Memorable Day!

So starting on Friday we've just had all kinds of things going on!  Mark's parents decided to come to Fargo for the weekend to spend some time with us which was nice - it's hard to be the ones to drive all the time, especially with gas prices the way that they are.  We shopped, played cards, ate, chatted, and just hung out.  While we got a lot done, it still managed to feel like a pretty relaxed weekend.

Deb and I did our usual shopping rounds Saturday morning, with Caribou in hand of course, and added one more stop.  Since my awesome sister-in-law is an amazing sewer, she graciously offered to sew up some things for the nursery for me so we could save MEGA  bucks.  (Shannon you're the best!)  Since the nursery bedding had come in earlier that week, we took one of the blankies with us and off to Joann Fabrics we went.  I had a list of all my projects and measurements in tow and we got shopping!  At first I was getting discourage, couldn't find much of the colors I wanted.  But the more we dug in, the better it got.  I actually had to turn some away because I didn't have enough projects!  After triple checking my lists, quadruple checking my measurements, and 10 different patterns and solids of fabrics later, we left the store with big smiles and happy pocket books.  (Thanks Deb)  :)  Once I get the projects returned to me, photos will be posted of course.  But here's a sneak peek of what we were able to purchase:

I can't wait to see all my visions come together!

The dress for the nursery also came in earlier that week.  It matches perfectly - I think we did a good job of picking it out :)

Ruby wanted to make sure her help did not go unnoticed!

 All in all I'm feeling so awesome about the progress we made in the babe's room.  It at least has a place to sleep and the weight I feel off my shoulders is incredible.  Now there's not much left to do but think about what we would like to register for, and start getting paint and decoration inspriation!

But of course, after the busy week and weekend, today finally came!  We were so anxious for it to get here...the big ultrasound for baby!  We aren't finding out the sex of our baby and while most people find it annoying, we feel very blessed to be able to have a healthy baby so far that why ruin the surprise?

The ultrasound took a very long time, had a few complications, (I had a contraction during it, a big bladder because lab wasn't ready for me beforehand like they had said, and baby just wasn't cooperating much), but the techs got all the measurements they needed.  We are happy to announce that baby Nightingale is healthy and right on target, if not ahead of schedule!

The ultrasound techs were wonderful, kept the gender a secret, and apologized for having to have kept me so long and pushing so hard on my tummy.  It wouldn't be a Nightingale if it wasn't giving those ladies a hard time that's for sure :)  It gave us a few giggles, standing on it's head for awhile and all, but there's nothing more precious than being able to see 10 fingers and 10 toes on 2 arms and 2 legs with a very strong heartbeat.

We are happy parents-to-be and know this is a day the both of us will never forget.  Not just because of our amazing ultrasound, but because Mark took me to A&W afterwards...Yum!

And so it begins!

Today was a very exciting one for me - and I think Mark too, although he hides it a bit more than I do.

About three weeks ago Mark and I stumbled into a baby boutique here in Fargo named Wizard of Kids.  I really needed some nursery inspiration and designer names because I had exhausted Google the day we found out we were expecting :)  While we were there, I just walked from display to display hoping to have my heart melt. And it semi happened!  I fell in love with a nursery set and was tempted to purchase, but nervous I was jumping in too fast.  Instead, we wrote down the designer and name, sneaked a picture on our cells, and left.  When I got home, I jumped on the designer website, and my heart really melted - into a giant puddle!

The designer is Glenna Jean and her work is absolutely breathtaking.  There is not a single nursery she designed that I didn't just love.  I found the nursery set we had previously seen at the boutique, and it looked fantastic.  But of course on the way to stumbling upon that certain design, I found "the one."  I knew this was it more than I knew what wedding gown to purchase - it's to die for.  It was a huge relief to find something that wasn't jungle, safari, monkey, or just yellow for gender neutral nursery themes.  Because while some people find it silly we aren't going to be told the sex of the baby halfway through the pregnancy, I call it a welcomed challenge!

We debated about ordering the bedding for about a day, and after doing tons of research online to find the best price, we decided to go for it.  And today, I got a wonderful text from Mark saying there was a huge box from Amazon at his work with his name on it!  I grinned from ear to ear for the rest of the day!

He waited to open it until he got it home, and we love it more in person than we did in photos online.  So without further suspense, the bedding is called "Finley" by Glenna Jean and it's absolute perfection for our little one.

