Napping Buddy

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my puppy? If you know Ryan and I, you know how obsessed we are with our dog. I've taken more pictures of her than anything/anyone ever. I love every bit of her and her fluffy little butt!
I was talking to the girls at work today about how neat it is that Chloe knows I am pregnant. She follows me around everywhere I go, she spends almost all of her time sleeping in the nursery, and when she sits in my lap she lays right on my belly. My little protector!
She has been napping with me lately too, which is so unlike her! She will sleep close by, but never has she curled up with me and took a real nap until I got pregnant. She just might be one of the greatest cuddle buddies of all time...

Bare Belly

You asked for it...my first bare belly pic!

Spiffed Up Momma!

I have been completely avoiding going to the salon to get my hair fixed up until now. When I found out I was pregnant I immediately dyed my hair one last time to the closest I could find to my natural hair color so I wouldn't have to get it done again for a while. I talked to my Doctor and she told me I was far enough along that it would be just fine! I went to Split Endz today and got my hair done by a stylist named Pam. Both my co-worker, Sandra & my Momma In-Law, Sherry have gotten their hair done there before and both loved it! It's got pretty cheap prices too! I wanted to do something fun and a little out of my element so she mixed caramel and blonde together and I absolutely love the result :)

Weeks 24 & 25

Happy Valentine's Day!

























I'll explain the above rediculousness if you really want me to...

Our Nest

We have been SO busy getting our home ready for baby bird!
Ryan and I spent three full days from morning to night "spring cleaning" our nest! It was exhausting and exhilarating to cleanse our home from the inside out. We went through every closet and drawer in the house organizing and tossing. We even organized the attic! The front of our house was FULL of trash (thank you garbage men!) and we donated lots of goodies to the Salvation Army, who so graciously came and picked it all up!

























I got an email from Ryan while I was at work on Friday letting me know the crib had arrived! *GLEEEE* I have been so excited to get it!!! I raced home and just sat in the baby's room planning the decor in my head. We of course put our furbaby Chloe in the crib - cmon' you knew we would!!



















Bob & Sherry came over on Saturday morning and spent the afternoon with us transforming the white nursery into a robin's egg blue/green. It was so much fun! I sat on my pregnant bum and chatted as the three of them did all the work! I was pretty much worthless other than making everyone lunch, but they seemed okay with that :) It was so much fun and it was done in a snap. We appreciate their help SOOOO much!!

Before before...when it was a guest bedroom:


















Before we painted:


































































During & after:
























P.S. No VOC's! ( Safe for Mommy & Baby!)



























































After Bob & Sherry left, Ryan and I went furniture shopping & it was quite the success!!
We got a bedroom suite for ourselves and the most adorable chair for the nursery. We walked in and it caught my eye immediately - I was smitten. But alas, it wasn't a rocker/glider :( So we kept looking...for an hour. On the way out I stopped to look at the cuteness and decided to give it a sit - HAD to have it! It was comfy, cute, & cheap! It is an ivory silk. It has tan and gold leaves and teal flowers. There is a chocolate velvet "drizzle" that adds just the right amount of texture & fun. We talked about it, and Ryan even googled the importance of a rocker on his phone while we deliberated. We decided what we wanted most was a chair where I could feed the baby and where he and guests could relax and hold the little one. So we did it! It completely changed every idea I had for the room including bedding and wall decor, but it was well worth it. It looks like it was made for the room! Ottoman was out of stock...it'll be here in a few weeks!

























Out of pure excitement (heck, we were on a roll...) we stayed up till the wee hours of the night and found the lighting & bedding we are going to get too. Pictures to come :)

Mommy Mobile

My car is finally here!!!! The snow created quite the delay - it was being shipped here from Denver! But as Ryan kept reminding impatient me...Good things come to those who wait!
I absolutely adore it. We had planned on getting a Nissan Murano, but after much searching and budgeting we decided the Honda CRV was a better fit. It was rated #1 in the affordable compact SUV list. It recieved a 9.9 (Excellent) on the safety list: Dual-stage front airbags, front side airbags, front and rear side curtain airbags, anti-lock brakes, Electronic Brake Distribution, & Vehicle Stability Assist with Traction Control! Weeee!
It's also got a 6 disk cd player and iPhone connection (hello Pandora!) and 4wd - bring on the snow :P aaaaand there's a sunroof - yes!
It drives like a car - you can just zip around with ease, and it is so much fun to drive.

