Houston, We Have a Crib.....

This past Tuesday night I started working on putting the crib together, only to give up after 60 minutes of frustration (I spent the 1st 50 minutes putting the crib together wrong, which Jaci was very kind to point out in a very nice way......). After 60 minutes of work, I hadn't even completed the pre-assembly steps.

I started back up tonight and was able to gain some quick momentum as I flew through the first 10 steps or so and was done about 60 minutes later. All in all, it took me 120 minutes, which was more than the instructions claimed (90 minutes), but pretty good time for an Engineer..... at least I think anyways...... It certainly went faster than the 6 hours it took myself and father in-law to put our desk together (trust me, it is harder than it looks)...

Anyways, below is a picture of the crib with the bedding set on it (Jaci says that I must point out that the bedding has not been washed and ironed yet, so it is not completely finished yet).

Next up, get a changing table and paint the day bed in the nursery white.

All About Baby (at 28 Weeks)

Here are some interesting facts about Baby Ahnika:

• Weighs 2 1/4 pounds
• Measures ~ 15 inches long
• She can blink her eyes (which now have eye lashes)
• With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters through the womb and react to it

So how is Jaci feeling right now (other than like a moose). Well, she was pretty freaked out/excited the other day when she was looking at her stomach and saw what appeared to be a foot pushing out from her belly (I know, pretty creepy). So far I have only felt her violent kicks (definitely a soccer player), not seen her really pushing outwards yet. Also, it is pretty noticeable how Ahnika is posioned in the belly. Depending on how she is oriented, Jaci can see a noticeable change in the shape of her belly.

Now, if your a female, you are warned before reading the rest of this post. If you have not had a baby, you may never want to have one, so proceed justifably.... Since I have known Jaci, we've had a running joke about how when she is trying to get dressed for something semi-big, she will sit in her closest, start throwing clothes everywhere and curse the gods that she dosen't have any clothes to wear. It was always pretty comical... Well, the other day this exact moment happened, but this time I had some sympathy for her. The few pounds or so (not dumb enough to put the exact number here, give me some credit) that Jaci has gained has resulted in her officially not being able to wear any of her clothes... But it gets worst..... How can it get worse, you wonder ladies? Well, she can't fit into any of her shoes either.... I'm just waiting for the day that I come home and Jaci has discovered sweatpants. Then it will be sweatpants and slipper Jaci for the next 3 months......

Additionally, Jaci is having some body discomfort as well. The increased flow of blood in Jaci's body (a near 50% increase in Volumetric flow) has resulted in Jaci getting Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in both of her wrists. She has started taking pain killers and wearing supportive wrist braces while she sleeps, which has helped with the discomfort. Now, in addition to having a baby that is addicted to sugar, she will also be addicted to pain killers as well.

After seeing how much discomfort Jaci gets from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, I've realized that I can't spend the rest of my life typing away at a computer........ I need to win the lottery..... Soon......... Sorry, can't type anymore, need to stop, preventative health measure......

Jaci's Belly Buldge After 28 Weeks (Jan 16th)

Apparently, there was protest that I wasn't capturing Jaci on her good side, so in an attempt to try and capture all of that beautiful pregnancy glow from Jaci, we thought we would flip the picture around.

Now, we also tried to make this process more scientific by adding the yard stick for future reference. The perspective of the pictures get thrown off because although Jaci's belly has continued to grow, so have "other" body parts. This week, the belly extends to 17 1/2" on the yardstick.

Also, for those counting at home, that is the second distinct tatoo that has been revealed on Jaci's body. The question, for the audience playing at home is, do you know where her 3rd is located?

Jaci Debates Ultimatum, Nursery Gets Done

I could tell that Jaci was on the verge of threatening to get pregnant again right away, if I didn't get the nursery done (she didn't say it, but she was starting to get that crazy eye and I knew what she was thinking without anything being said), so I finally got motivated and finished the job (mostly because Jaci did all the final taping for me). In the end, you can tell that the nursery was done by an Engineer and not a Professional painter, but hey, you work with the tools/skills you have. All in all, it looks pretty darn good, especially from these pictures!!!

Crib has been ordered and will be here on Wendesday, so stay tuned for pictures of a nursery that will actually look like a nusery (will just be missing the baby and mondo pile of diapers)..

Even After Childbirth, Tim Still Won't Have To.....