I wasn't going to assemble the crib so early, but Mark got a bit sick and tired of me being sick and tired on the couch for a few days, so he really wanted to do a project.  He began setting up the crib, and while I didn't think we should he seemed so excited to be helping it was too cute to stop.  The crib is by Savanna and called Abby.  We got it on super sale from JCPenney.  They have a great selection, and once a year do a crib bonanza.  Originally a $699 crib for $199.  Score!

Of course Ruby was a huge help.  And by help I mean playing in the cardboard boxes, barking for us to pay more attention to her, and pretty much being her annoying self :)

The crib went together with minimal problems.  I think they make them a TON easier to assemble now than they used to.  The mobile for the crib came first.  In true Nightingale form, we bet on what song it would play so we had to assemble right away to listen! 

The mobile is adorable - the teddies are to die for.  Of course, this already has to be attached to the crib because Ruby thinks the teddy bears are her toys.  Oofta I think we are going to have our hands full with her when baby comes.

Here's the quilt - we love the array of colors and patterns to fit any gender.  If it turns out to be a boy, more blues and greens will be added into the room.  If we get a girl, we'll incorporate more peaches and apricots.

Here is the crib skirt.  All stripes around with little poms as trim on top of the green swirly pattern.

So that was our exciting day!  Ruby's nose is going crazy at all the blankets, and I'm excited to start picking a few things out that I want.  Next will be other fabrics to send to my awesome sister-in-law in Las Vegas who is a queen at the sewing machine, unlike me.  She will be sewing me all kinds of goodies that I didn't feel like splurging on from the designer.  Anxious to see if the finished product matches what I see in my mind right now.

But for the rest of the evening, I believe I will stay sucked into The Bachelor, some cards with the hubby, and relaxing at home with my wonderful family!

Catching Up!

So I thought that I would be so great at keeping a blog - turns out I made it, wrote one entry, and just about every night afterwards said "I should go and write another post."

I made the blog in hopes of keeping a pregnancy journal.  That's right folks - we are expecting Baby Nightingale on June 23, 2010.  We knew we were pregnant when I made the blog originally, but it was so early that I decided I would wait a little while before we announced.

So here we are, 18 weeks and 1 day pregnant and I feel like we got a pretty good handle on things!  Both of our families and all of our friends are being so supportive that it was really overwhelming at first.  I waited until I was about 16 weeks along before I started making some choices on nursery gear, birthing classes, etc.  Once I started, I couldn't stop!  We have done so many things around the house, and quite frankly they needed to be done anyways.

We purchased a separate "kitchen cabinet" if you will from Fleet Farm.  It's doing a MARVELOUS job and holding all of Ruby's items, small kitchen appliances, liquor, and all of the other things my kitchen cabinets weren't doing a good job of holding.  I learned my lesson about that - carefully map out cabinet and drawer space BEFORE offering on a house.  Once the kitchen was cleared out and better organized (I actually have a few empty cabinets - I can't believe it) we were onto the office/nursery.

Thank goodness we put new carpet in the upstairs back in September.  We found a steal at Menards for carpet I adored.  So we learned how to measure for carpet, purchase, tear up the old, and install the new all on our own.  The sense of accomplishment Mark felt after that huge accomplishment was so nice to see - he definitely deserved it!  So while we had to empty out the office to install the new carpet, we decided that was a good time to start getting it "baby friendly."  We were trying to start our family, and figured it would be easiest to do it while we had to move everything anyways.  Of course it almost got all emptied out, but after 4 months, it slowly accrued more overstock and we had to do it again!  Things got thrown away, files got filed appropriately, and my OCD took over.  Things went into matching storage totes, labeled, and organized.  After the totes were finished, we made room for them in our storage space under the stairs.  Funny how one project rolls into another, and then another etc.  By the end of the day, the office was empty and could be called the empty nursery, storage under the stairs was cleaned out, and the garage got the treatment too.  It was a long day, but felt we got so much accomplished.  And it finally felt like we actually had space to put a baby and all the junk they come with :)

We've done a few more things, but I have them being shipped to me this week so I'll update with pics as soon I get them.  Super excited to see how everything turns out - especially if it matches what I see in my head!!

That's all for now kids - Mark will be watching football, Rubers has finally calmed down a bit, and I believe a nap is in my future!