Baby Room Preview

Here's a few shots of our baby room in progress.  I just finished the biggest project-stenciling the entire wall behind the crib!  Still much more to do but I also have a number of items that I registered for to use in the baby room that I will have to patiently wait for to see what we receive from that.

Pre-stenciling (the sun was shining through the pink drapes so it looks extra rosy in there)

Mid-stenciling (about the point when I really wanted to quit)

Post-stenciling (I hadn't realized I had chosen an incredibly hard stencil for a first timer...the patterns definitely didn't come out perfectly uniform but it gives the wall plenty of character)

'POP' goes the belly!

Just a quick update to show off a new development in the last couple weeks-my belly has officially popped and Avery is showing off like never before.  At the beginning of February, it was still questionable as to whether I looked prego or just slightly bloated...no questioning now!  Just this week I had my first complete stranger compliment me on my prego belly, which means I'm officially showing.  It blows my mind how much my belly has grown in the last couple weeks!

A Growing Belly

I had a meeting I needed to do in Wenatchee sometime before Avery arrives, so we took advantage of a good Groupon deal and made a mini getaway out of it last weekend.  Like our trip to Crystal, it was so great to get away together, even if only briefly, and unwind a little.  Here's a few pics from our trip (including my official 26 week belly pic which shows how much it's grown in the last couple weeks!).  We left behind the big camera with the intent to be as low maintenance as we could so all pics are from our iPhones...

Sydney was very excited that the hotel was doggy friendly, and even more excited that she got a bed all to herself.

Had a nice little BBQ lunch at a local restaurant...until Jacob found a really nasty hair in his food.  I was very grateful that I had taken my Zofran so I didn't puke at the sight.

We got free ski passes with our Groupon so Jacob headed up to the mountain for a couple hours while Syd & I chilled in the hotel room.

Fun shot from the mountain with neat iPhone effects.

26 weeks!  Baby girl is really starting to show off!

We stopped in Leavenworth for a minute on our drive back just for fun.

The next day we also got to catch up with fellow parents-to-be, the Hanchinamanis!  They have twin  boys arriving soon, due just the day before our baby.  They're a super fun couple and we got to catch up and talk baby talk with them.  I find it fascinating to learn more about the twin growing process and Katie is the cutest twin mama!!

The hubbys with the puppys (the Hanchinamani's dog Sophie is Sydney's full sister!)

Introducing our babies to each other...last time they 'met' they all couldn't hear quite yet (hadn't yet developed ears) so now they could officially meet, haha

Most Recent Belly Pic

I am just now starting to feel like my belly is growing every day.  Here's a belly pic from my birthday last Friday to give the most recent update:

25 weeks

What's In A Name?

I've mentioned on the blog that we have been calling our sweet baby Avery.  I've also mentioned to people that I way overanalyzed the baby name choice already.  I thought it'd be fun/funny to write down the many different thoughts that have gone into the choosing of Avery (although, again, we still reserve the right to change our minds on this name).  The first time I fully explained all my analysis on the baby name choice to Jacob was when  I realized how crazy I sounded.  His facial expression can only only be classified as shocked when he realized how much I over-analyzed the whole thing.  And his reply was "I just think Avery sounds cool".  It was hilarious!

First off, when Jacob first suggested Avery as a potential girl name back in early pregnancy, my instant reaction was "like the labels??".  You see, I enjoy office organization a little too much, so I've done a ton of projects over the years with office labels, and the most popular office label brand is Avery.  After a few weeks, however, Avery kept popping back in my mind as a pretty name so it soon was at the top of our list.
On the day before we found out if we were having a girl or boy, I decided I needed to analyze every other possible option for a baby name to confirm that Avery would be the right choice if we were indeed having a girl.  The below analysis is the one I explained to Jacob that left him in shock:

1. Since I grew up with a "B" last name (Bodine), I had long enjoyed getting towards the front of the line in all/most school functions.  Knowing my children will be stuck in the back of the line for all things that are lined up by last name, I'd like my kids to have first names at least in the front half of the alphabet.
2. Since Jacob & I already have "J" names, it'd be too matchy to name any of our kids with a "J" name.
3. Our favorite choice for a boy name is Carter, and since I don't want all kids to have matching first syllables, "C" isn't an option (we are also likely having 3 kids so we couldn't have 2 of them matching and the 3rd be the odd man out)
4. We have an influx of "B" names in our family (my dad Bruce, my brother Brett, my nephew Brayden, etc) so that might get confusing.
5. Since "W" is an awkward last name initial to say, I'd like our kids to have unique enough names where they're likely not to have 3+ other kids in their class growing up with the same name (example: Jessica W. does not roll off the tongue).
6. We also didn't want our kids to have such funky names that they have to spell out all the time or explain.
7. I grew up often looking up my name in little name books for its meaning.  In a number of these books, it states "See also Jill" or just has the exact same meaning listed as Jill ('youthful').  Since Jill is my sister's name, this left me often feeling unoriginal.  As a result, I really want to have significant meaning to their name.  While a couple name books defined Avery as "ruler of the elves" (which could be true in ways since she's sure to be a tall girl, haha), I found a definition of Avery to be "wisdom; counselor" and loved that!

There were about 5-10 additional caveats and tangents I also provided to Jacob, but these were the main items.  I'm mostly making fun of myself by admitting to my overanalysis.  I've learned that picking a name for a baby is a big deal!  Whether we stick with Avery or surprise ourselves and change our minds, our baby girl will know for sure that her mama put a lot of time and thought into her name choice :)

Quick Getaway

We took advantage of a Groupon deal to get away to Crystal Mountain for one night over the weekend.  It was a much needed break as work has been increasingly busy for both of us lately.  It's so great to take off (even if only for barely over 24 hours) with your best friend and relax.
Jacob took on the slopes while I relaxed in the lodge the 2nd day we were there (I double checked, it's definitely not a good idea to ski while pregnant, especially when your ski skills are as mediocre as mine), and then we both rode up the new gondola and had lunch at the top of the mountain (albeit with no real view due to a foggy day).  We also got time to read, relax, and have fun doing nearly nothing for a few hours which was amazing!
This trip was partially a mini-babymoon getaway and partially a kickoff event for my birthday week/month :)

Seriously, we both read (Jacob via his iPad and me via my new Kindle he bought me for my birthday) for hours...that never happens!

At the top of the mountain in a total white out.  Still had great food at the restaurant though.

Views from our ride on the gondola.

Official 24 week prego pic!

Going to Crystal for a night=fun.  Going to Crystal with the most amazing dad-to-be & my best friend=beyond amazing.