January Tidbits ~ Life Behind the Scenes ~ Pregnancy Weeks 28 – 32

January was the month where things started to feel REALLY REAL! Like… we (God willing) are actually having babies before we know it!! I can’t believe how quickly this month flew by and I’m grateful for every day that these two little dudes stay cozy in there growing growing growing! Even with the aches and pains growing as my belly expands, I never have a day where I don’t enjoy being pregnant. I can’t imagine I would necessarily feel that way had we not been through all we were to get to this point – but I’m so happy to have that perspective now. These guys make me so happy – even when they are kicking me in the ribs and doing some sort of acrobatics in there that make it feel impossible to breathe sometimes. 🙂 I’m actually especially happy when they do that because I know they are active and okay in there!

I find myself singing and talking to them a lot and have gotten to the point where if I think about it all too much I just break into tears. haha. I’m just so grateful and so hopeful that the remainder of the pregnancy goes well and that they come out to meet us when they are good, healthy & ready. 🙂

Anyway – on to what January behind the scenes looked like!! We had our last few sessions of the year, including our big commercial shoot with Renaissance Learning, which went great! The little first graders were so dang cute! The rest of the month I spent wrapping up work projects and editing, and finally this past weekend tackled getting their nursery ready (a full post on the nursery is yet to come when I put the finishing touches on it)!

Here’s a look at all of it!

 

1. It took me FOREVER to finally get this dresser built for our bedroom (and all those clothes piled in our built-ins unpacked, finally) – but we made it by the end of the month! Just keep scrolling!
2. 28 weeks and 5 days… growing, growing!
3. I have a serious sweet tooth for sour candy but hadn’t really had it in quite a while… until this month – and now I can’t stop! These are my absolute favorite!
4. Finally got art on our walls this month!!! The final touches on making it feel like home! Woo hoo!! Shout out to Frame Bridge – where these were printed and framed!
5. More art on walls!! These are in my office!!
6. Trying on the dress I planned to wear to my baby shower and realized I just barely squeeze into it! haha. 29 weeks!!

 

1. My baby shower!!! I have real photos that my sister was so wonderful to take with my camera a bit throughout the shower that I hope to share eventually – but for now – a few cell phone pics will have to do!! What a cute banner my friend, Krista, made!! I cannot believe how many people came from near and far to celebrate these two miracle boys with me! We are so blessed (& spoiled) already!!
2. Me with my mom and sis!!
3. Me with some of my sweet high school friends!!
4. Me with my college girls!
5. We had so much stuff to get back to Chicago that I had to drive so James could have Chloe on his lap in the front seat and all our goods could be squished in the back of our little Chevy Cruze! haha!
6. Got all the goods back home and Chloe had to inspect them all. Quality control… as you do.

 

1. Another print we got framed!! Love this addition to the guest room!! (One of the film photos from our trip to Big Sur.)
2. It may not have gotten snowy much this month – but it got cold for a bit there!!
3. Chloe got her first bath in the new shower! She loved it, but didn’t love me taking photos of her in there. haha
4. I hit 30 weeks and realized that my bump was no longer fitting into some of my maternity shirts!! Eek! haha
5. Trying to stay healthy and strong as I grow these boys! I try to do yoga at least a couple times a week (just a little 15 minute prenatal yoga DVD I have) and lift weights after. The further along I’m getting the more tiring this is though! I did this last week and had to rest the entire next day! Ha!
6. If you’re grossed out by bare belly pics (like my brothers are) – sorry!!! But seriously – it’s hard to tell how legit this bump is getting under clothes sometimes. Look at it! Ah! 30 weeks 2 days!

 

1. The doctor told me to add protein shakes to help gain more weight… then the next week I was told I didn’t need to drink them unless I felt I needed more protein some days. Turns out I actually really love them for curing my sweet tooth, so I’ve been enjoying them now and then regardless. 🙂
2. We got a new car! Whew!! I was so worried about getting this taken care of so that we had a car that we could actually fit two car seats in (not to mention a dog, and all the new baby stuff!) – so I’m SO thankful James took this under his wings and got it taken care of! We’re loving the new Equinox, especially since I can actually get in and out of it soooo much easier with my bump!
3. Zen Chloe.
4. Our final BIG shoot of the year!! Our commercial shoot was a success!! Shout out to Debbie Petrielli who snapped this pic of me in action at 30 weeks 4 days.
5. Ultrasound check up for my almost 31 week appt! The boys were measuring large and in charge! haha. They’re both measuring 1.5-2 weeks ahead and were already 4 lbs 8 oz, and 4 lbs 2 oz. Strong heartbeats and all looked great! Thank goodness!!
6. Finally (a little) snow!!!

