use it for the toddler bed as well.  Lots of solids and simple prints- it's hard to find fabric in boy colors that is not nursery-ish, or involving florals!

Here's a close up of the fabrics...  Excuse the frayed edges, I already washed/ironed everything so I can cut my squares...

So, that's it for now on the nursery selections.  Wish me luck as I start to compile all his stuff- fun!

Family Pictures

I shared these pictures Jillian drew on our family blog already, but had to make sure I put them on Evan's site as well so I don't forget to include them in his baby book.  Check him out on the bottom of each of these pictures... my favorite is the bottom one where he is, "really fast and green and likes to run on the grass."    :)

He's Still a Boy!

It's for sure- our newest family member is going to be a boy!  We had our 'big ultrasound' today, and everything looks great.  The doctor that performed our ultrasound was fast...  We remember the process taking much longer with each of the girls but we still walked away with a great feeling that everything with our little guy checked out and measured on target.  He's getting much bigger!


We had been waiting for this appointment to officially announce the name we have chosen.  We're excited to share our little guy will be:

Evan Christopher Kules

There's nothing symbolic about his first name- we chose it because it's something we thought was both classic and slightly unique.   We both really like it, and Jillian's slowly coming around to the fact that his name will not actually be Crouton. -smile-

Christopher is Ryan's middle name, as well as Ryan's Dad's middle name so we thought we'd keep the tradition going.  I think it all flows well together! 

Back by popular demand- I added the email subscription to this site so you can type in your email, and have the updates sent directly to your email vs. visiting the site.  I know this is easier for people, so I went for it.  Promise me you'll visit the actual site on occasion though and comment on an entry??  I really would like to include some comments in Evan's baby book and email replies are not organized for me the way comments are...  Thanks guys!

Okay, that's it for now!  I'm feeling fine, (a little heartburn this time around, and tired by the end of the day) mostly just enjoying the consistent kicks I'm feeling now and the thought that we are going to be welcoming another little person into our lives in less than 5 months!  Wow.

Below, some photos of the ultrasound today:

A check up, and a drawing

We had a check up this morning and everything looks good!  Heart rate of 154.  During resting time today, Jillian drew this picture.  Ryan was a little mad not to be included in our first family depiction.  I however, feel pretty special to be included in this picture with my kids.  It's so hard for the Mom to get in front of the camera, so this is nice.  -wink-  

Have a great day!

16 Weeks Along- It's A Boy!

Okay, bear with me and use your imagination a little bit.  He is only 16 weeks along so this is early for gender determination, but it's there.  As Jillian put it, "Our baby has a penis, and Mommy has balls in her belly."  I'm so glad Jillian is so dainty about the whole thing.  Ryan and I really need to stop saying sarcastic and ridiculous things within earshot of her.  lol

See the little bulge to the right of that leg?  That's a penis/scrotum.  The other leg is off to the right a little bit.

No genitals here, but you can see his spine along the top pretty well:

Another cool one of his LONG leg!  The technician kept commenting on how BIG he is.  She said: "Wow!  That's a huge head.  Oh my, his hand is giant!  Wow, were your other babies huge?  Look how LONG his arms and legs are!!!"

Oh, goodie.  lol

And finally, another decent shot of the "boy parts".

After the ultrasound, still in the office.  Look how unsure Jillian looks.  -smile-

A BOY?!?

"AHHHhhhhh!"  Just kidding, I had to tell her to do this.  I thought there was going to be major drama surrounding this news, but Jillian is actually taking it like a champ.  The technician saw what we were having and before she told us, or pointed it out she said, "Jillian- come over here and I'll tell you a secret.  She whispered to Jillian and then said, "Tell your Mommy and Daddy" Jillian said, "It's a baby brother. (really quietly) so I told her to tell Daddy again and she repeated (a tiny bit louder) "It's a baby brother."  Ryan said, "What?!"  lol.  It was very cute.  Even this morning before we left for the appointment Jillian was talking about how she "only likes sisters" so I thought this would be earth shattering to her but when we asked her how she felt about that news she made a huge cheesy smile and danced a little bit.  Okay!  I'm so glad she instantly got over it!

We're so happy things are developing well with our little BOY!

Ryan thinking:  'I'll take your word for it if you say there's something in this picture which indicates this is a boy...'

I guess it's a boy?!

And finally, a picture of "The Boys".  Ahh...  Must feel good to Ryan for the scales to be tipping in his direction a little bit.