Claira's Nursery

So I know all I ever talk about on social media these days is my baby... But I'm giving birth in a month to my first child and it's kind of consuming my every thought! So I apologize... I guess ;)

I knew I wanted Claira's room to be super soft and girly. The pinker the better! Her room is TINY, probably 150 square feet if I had to guess, so figuring out how to arrange the furniture so that I got everything I wanted in there proved to be a challenge. But with the help of my hubby and mom, I actually had a lot of fun and love how it turned out.

Here are some pics of her room! The only think missing is a diaper genie that I just ordered, and a few pictures of her once she gets here :)


The blue dresser was originally brown with some ugly gold handles. We bought it from Salvation Army for $40 using some of our baby shower Visa gift cards. Then we went to Home Depot, got some new handles and a $2.00 sample jar of blue paint, and completely made it over! The rocking chair in the corner has a pocket on the side with a very special book inside. The book is a bedtime story from my mom, and she recorded herself reading it so Claira will know her voice. I've already started holding it to my belly so Grammie can read to her. The blanket on the rocking chair was handmade by Grandma Candy, a close family friend. I looove handmade things!


Her crib was a gift from my mom, and the doilies on the wall were an idea from my best friend, Allie Gilmer. I was nervous about putting anything above her crib because the paranoid part of me was afraid it would fall somehow and land on her. The doilies were a great idea because they are light, pretty, and secured well enough that I know they won't fall on my sleeping baby's little self :)


The quilt hanging from her crib and the little bunny sitting inside were both handmade by Darlene Lindsey, a close family friend and extra Grandma for baby Claira ;) the white circles on the quilt, as well as the white tummy and feet of the bunny, are all made from pieces of my wedding dress. They are both INCREDIBLY special to me. Notice the feet say her name and the chest says 2015 in the heart :)


This is her bookshelf! On the top shelf are a few books, her first Bible, her piggy bank (an adorable decoration from my home church baby shower!), and a picture of us announcing my pregnancy. Second shelf is some cute cowgirl boots from Gigi (Jon's mom) and some decor from her baby shower that my sisters in law threw! And bottom shelf are her first toys which include a few stuffed animals and some comfort blankies.


Top of the bookshelf: a pink C on the wall which was also decor at her baby shower, a head band holder made by Rachael Terantino (friend from our church who is expecting her own baby boy about a week after me!), a Teapot Scentsy warmer from Jonna Reed (a friend from my home church in Oklahoma), and a lamp from target :)


She has about 30 headbands. I'm soooo excited to play dress up with my baby girl!


This is my attempt at organizing her closet, including clothes that don't fit just yet. On top are her pacifiers, some swaddling blankets, extra receiving blankets and her car seat cover and head supporter. Second and third shelf: clothes that don't fit yet and bath time things that she won't need for a while (toys, bubbles, etc). Bottom shelf: extra changing table covers and crib sheets... Because I've heard babies tend to be messy ;)


In her dresser, we have onsies and sleepers in the top drawers.





Second drawer is literally JUST accessories. Scarves, hats, cardigans, mittens, socks, shoes, sunglasses, leggings... You name it, she probably has it! Spoiled already ;)



Bottom drawer: outfits! Newborn-3 months. Hopefully she'll get to wear everything at least once before she grows out of them!


On the hanging rod in her closet, we put her swimsuits and dresses. Girlfriend has almost as many swimsuits as she does dresses... But hey, it's Florida!


And there you have it! A detailed, virtual tour of Claira Bren's room. Now all we need is Claira Bren!


Thanks for reading :)

Have a wonderful day.

Third Trimester Woes

Jon and I decided to go off birth control over Thanksgiving break last year. For whatever reason, I assumed that after being on birth control for so long, it would take us anywhere from 6 months to a year to get pregnant. I figured we still had plenty of time to prepare... So imagine my surprise when 3 weeks later, we were pregnant! I know some people have a little more of a gap between ending prevention and getting pregnant, and I know a few couples that have struggled or are currently struggling with fertility issues, and I've seen how heart breaking those struggles can be. So I don't take it lightly that we ended up conceiving so quickly. However, it didn't give me a whole lot of time to prepare for pregnancy.