 

1. 31 weeks!! The doctor said, “Make your next ultrasound appointment for 4 weeks from now, and if you’re still pregnant, we’ll see you then!” That’s when it really hit us – IF I’m still pregnant?! We have SO much to do!!! We’re running out of time!!!
2. And so… off to IKEA we went to finally get this nursery going! (Here is a RARE smile from James while at IKEA. He loathes that place! haha)
3. We seriously barely fit all our stuff in the car – even with the new BIGGER car!! ha! James actually had to give away a storage thing he had bought and planned to return to Home Depot to a woman in the parking lot so we could fit everything else. Oops!
4. Outdoor fashion when it is COLD and you’re trying to hurry and get the dog out in the backyard. Onesie pajamas + James’ work boots. haha
5. Chloe thought it was cold too. Spoiled pup got waaaay wrapped up by James!
6. I finally took down all our Christmas decorations and put up some fresh new decor! It feels so good to have a clean slate again!

 

1. Our bedroom is finally finished! We spent one day putting the final touches on it and hanging all the curtain in time for one last Beautiful Session I shot last Sunday!
2. Our faux headboard, since there’s no way we could fit a real headboard up our staircase!
3. Then James said he planned a surprise lunch for us and told me to dress up… I was SO confused and had no idea what was going on! He was all dressed up and drove me downtown where he pulled up to The Drake. I was trying to convince him to get out of the car, while he was trying to convince me to go in ahead of him and “check on our reservations” when I turned and saw two of my best girlfriends standing on the sidewalk waving at me! Oh my word. I was totally surprised. They planned a little mini baby celebration for me!! I walked inside and found another friend waiting at the table for us who had flown in from California to surprise me!! Here’s a picture of our high tea at The Drake!!
4. Then we headed to Restoration Hardware for dinner!! SO GOOD! Love these ladies so!
5. I was surprised when James told me to dress up so I had to squeeze into whatever I could… here I am in a giant mirror at Restoration Hardware, packed like a sausage into this dress!! haha! 31 weeks 3 days!
6. I came home to find these two love bugs cuddled up on the couch. 🙂

 

1. We didn’t do any parenting classes except for the adult and infant CPR class put on by the American Heart Organization – which we went to at the end of the month. I’m happy to say we passed! Here is James making sure this dummy isn’t breathing… 😉
2. We had maternity photos done!! I can’t thank my dear friend, Britta, enough for agreeing to document this huge milestone in our lives. I can’t wait for the film scans to come back and to see them!!
3. This past week we finally devoted days to getting our nursery set up!! Chloe was front and center making sure we did a good job building everything.
4. And then when I needed to soak in the tub after, she busted through the door (she knows how to open them) to check on me. Then she proceeded to stare at me and the bathwater like a total nutso for the remainder of my bath! HAHA.
5. A little pre-finished nursery action… but at least we have cribs up!! I can’t wait to put the finishing touches on it hopefully this week!!!
6. The last day of the month calls for a bump selfie update, no? haha. Again, did I mention I’m outgrowing all my maternity shirts?! Aaaannnnnd I may or may not be only wearing James’ sweatpants from here on out. 🙂 32 weeks 3 days!

 

Who knows what February has in store?!/! We’re hoping the boys stay cozy through this month, or at least until the very end of it… but who knows!! It is really crazy to think they could actually show up anytime this month – though we hope they hang out for at least another 3-5 weeks!!! AH! I mean… really. Wow. I’m doing all I can to finish up all our work priorities (like getting our tax packet to our accountant) and all other loose ends – so that hopefully I can just relax on the couch and binge on Netflix for a couple weeks before they arrive… 😉 Fingers crossed!