Kinda Nameless & Nurseryless Squishy

Why is is SO HARD to pick a name this time? I already posted about my frustration and disappointment in myself that we didn't have our name choices locked and loaded at 17 weeks like we did for Braden. I am just not "excited" for the name like I was with Braden...is that normal!? It's so hard! So permanent! Braden was the one and only boy name we both liked and agreed on. As I'm looking back at that post from 14 weeks ago...not much has changed. We do have a girl name we both love, but it's a 3 syllable name which will inevitably be shortened...which I don't want to happen right away. Jay likes the idea of her being able to have a shortened name, but I love the full name SO MUCH, I'm just not so sure! We keep debating over 3 boy names...what a change from last time. They all go really well with Braden, so I guess we'll have to see what the next 9ish weeks bring us to!

Our poor, sweet babe...as I keep saying like a broken record, is already suffering second-child syndrome and s/he isn't even born yet! I was looking back in the blog archives and it was this time last pregnancy that I had Braden's nursery mostly done, other than a few decorating odds and ends. It makes me sad, frustrated, and a little anxious that I can't do this for Squishy yet. Why? Upstairs we have 3 bedrooms - the master, Braden's, and our guest room which will be Squishy's nursery. The problem? I have no room for any guests as soon as I complete the nursery and move the bed out of there. Plus, I have nowhere to move said bed until the next bedroom downstairs is finished.

That leads me to my next point of discussion. Our mostly unfinished basement. It has been drywalled for a long time, and the bedroom I was talking about is actually mudded, taped, and sanded...it's ready to be finished! Problem? Our....unreliable carpenter, to put it nicely. He came at the end of June to give us a quote on finishing 1/2 - 2/3 of our whole basement, depending on said quote. 3 weeks later, we finally got the quote. But then his truck broke down, then it had to get repaired, then he had to to go BC "quickly" and then he came back home. Then Jay and I politely "hounded" him as to when he was going to start, and I distinctly remember sending him and email saying "oh, and only 14 weeks left until baby is due!" Well, he was supposed to start last Tuesday...and he still hasn't shown up. I wrote him an email last Friday now stating "only 9 weeks until baby is due"...and quite honestly I'm starting to get anxious. I know we'll make it work someway or another, but this was supposed to be DONE by now. I told him very firmly but politely that the bedroom (which is essentially done, just needs to be painted & finished) and the bathroom NEED to be done before November, the rest could wait if he ran out of time. He assured me he'd have it all done, but I know better than to trust the trades people...no offense trades people, but that is my experience in the last 3+ years since we started building this house.

Anyway, onto some other things. Remember my nursery inspiration post? If Squishy is a girl I've decided on this set from Sears:

Source: sears.ca via Sarah on Pinterest

It's cheap, it should be here within a couple of weeks of baby being born...and even if it takes a bit longer, I plan on not using the crib for awhile as I'm going to use the cradle my Grandpa B made for me when I was a babe. It's owls, it's purple...just perfect! I will just add my own lime green accents. For those of you who know me...surprised I'm not going crazy with pink? I kind of am too! I just can't justify spending over $300 on crib bedding from Etsy. Wish I could...but I just can't, especially since my income after Wednesday will be nil until the baby is born.

And this is in my Amazon cart ready to go if Squishy is a boy:

Source: babysupermall.com via Sarah on Pinterest

I just love both the crib bedding sets! Then I'll order a few prints and things from Etsy on my Pinterest board when babe is here. BUT I did go ahead and order this little lovely for if Squishy is a "Squishette":

[source]

No, not the baby! The cute headband! I wanted it here waiting fer her (if she is indeed...a she!) so I can take newborn pics! Perfect colors and love the rosettes! It's my first official purchase for a baby girl. I did buy a "baby's first year" book from Costco a couple of weeks ago, a similar one that I got as a gift for Braden.

I am getting very excited for the arrival of baby, it seems that the beginning of this 3rd trimester has just FLOWN by! But I also have a "fear of the known" which I plan on posting about in a little while. With 9ish weeks to go...I know they will continue to just fly!

Nursery Inspiration

 Laura and I took the little boys to Ikea yesterday and we all had a great time. The boys are so well behaved together, Luke is always on the lookout for Little Cousin! We only had one escape attempt by Braden, but Luke caught him trying to go downstairs and Laura quickly captured him!
Anywho, back to the topic of this post. Being at Ikea gave me wonderful nursery inspiration, especially for a girl. I am LOVING the lime-ish green & plum purples that they have this season. So, I went to trusty Etsy and typed in "purple lime baby" in the search bar and all these goodies started popping up and had me squealing with joy! Here's a collage, my first with PicMonkey - LOVE IT - to show you some of my favorite girly inspiration. If Squishy is a girl, we will have a purple/lime color theme with owls incorporated!

I'm sure that Mom will be more than happy to supply me with the hats, and I just adore that flower headband! I am really hmming and hawing over that bedding. It is PERFECT and would be exactly what I want...but custom crib bedding on Etsy is almost $300!

For a boy, I was certain that I was going to do owls too, because I LOVE baby owl stuff...but when we were in Vegas, I bought a newborn girl and a newborn boy coming home outfit from Carters. And the baby boy outfit is from this set:

I know it's hard to really see the detail, it's the biggest image I could find, anyway - it's whales! Now, I am loving the whale theme if we have a boy. So here's my boy nursery inspiration if Squishy is a boy:

I apologize that some of the pictures are so pixelated, but you get the point! HOW CUTE! I didn't really love any of the custom Etsy whale bedding, the most popular fabric/print is very bright and vibrant, and I really like the hues and softness of these blues/greens...plus that crib set is only $150-$200 depending on where you buy it from.

I'm definitely going for a more "modern" look in the nursery this time and not so "baby baby". I loved Braden's nursery and still do, but especially if we have a girl it will be a bit more modern and not 100% owl like I originally had in mind.

So, what do you think? All images and links to these items can be found through my Pinterest board!

Braden's Room - Finished!

Okay...NOW I can say that Braden's room is the first room 100% done! I just have to find a way to permanently fix the letters for his door and I'm done...but technically that's not even in his room. So anyways, here is the finished product!

This first picture is focusing on the new decals, glider moved out of the way:

Monkey!

Giraffe!

And his room with glider in place:

I'm absolutely ecstatic with these decals! I might order 1 more monkey...but Jay thinks his room is getting too busy. We'll see! Here is his window...

Can't wait to share his 15 month post tomorrow! :)

*Now linked up with Toddle Along Tuesday!*

The Baby's Room

With a lot of stuggle, even with a stud finder, Jay got the black-out blind in the baby's room up so now I can post some pictures!! It used to be the dining room, but it's just down the hall from our room so I think it'll work really well. I just love the baby jungle animals theme that I chose, and as you can see, I absolutely love giraffes!

The finished product! Decals that are peel 'n' stick, mirrors I bought at Babies R Us, our playard that we will use for bassinet/change table.

China cabinet turned into baby's closet!

My cute floppy giraffe I bought in Rosebud, a little giraffe that I got for Christmas from Katie Zak, and a little husky that I bought for baby off eBay.

Our bags are packed, we're ready to go...

Just one more thing. The last couple of days there has been an unwanted visitor sleeping in the bassinet...

Don't worry, he won't take permanent residence once there's a real baby in there. For any of you who truly know Miles, you will remember that he is baby/toddler/child phobic! I'm sure he will get used to our baby in time, but I'm definitely not worried about baby having to share his/her bed with the kitty!