When I first found out I was pregnant, I made a conscious decision to not complain about being pregnant. It had always sort of annoyed me when pregnant people complained because weren't the carrying life? Isn't that a beautiful thing? Aren't they proud of the miracle that God has given them? And also... Didn't they do this to themselves? I mean, you know what causes it... Right?

I decided I wouldn't be one of those women. I would always be aware of the beauty of pregnancy and always be thankful for this miracle inside of me.

So for the first trimester, even though I was exhausted and my breasts were sore and I was puking up grape juice in the bathroom at work, I would always just tell people I felt great, so excited etc.

















Second trimester, I didn't have to fib ;) I loved my growing belly, I loved wearing maternity clothes, I loved feeling her kick and twitch and wiggle inside me. I also hadn't really gotten any stretch marks so I thought "yay, I'm going to be one of the lucky ones" (HA!)

















Enter: Third Trimester. Whole different ball game. Now I understand why pregnant women complain. In fact, I'm sort of surprised they don't complain MORE. It's no joke. So, for my first time preggo mommy friends that haven't reached this stage yet, I've compiled a list for you. And for the veteran, alumni mommies, maybe you can relate.

1) You will have to pee all the time. Well no, that's not accurate. You'll FEEL like you have to pee all the time. For example, this morning at church I was up on stage ready to sing and all the sudden I thought "oh shoot, I need to go to the bathroom!" I had a few minutes before it was time to start, so I rushed to the bathroom, got situated and... Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not even a little. I guess baby was just using my bladder as a pillow. Precious...








2) Little pleasures in life like breathing and walking become a thing of the past. Now walking through the grocery store causes your feet to swell up like an Oompa Loompa. I dropped my keys on the floor board of my car the other day. After a few seconds of bending down to get them, I could feel my face turning hot and red. I could also see the light of Jesus and I thought "This is it... This is the end. I'm going to suffocate right here in the car". Luckily, my husband was right there to pick the keys up for me, essentially saving the lives of myself and our unborn daughter, all while laughing at my untimely predicament. My hero.









3) Did you know some people sleep for like 7 hours straight? Sometimes more?? I forget it's even possible until I get up in the night for the 6th time to pee (or not to pee. It's really sort of a guessing game, remember?) and I realize my husband has been snoring for the last 7.5 hours... And maybe I try to drop the hand soap on the ground or shut the bathroom door a little too hard because the bitter side of me just wants him to stir in his sleep. Even just a little bit. But of course, he doesn't. It's actually pretty impressive.








4) Remember when I said I was one of the lucky ones that won't get any stretch marks because I didn't have any for a while? Well that was when my stomach didn't look like I was smuggling a water melon. At some point in the 3rd trimester, my skin got very angry at what was going on and decided to show it's true colors. And it's true colors turned out to be pink and squiggly. Despite putting oil and lotion on religiously twice a day, my skin decided it would show me who's boss. In conclusion, guess what I discovered? I'm not one of the lucky ones.








5) Get ready for some compliments. And by compliments, I mean get ready to say "thank you" to the oddest and most offensive things people have ever said to your face. For example, things like "you are MASSIVE" should be accepted with a smile, not a punch to the compliment giver's throat. Things that people would never say to someone in ordinary circumstances are completely ok when you're pregnant. Here are some more examples:

"Your feet are really starting to swell, you must be getting close!"

"Are you sure it's not twins in there? You are huge"

"You're not due for another six weeks?? But you're SO BIG"

"You look exhausted. Like REALLY exhausted. Are you not sleeping well?"

"Oh, I can tell it's a boy because you're carrying in your behind as well" (no actually it's a girl... But thanks)



















So anyway... Those are just a few things that come along with the third trimester of pregnancy. I could come up with a few more, but I decided at the beginning I wasn't going to complain... Remember? ;)


Thanks for reading :)

Have a wonderful day.

Third Trimester Woes

Jon and I decided to go off birth control over Thanksgiving break last year. For whatever reason, I assumed that after being on birth control for so long, it would take us anywhere from 6 months to a year to get pregnant. I figured we still had plenty of time to prepare... So imagine my surprise when 3 weeks later, we were pregnant! I know some people have a little more of a gap between ending prevention and getting pregnant, and I know a few couples that have struggled or are currently struggling with fertility issues, and I've seen how heart breaking those struggles can be. So I don't take it lightly that we ended up conceiving so quickly. However, it didn't give me a whole lot of time to prepare for pregnancy.

When I first found out I was pregnant, I made a conscious decision to not complain about being pregnant. It had always sort of annoyed me when pregnant people complained because weren't the carrying life? Isn't that a beautiful thing? Aren't they proud of the miracle that God has given them? And also... Didn't they do this to themselves? I mean, you know what causes it... Right?

I decided I wouldn't be one of those women. I would always be aware of the beauty of pregnancy and always be thankful for this miracle inside of me.

So for the first trimester, even though I was exhausted and my breasts were sore and I was puking up grape juice in the bathroom at work, I would always just tell people I felt great, so excited etc.





Second trimester, I didn't have to fib ;) I loved my growing belly, I loved wearing maternity clothes, I loved feeling her kick and twitch and wiggle inside me. I also hadn't really gotten any stretch marks so I thought "yay, I'm going to be one of the lucky ones" (HA!)





Enter: Third Trimester. Whole different ball game. Now I understand why pregnant women complain. In fact, I'm sort of surprised they don't complain MORE. It's no joke. So, for my first time preggo mommy friends that haven't reached this stage yet, I've compiled a list for you. And for the veteran, alumni mommies, maybe you can relate.

1) You will have to pee all the time. Well no, that's not accurate. You'll FEEL like you have to pee all the time. For example, this morning at church I was up on stage ready to sing and all the sudden I thought "oh shoot, I need to go to the bathroom!" I had a few minutes before it was time to start, so I rushed to the bathroom, got situated and... Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not even a little. I guess baby was just using my bladder as a pillow. Precious...


2) Little pleasures in life like breathing and walking become a thing of the past. Now walking through the grocery store causes your feet to swell up like an Oompa Loompa. I dropped my keys on the floor board of my car the other day. After a few seconds of bending down to get them, I could feel my face turning hot and red. I could also see the light of Jesus and I thought "This is it... This is the end. I'm going to suffocate right here in the car". Luckily, my husband was right there to pick the keys up for me, essentially saving the lives of myself and our unborn daughter, all while laughing at my untimely predicament. My hero.



3) Did you know some people sleep for like 7 hours straight? Sometimes more?? I forget it's even possible until I get up in the night for the 6th time to pee (or not to pee. It's really sort of a guessing game, remember?) and I realize my husband has been snoring for the last 7.5 hours... And maybe I try to drop the hand soap on the ground or shut the bathroom door a little too hard because the bitter side of me just wants him to stir in his sleep. Even just a little bit. But of course, he doesn't. It's actually pretty impressive.


4) Remember when I said I was one of the lucky ones that won't get any stretch marks because I didn't have any for a while? Well that was when my stomach didn't look like I was smuggling a water melon. At some point in the 3rd trimester, my skin got very angry at what was going on and decided to show it's true colors. And it's true colors turned out to be pink and squiggly. Despite putting oil and lotion on religiously twice a day, my skin decided it would show me who's boss. In conclusion, guess what I discovered? I'm not one of the lucky ones.


5) Get ready for some compliments. And by compliments, I mean get ready to say "thank you" to the oddest and most offensive things people have ever said to your face. For example, things like "you are MASSIVE" should be accepted with a smile, not a punch to the compliment giver's throat. Things that people would never say to someone in ordinary circumstances are completely ok when you're pregnant. Here are some more examples:

"Your feet are really starting to swell, you must be getting close!"

"Are you sure it's not twins in there? You are huge"

"You're not due for another six weeks?? But you're SO BIG"

"You look exhausted. Like REALLY exhausted. Are you not sleeping well?"

"Oh, I can tell it's a boy because you're carrying in your behind as well" (no actually it's a girl... But thanks)







So anyway... Those are just a few things that come along with the third trimester of pregnancy. I could come up with a few more, but I decided at the beginning I wasn't going to complain... Remember? ;)


Thanks for reading :)

Have a wonderful day.