i is for iguana

so we have a little obsession with the iguana

my mom gave me an eric carle ABC book which i tore up and hung above the changing table with some dyed clothespins  (thanks mom!)

apparently covington approves because he stares intently at them every time i change his diaper. he was actually staring at the vulture on the v, but that kinda freaked me out so i moved him down to the iguana. sometimes when he's all fussy we go hang out on the changing table just for some fun. that's where we are now actually and the iguana is getting much bigger grins than i've gotten all day...

 oh well, at least he's smiling

just some pictures

good gracious - i uploaded these pictures a couple weeks ago (and never got around to actually posting them) and i feel like he's grown a ton since then! it's all going way to fast! which would be why i'm cuddling him while he sleeps and typing one handed right now :)

on being pregnant

i know, i'm quite the bad blogger.

i've been a bit obsessed with this sweet little baby and just want to hold him and stare at him and soak up every minute, all the time and it's a bit hard to type one handed. besides that, our days are pretty much the same - eat, sleep, and poop - and just how many times do you want to read about that?? i didn't think so. don't get me wrong - i'm loving every minute but there's just not much to write about.

so instead i'll write about being pregnant. in short, i loved it. it's amazing how quickly the memories of heart burn and backaches disappear. i am so very thankful that i had the opportunity to experience it. and wow - what a miracle.

things i miss about being pregnant:

• all the little kicks -they really are absolutely amazing
• people always stopping their cars to let me walk across the street
• all the cute things my kindergartners would tell me about babies
• not worrying about sucking in my belly
• eating and not really worrying about where it's going
• knowing covington's all safe and secure and content in there
• not worrying about if my jeans will button - i love some elastic waists
• getting email updates on covington's growth. it was so fun to see how big he was each week and what all was going on.
• people stopping me just to tell me how great kids are - several guys stopped me on trips to home depot just to tell me how great it's going to be. my favorite was the man with an irish accent who had 6 kids and told me it only gets easier after the third.

things i won't miss:

• heartburn - although i'll attest to the old wives tale that lots of heartburn = lots of hair
• waking up james while trying to roll over in bed - seriously, it was not unlike a whale flopping over - i could create some waves
• not being able to turn around in the car. or bend over.
• backaches - emily's rice pad was a life saver. amazing.
• easy gag reflex. although it was always entertaining for james to watch me try to take my vitamins. you never knew what would happen. or where the vitamins would end up :)

and the best thing about not being pregnant:

actually cuddling this little guy all day long.

oh how i love him.

1 month

one month already? it's flying by.

and it's absolutely amazing.

babies

it's true - all they do is sleep, eat, and poop, with the occasional cry thrown in there.
i feel like we've been crazy for the last 2 weeks while at the same time nothing all that exciting has been going on.

i can spend hours just watching all his different expressions while he sleeps (which is what he does most of the time) and i love those dark eyes on the rare occasion that he opens them for long

well i'm off to snuggle and pretend those gas induced smiles are really meant for me

look who showed up 2 weeks early...

and we're in love.

hey mrs kent

'hey mrs kent...'

(in a very quiet, don't-freak-out-but...whisper voice from one of my sweetest little girls)

'there is something sticking out of your belly and i think it might be your baby's foot'

me - actually, i think that's just my belly button

girl - hmmmm....

it's really cute now when they tell me how huge my belly is, but i'm really hoping it doesn't continue after i come back from maternity leave :)
with 3 weeks left, i'm washing sweet little baby clothes today and trying to believe this is actually going to happen!

in other baby news...i'm an aunt again! here's my brother and his sweet little boy hayze - a valentine's baby. so excited they'll get to grow up together!

36 weeks

4 weeks to go!
absolutely crazy.

i can't believe we've got less than a month to go and i'm so thankful to still be feeling pretty great!

huge but good :)

now we're definitely starting to see a sock line at the end of the day from some ankle swelling and my wedding band is a bit too snug these days (though now i'm really glad i kept forgetting to get my engagement ring re-sized because it's just perfect now).
i'm really praying he'll be late so i can work for the next 4 weeks - people say i'll be changing my mind in a couple weeks, but the longer i work now means the less i'll have to go back in may before summer break (do you hear that, baby c?? take. your. time.)

things are starting to come together - we've officially graduated from birthing class and our little nursery is almost done. i'm in some serious nesting mode, like clean-out-every-drawer nesting. unfortunately we just moved, so things haven't really gotten that unorganized, but that doesn't keep me from trying.

so 4 more weeks...that's 4 more saturdays to sleep in for the next like 20 years. at that thought, i think i'm going to take a nap :)

lampshade makeover...success or failure?

do you ever have those projects that you're just not sure about?
that's what this little lampshade makeover is.

we had a big, white drumshade right next to all the bright, colorful pillows in the baby room and it just wasn't working. i had a pot of orange dye going to dye some clothespins and decided to try out {this little tutorial} on dying a lampshade. this shade is actually cracked on the back because i'm horrible at moving shades apparently and i've been meaning to get a new one so i figured that dying it couldn't mess it up.

(coincidentally, i left the clothespins in for too long because i got distracted and they turned a pinky-red instead of orange, so it was more like 2 fails. but i'm totally using them still...)

nothing too technical. i just painted it on with a paintbrush and gave it about 3 coats. in the end, it's a bit streaky and i can't decide if it's one of those "oooh-hand-dyed-in-india" looks or a "homemade-dyed-in-the-kitchen" feel :)

either way, it's staying for now and i crossed one more thing off the to-do list (but i am keeping an eye out for something else, just in case)


and how cute is that little giraffe?? thanks to the sis-in-laws, i've got quite the chic animal collection. love.

a martha bookshelf knock-off {aka my hubby is awesome}

while we were home over christmas, i text james this picture of a martha stewart bookshelf that i loved


and this is what he made me.
no plans. no tutorials. just a cell phone picture. he is awesome.

i so love it.

and while we're on the topic, he made 2 A- and 2 A's in the first semester of his doctoral program. i'm quite proud.

AND he spent his 29th birthday last week eating hamburgers at the hospital cafeteria and going to birthing class.
and didn't complain at all.

he's definitely a keeper.