P.S. If you are in the market for a Honda go to Joe Marina and ask for John Young. Ryan's Dad bought his Mom a Honda Fit a few months back from him and referred us. He was fantastic! It was the most relaxed, comfortable car buying experience! He was so excited that we were having a baby - he has an adorable little girl and he kept raving about how much fun we are in for. And he tied balloons to my car! So sweet :)
Okay - I'm done bragging!








P.S.S. her name is Ciara
The girls at work named her for me <3

Week 23 50/50

Take One...
























Take Two...still laughing
























Keeper :)
























My fluffy love <3















































Chinese Prediction Chart results above^
I don't believe in most of this stuff...but its fun to play with them anyways!
On NYE Kylie dangled my wedding ring on a string and it too said I was having a boy (hmmm)
Almost EVERYONE seems to think we are going to have a little Dylan running around...but Ryan said this morning he is feeling girl! Grandpa Smith keeps having dreams about a little curly haired blonde girl <3 No intuitions for me yet!

ABug Lindenberg :)

We went to dinner with our friends Dave & Kylie last night and they brought their sweet little daughter, Aisley. It was so much fun!! She is an absolute bundle of joy. There always seems to be a month or two in between our visits with AisleyBug, and shes like a different kid every time! She sat in a highchair all by herself and shes even gobbling up Cheerios...or gumming them I should say :)

It was so great to catch up with D&K and hear all their amazing parenthood stories. It is really neat to have close friends who have been through all the experiences before us so we can hear their stories and get advice. The stories - both good and miserable, they told us with smiles on their faces. Both of them have changed so much and my heart swells with joy seeing what wonderful parents they are becoming!

Aisley has a bouncer at home and she is learning to use her little legs. (She just learned to crawl!) Any time you hold her in the standing position she jumps up and down - constantly! It is the funniest thing to watch her little toothless grin as she bounces up and down in your lap. Ryan was having a ball bouncing her and tickling her. We got in the car after dinner and he said "I CAN'T WAIT TO HAVE ONE OF THOSE!!!!" hehehe We were both grinning ear to ear imagining all the fun we are going to have. Thanks for the smiles Lindenberg family <3

Month 5 - Papaya

From here on out the fruits change once a month! Week 5 is the size of a papaya
The bump says: Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound, you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

Little one is moving EVERY day now. It is just the coolest thing I think I have ever experienced! It still surprises me every time. There is no ignoring those little bumps and flutters. Sometimes I can feel the baby rolling completely over...that one is a little funny feeling. Ryan has felt the kicks twice now. A few times a week when we get in bed Ryan and I will pull the blankets over our heads and pick fun music on our iPhones and play them for the baby. There is always lots of movement in reaction to the tunes :) We've got quite the playlist going...Elton John, The Beatles, Motzart, Phil Collins {in the air tonight} (Ryan was hoping for an air drum solo from the baby on this one) and Right Said Fred's I'm Too Sexy (Daddy's choice haha.) I love that the baby reacts to music!! Today we sang Amazing Grace at church and there was tons of movement - the combination of the two made me happy weepy :)

We started our Registry this weekend! It was overwhelming and fun at the same time! It is pretty nuts how much stuff a baby requires or will accumulate!! We did our Target Registry online and we went in and spent about two hours in Baby's R Us. Ryan and I were both in great moods (super important!) so it was a breeze! We ran around scanning all sorts of fun items. Stormy, the sweet girl who helped us start our registry, told us to scan the diapers like crazy! Registering "gender neutral" has been pretty interesting...if we have a little girl she isn't going to own a single shred of pink! Better to dress our little girl in blues in greens than to go the other way with a little boy. It has been a fun challenge though! Target's registry is much easier to use the BRU. The Baby's R Us site leaves quite a bit to be desired. Most of the items seem out of stock online which stinks, but they are available in store! Also when we got home and checked the resigstry it was set up to where NONE of it was available online. There were no pictures and no clickable links to learn about the item. I spent an hour fixing the problem by finding it on the site and adding it to the registry....all for nothing. I woke up the next morning and all of the items had switched over to be available for viewing (hits head on desk.) It was a pretty fun experience as a whole though! A few of our favorite items: