Thanksgiving Day

We spent Thanksgiving Day with both of our families. Lunch with my side and dinner with the husband's. We're lucky to have many of our relatives nearby and close to each other too. We only had to drive about 20 minutes from one party to the next!

It was also nice to have the husband home for the long weekend.  We spent the rest of the weekend volunteering at a soup kitchen, hanging out with friends, and eating more food.  We did stop by the mall later on Black Friday to check out a couple stores, but we weren't really in the mood to shop much. I did score a few cotton shirts and a super soft, plaid scarf from The Gap for 60% off! But that was the extent of our Black Friday shopping excursion.  How was your Thanksgiving weekend?

Cousin-in-law, Howie with my cousins, Tiffany & Amy

My sister and cousins posing w/ the turkey.

My sister and me

A family photo with our hunny bunny, Jobie.

Happy birthday to my MIL!

The husband and his cousins playing a drinking game.

Belly Wave + an Update

Here's a video of my belly that I took a few days ago at 32 weeks.  The girls have been super active, so my stomach looks like a wave.  It's pretty incredible and freaky!

At my 32 week ultrasound last week, the girls' organs and limbs were looking fabulous.  There was some concern raised about the size of Baby B though.  She isn't growing as fast as Baby A.  They used to be only a few ounces different, but now the gap has grown.  Baby A is 3lbs, 8oz and Baby B is only 2lbs, 11oz.  So I'm going to have to go in weekly for Doppler scans to check on their fluids, in addition to the weekly Non-Stress Tests.

I had my first Doppler scan this morning.  Thankfully, everything looked great.  A Doppler scan "examines the blood flowing through the umbilical cord between the placenta and the baby."  It also examines amniotic fluid levels.

Baby Bump Progression...I'm SO behind!

 

I'm currently 32 weeks and quite a wee bit behind on my "bi-weekly" photos. We've converted our guest bedroom into the nursery.  We moved the guest bed to our basement study, painted the walls a lovely, light gray, and added 2 cribs, a shelf, a dresser, and a glider.  Now all the walls are taken and there's nowhere for me to take my weekly photos.  So here's one from Week 27 in front of a crib (Don't mind my messy hair.  I think I just woke up from a nap.)  I just entered the 3rd trimester (in that photo.)  Yippee! 

So I just started Month 8 this week.  I can't believe I only have a few weeks to go.  I've been seeing my OB every 2 weeks for awhile now.  She just told me I also need to start going to the hospital to get a Non-Stress Test every week from now on.  Oh dear...  I think I may have felt my first Braxton Hick's on Saturday.  My stomach got really tight and there was a shooting pain that went down one of my legs.  It reminded me of my period cramps back in high school.  It happened 3 times within a 15-20 minute span.  Is that what Braxton Hick's feels like??

Recent Project: An Art Deco Holiday Party Invitation

I love working with this client.  Carol is a dream to work with.  She knows what she wants, so when she sees it, we're done!  No wishy washy indecisiveness here.  I also designed their last holiday party invitation (click here.)  But I love this year's so much more!  They decided to go all out on the budget and went with black raised text, gold embossed letters, and a beveled edge.  It turned out spectacularly!  She asked for an Art Deco feel to go along with their new party venue, The Drake Hotel.  So this is what I came up with!

Time flies...

So sorry for the lack of posts!  I've been busy with....

Procrastinating and finally making curtains for the nursery with this fabric:

Source: fabric.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Trying to find a wall decal that will work in the space...  Love this but with 2 cribs and a glider, there isn't much wall space that low.  Must find something that will go above the cribs.  Hmm..must keep searching.

Source: etsy.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Finding the perfect crib skirt and then realizing it doesn't fit our cribs (the position of the mattress bars are in the front rather than sides)... Now I have to find fabric and make my own. :( Hopefully, this tutorial by Young House Love will work!

Source: landofnod.com via Cindy on Pinterest

iPhone Photo Wknd Update {week 27}

We finally bought & built the cribs for the nursery.  The husband assembled the bookshelf & dresser a couple weeks ago.  Now all we're waiting for is the glider!  Well...I still need to make the curtains and decorate the room. The room is definitely coming along!

We had Friday dinner at our friends' house. Don't you just love her ruffly butt?

Our nephew, Isaac, saying "cheeeese!"

Here's the husband practicing wearing the Ergo with our friends' baby, Miles.

