22 weeks

Here's my belly at 22 weeks. I'm officially in maternity pants- I can't get away with the bella band anymore. I'm pushing the limits of my regular tops, constantly pulling them down, trying to cover my belly. It's about time to buy some maternity tops but I'm having a hard time finding ones I like and that are small enough (yet big enough) to fit me. Around the house of course, I'm happy to wear my regular t-shirts with my belly hanging out!
I'm feeling the little guy move daily now. It is such an awesome feeling (at least for now- its not painful yet)! I love the reminder of him in there and its reassuring to know he's growing and getting stronger each day. I can watch my belly move now when he's really moving around in there. I get such a kick out of it (no puns intended)!
We went and got paint swatches this past weekend for the nursery. We've narrowed it down, but are going to wait for the bedding before we decide on the exact shade. My Aunt Jeanne, who works at JCPenney, got us a great deal on our bedding set with her employee discount! So thats ordered and on its way! Thanks so much Jean- we are super excited about it!

Baby Boy's Bedding

So we've decided on bedding and a "theme" for the nursery. Jeremy and I had a really hard time agreeing and choosing which bedding we both liked. Before we even knew the sex of our baby I was thinking about doing an outdoor/nature theme in the nursery. Our good friend, Patrick, who was at ECU with me as a painting major offered to do a mural for us for the baby's room. I had it in my mind that I wanted him to paint trees for us, so I knew I wanted a bedding set that could go along with that. Of course those who know me, also know that I am very picky and I didn't want anything too "babyish." I really liked some modern prints that I found but of course they all cost in the $300 range! Yikes- that just seems a little crazy if you ask me. So, when I saw this one I felt that it was a good compromise and luckily Jeremy agreed to it. At first I thought the turtles were a bit much, but I decided that most of the set isn't really necessary and would be turtle overkill. It's called Mod Turtle Baby Bedding. My Mom and I found it at babysupermall.com and then saw that JCPenney has it as well, but it's more expensive there even on sale. We haven't ordered it yet, but I think I will when I get paid next. I've decided that the only pieces I really want are the 4 piece bedding set (includes the dust ruffle, bumper, sheet, and quilt), the mobile and the drapes, but not the valance. (Again, too much turtle!) The diaper stacker and hamper are cute, but I don't feel like I have to have them. We'll see. So anyway, here is a picture.

Now that we have that picked out we are able to buy paint. I think we've decided to paint 1 wall blue and the rest a beigey/tan color. We're looking for something similar to these paint swatches. The blue wall is where Patrick will paint the mural. I'm very excited to start on the painting. I know Patrick will do a great job and I can't wait to see how it turns out!

21 week belly

Now that I'm really showing I've decided to have Jeremy start doing the belly pictures weekly. We decided to change it up this week and show you all what I look like with my clothes on! :)

20 week belly picture

So there really is a little boy inside of my belly and its definitely showing these days. I'm feeling him kick almost everyday now. He gets very active after I come home from work and finally get to sit down and rest. I guess thats when he wakes up and stretches. He's still very gentle- its a nice reminder that he's a healthy, growing baby boy! I can even feel him from the outside if my hand is in just the right place. Jeremy felt him for the first time last night. We were sitting on the couch together and he was rubbing my belly. His hand happened to be in just the right spot and our little guy said, "Hey- get your hands off my Mommy!" They're already fighting over me! I know Jasper will be fighting for my affection as well once the little guy arrives- it's so nice to be loved! (I've assured Jasper, I won't become one of those people who forget about their furry babies when the human babies arrive.)

Jeremy has started cleaning out the nursery. It was our office, with a big desk and my big printer and scanner. He got all of that moved over into our guest room. Its a little crowded, but we still have room for guests! We got all my extra clothes out of the closet (yes, my clothes were in the master bedroom and guest room closets). We did a lot of rearranging and organizing and now we have room for our little guy! Next we'll be picking out paint colors so that Jeremy can get to painting! It's very exciting getting started on his room. Now that the space is empty, I want to fill it up with baby stuff! We've already got the furniture picked out- its just a matter of ordering it. As we pick out paint colors and bedding I'll be keeping you all updated on our progress and adding pictures along the way! That reminds me- we got a video camera! I have always wanted one- they are so fun to have and with a new baby, I really think it will be priceless. I can't wait to use it, so when I record my first video (that is worth showing) I'll figure out how to post it on here.