35 Weeks Pregnant - Pregnancy Projects in Progress!

At 35 weeks pregnant, you start to panic a little. There's so much you want to do! After making numerous to-do lists, we started knocking some projects out...

MATERNITY SHOTS & PREGNANCY PICS

I haven't done a great job taking maternity/belly pictures every week during my pregnancy. I've worked to do this more in my third trimester since changes seem so much more noticeable from week to week. Planning to use a few shots like these for a pregnancy photo album or baby book page.

* Captioning your maternity snapshots is an awesome way to keep track of where you are on your pregnancy journey. Here's my 35-weeks pic to the left. If you're like me, you're feeling a bit more forgetful anyway. By adding a week or month number to your photos, you keep from second guessing later.

* I LOVE Aviary for simple photo additions and edits like the one you see here. It's super easy to add texts, captions, filters, and stickers for keepsake memories and I've used it TONS throughout my pregnancy.

So, I was really good about getting some selfies this past week. Too bad that most of my first and second trimesters weren't so meticulously documented! I didn't feel much like taking pictures of my growing belly in the beginning...or now, for that matter. Someday, though, I'm sure I'll be glad to have these. Pregnancy doesn't last forever, after all...even though it sure seems like it in the third trimester!!







* Aviary strikes again for this simple snapshot - - - - - >

 PICTURES & PAINTING PROJECTS

Finishing up final touches for the nursery has been a priority this week. I'm loving how everything is coming together! Here we are, spraypainting some wooden frames that will complete the wall art for Baby Everly's room. Mom found the frames and Dad had a great idea for a 'painting box'. We used a closet hanger to hang the frame inside a cardboard box. This helped out a lot since it was rainy today and it's easy to cover all the corners and crannies with paint. 

Since I'm forbidden from spraypainting because of the fumes, Josh took the lead on this project...

We plan to use these hanging frames for the ultrasound pictures. Since those pictures aren't exactly 4x6, it took a while to find something compatible. I had searched at Michael's and Hobby Lobby before Mom found these at WalMart. Inexpensive (about $5.00 each) and easy to customize!






While we're waiting on the paint to dry, here's more of what's going on in Everly's nursery...
  

NURSERY KNICK-KNACKS & JUNGLE ANIMAL FUN

Leopard print curtains with giraffe print tie-backs? Youbetcha. :) Foregoing the all-pink girl themes, our jungle-ish nursery is looking awesome! The drawings I did have been matted and framed to add unique and handmade accents on my daughter's walls. Found some simple frames I liked at Hobby Lobby and caught them on sale for the holidays. (Score!) Anyway, I think the vibrant orange and patterned shades look so cute together!

Found this little Shakespeare sign at Burnett's Tea Room in Springfield, Tennessee. The size was perfect for what we wanted. I debated on hanging this on the wall, but decided to place it on the baby's dresser instead. Added a tiny, cute little monkey and viola! Several little beanie babies and stuffed animals have worked well as accents in Everly's room. 

A panda puppet, animal board book, and other small jungle creatures decorate Everly's shelf.

 The centerpiece on the shelf is another drawing I did for our little girl. I love how this whole ensemble looks together and am proud to have made a few little custom art pieces to display in her room.






Finally, all of my drawings are framed and ready for her arrival! 

Of course, there is still more to do in the final five weeks!



We're almost THERE!! Stay tuned... :)

2 Months Until Everly

I've moved, had a baby shower, and passed the 32-weeks-pregnant mark since I last wrote. We've decided to name our little girl Sandra Everly Hodge. We've been to parenting classes, decorated the nursery, and settled into a new place. Thanksgiving has come and gone, leaving only Christmas and New Year's between us and our baby! February 1st is my due date and is now just two months away!

Thanksgiving in Lenoir City, Tennessee...

Posing with props

Mamaw Rose worked hard to make Thanksgiving special, as she always does.

 Lucy helped... :)

Josh, getting some practice by holding my baby cousin, Ezra, at my baby shower. He's a natural.

Everly's closet is getting full already! Thanks to some awesome family members, we've gotten TONS of cute clothes for the baby! I'm starting to think that my unborn child has more to wear than I do. Some things we bought along the way, but we really lucked out having some awesome hand-me-downs.

My little cousin, Aven (the ADORABLE little girl pictured above), had outgrown shoes and clothes that her mom and grandma generously gave for little Everly. I had SO MUCH FUN sorting through all this!

We've been lucky to have so much support from family. They all pitched in to help us move and get settled in. It's awesome to have people be excited for the good things that happen in your life. Everly is getting an awesome family and I can't wait to be her mom!