........ do the laundry. And not just because I will turn the whites pink and the pinks white? but because I bought Jaci a pair of back-saver pedestals for the Washer and Dryer (some of you may know, that the Washer and Dryer were a semi-battle for Jaci and I as she was originally upset because I was going to buy her a top loader and spend less on the pair then I did on my riding lawnmower. So we compromised and went with the best rated front loading pair that costs just slightly more than my riding lawnmower did). What Jaci didn't realize when we bought the Washer and Dryer was that I was willing to "accept" her argument and get her a more expensive pair, but no way was I going to spend an extra $400 for the pedestals that they can sit on).

In typical Tim and Jaci fashion, I made Jaci a promise that eventually I would find her a good deal on pedestals and buy them. Since then (September), I have checked the clearance appliance sections at Sears and Lowes regularly and finally, Lowes had a pair. Both pedestals were marked down to $100 on clearance (open and scratched), however I was able to get an extra $20 of one because it was missing the neccessary bolts (which I then bought for $0.79 at Lowes) and was able to use a coupon for an extra $15 off. So all together, $165 out the door.

In case anyone has thought about getting pedestals and installing them yourself, they are pretty easy (must be because I did it) as long as you get a couple of strong buddies because you literally have to pick up the washer and set it on the pedestal and the washer weighs over 200 pounds.

Luckily, Jaci's good home cooking was enough to convince a couple of young, whipper-snappers to come by and help me install the pedestals. Or maybe it was my charm and friendly demeanor?

All jokes asides, if anyone has a front loading washer and dryer and no pedestals, you should get the pedestals. Jaci tells me laundry is much easier now that she dosen't have to bend over at all...... Just make sure to check Lowes before you pay full price!

Latest Progress on Nursery

Everything is now painted, just need to add the chair rail to seperate the colors:
White 1 1/2" wide chair rail will be added between the blue and purple and the purple and pink. The colors of the room were selected around the crib bedding, of which a blanket is shown below. The pink matches the main color of the blanket, while the blue nad purple match the various birds.

Playing With My New Camcorder / Tours of House

So my big purchase on Black Friday was a camcorder to capture all of Ahnika's memorable moments and some portions of the birthing process (not that actual birthing, I don't want to see that, let alone record it). So I starting playing around with the camcorder and went around the house making videos of each room.

Now, Jaci and I do love our house very much however, we put together these video clips in order to allow people who are curious about what our house looks like to be able to see it, not in order to show it off. So, if your not curious about the house, don't watch the clips.

The clips are all uploaded below in a random order, along with a few comments for each one. Feel free to check out the clips if you are curious about the house / rooms.

Panoramic view of the backyard from the covered back patio.

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom

Dining Room

Kitchen

Mudd Room

Covered Rear Patio

Living Room

Office

Guest Bedroom (where you could sleep if you came to visit)

Guest Bathroom (where you could pee/poop if you came to visit)

Nursery (currently under construction)

A Top 5 Xmas Gift Ever

The ultimate grilling/cooking aprin........


Apparently, my stunning good looks were too much for the camera to capture and the image came out blurring (that's what Jaci told me anyways)......

If.............

Santa had a little helper who was this cute, he would never make it out of the north pole.....


And yes that is an Iowa State Santa Hat..... Go Cyclones!

Possible Possessed Dog?

Earlier today, we couldn't find Zeus and looked all over the house, before discovering him sleeping in the master bedroom. We were going to kick him out, but as we were just about to he gave us the crazy devil eyes and we decided to let him be......

Work Begins, But Doesn't Finish on The Nursery

Unfortunately, I have to break my promise to Jaci of having the nursery painted before I go back to work tomorrow. I did manage to get all the walls primed (except for the closet, who actually paints a closet, besides the original home owners), which took a lot longer than expected since the room was originally a dark brown (had to put on 2 coats). I also got the top half of the walls painted (a light sky blue), which took 2 coats as well.....

The initial challenge, convert a dark brown kids room into a light pastel colored nursery.....

2 coats of primer (almost 2 gallons) and several hours later, the walls were primed and the top half taped off.

The picture below shows the current state of the nursery (blue is done).

Later this weekend/early next week it is supposed to be in the 60's here, so hopefully I'll get the rest of the room painted.

Jaci's Belly Buldge after 25 Weeks - Dec. 25th

Now, I realize that I am a bit of a novice when it comes to knowing anything about babies and all the literature I can find says that Ahnika is only about 1 1/2 pounds right now, but come on, look at the size of the belly...... You really believe that she is only 1 1/2 pounds? How gigantic will the belly be just before Ahnika comes out at 8 1/2 pounds?