On Saturday, we had a baby shower with the husband's family.

iPhone Photo Update

<< This was taken a couple weeks ago at 24 weeks. I had a doctor's appt 

a few days later, and all is well with the babies.  I was measuring 27 weeks.  :) 

Trying to see things below the belly has been increasingly difficult.  Hehe. >>

<< Pretty b i r t h d a y flowers from the husband >>

 << Delicious chocolate croissants from Trader Joe's >>

 << Choosing paint colors was harder than I thought it would be. 

But we're done now! I'm loving the new paint colors. >>

 << The husband insisted on buying this adorably cute, PINK blanket from Target.  

Who would've thought he'd be the one pushing for more pink?! Hehe...so cute. >>

Art Prints for the Nursery

Source: etsy.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Nursery Inspiration

Since our master bath remodel is finally finished (well, we still need to paint the walls), I can finally start thinking about putting together our nursery!

I love, love, love everything about this part of this nursery. The colors, the Anthropologie coral knobs, the Ikea drawers, the spray painted thrift store frames, and the framed fabric art. I'm definitely taking a bunch of ideas from here!

Source: cape27blog.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Isn't the bold, chevron striped wall just FABULOUS?? I was initially going to go with a yellow, and gray color scheme like this, but when I found out we were having girls, I just had to throw in some pink!

Source: house36.wordpress.com via Cindy on Pinterest

I would like to get this low Ikea shelf to put under our window too. Now I can make the curtains a bit shorter. Shorter = less fabric and less work. I like the sound of that!

Source: ohdeedoh.com via Cindy on Pinterest

I like how perfectly those baskets fit into the Ikea shelf. Should I go w/ baskets or the drawers and knobs in the 1st picture??

Source: blog.holamama.es via Cindy on Pinterest

This was one of the first things I bought for the nursery. They didn't have yellow and gray would've been too drab. So that's how aqua entered into the color scheme! I'm gonna paint the walls a light gray (like in the 1st image) w/ yellow & white patterned curtains, and this aqua chevron rug. Sprinkle in a little pink here and there and that's that!

Source: urbanoutfitters.com via Cindy on Pinterest

And another year goes by...

Source: fiskars.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Too cute for words!

I can't wait til my girls are old enough to wear adorable shoes like these!

Source: joyfolie.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: rikshawdesign.blogspot.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: fleetingthing.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Source: ohjoy.blogs.com via Cindy on Pinterest

Five and a half months...and counting

I really like how Sydney from The Daybook documents her current pregnant state. It's a nice way to keep track of how your pregnancy is going. I'm gonna give it a shot. Pregnancy hasn't exactly been what I expected. I guess I was hoping it would be easy breezy like a few of my lucky momma friends. I definitely can't say that it has been. But I'm more than half way there though. Whoo hoo!

[at a wedding this past weekend]

At twenty-two weeks:

- I've experienced my first clogged milk duct. Who knew that could happen when you're pregnant?!
- I've gained 15 lbs so far. So why do I look like I'm 7-8 months pregnant already?
- The girls are still breached, but we still have a few more weeks before they're supposed to turn around. Turn upside down, M and S!
- Sleeping on my sides has gotten uncomfortable the last couple weeks. I've been feeling this sharp pain at the bottom of my ribs. Apparently, my ribs are stretching. What?? I didn't know that could happen.
- My boobies keep growing. No, I don't like them this big. I thought a D was huge.
- My green veins look like a spiderweb all over my body. Especially on my chest, boobs, stomach, and legs. Hmm...that's basically everywhere!
- I don't have to shave my legs as frequently. The hair growth has actually slowed down. Lovin' it!
- Our master bath remodel is finally almost done. Next project, the nursery!

Babymoon Part 2: Old & New Montreal

Montreal has an amazing bike network system. You can rent a bike from one location and drop it off at another. They're all over the city! So we decided to explore Old Montreal by bike after a hearty breakfast near our hotel downtown. Who would've thought baked beans would go so well with breakfast?! Delicious!


After enjoying a beautiful day outside and a quick nap, we walked over to New Montreal for dinner. A friend had recommended hitting up Schwartz's for some of their famous smoked meat sandwiches. The tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant was PACKED! The sandwiches and pickles were finger-licking good!

Awesome Maternity Book

Check out this amazingly cute maternity book by Joanna McShan of Hanna Mac Photography. She's an Austin based photographer that specializes in baby, kids and family photography. I love how whimsical and fun her maternity book is with all the bright colors and little summaries for every week. What an awesome idea!