Deck the {Hurley's} Halls

Decking the halls has definitely kept us busy these past few weeks! We're really happy with our tree this year... Chris considers it the best we've ever had!

I've successfully kept him from using colored lights outside or purchasing a plastic Santa, but something tells me that will all change when we have a baby to decorate the house for! I'm sure it'll be 2 against 1 then!

We're happy to report that Winston is on the "nice" list as he's been leaving the tree alone!

Newborn Essentials

We took our first parenting class this past Sunday. Mass General recommended taking classes through a company called Isis. Coincidentally, it's the same place Chris' sister and husband took their classes last year!

The class was Newborn Essentials. There were about 10 couples in the class and it was a 3 hour session chalk full of information on how to care for a newborn!

We left feeling a little more prepared, and like we learned some new information! I feel a little overwhelmed with all there is to think about and preparing a birthplan err... "birth preference" list. 

In the end I know that even if I plan something, things may not go my way and the end goal is for baby Hurley to arrive safe and sound into the world. That'll be my mantra to keep in mind over the next few months! 

The only other class we're taking before baby's arrival is an infant CPR class which will be held at Mass General. We're hoping to get a tour of the hospital while there for the class! February will be here before we know it! 

8 Months Strong

This weekend marked the start of our 32nd week of pregnancy! We're already 8 months along... time has flown by. I continue to feel great but after a long day, I am definitely mentally and physically exhausted.

I have been feeling some Braxton Hicks contractions (at least I think that's what they are) and we've read my body uses these to prepare for the real thing... I'll think of it as the "pre-game" of delivery.

8 months | 32 weeks
December 8, 2012

My coworkers threw a lovely baby shower the week before last, and we got a ton more stuff for baby Hurley! True to teachers' style, it was filled with fun games like an estimation jar, famous people's baby names, a word scramble and baby trivia...

I learned that during pregnancy a woman's uterus expands 500% in size to accommodate growing baby! That's pretty amazing if you think about it!

Full of Thanks

November 18, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

Last week was our family baby shower! It was a wonderful day. The shower was held at our home which made it very comfortable, relaxed and exciting to share the nursery with everyone! Baby Hurley is so loved already, and now fully equipped with many essentials! Thanks to everyone who came and shared this special day with us. 

   We like to keep our guests busy! They were invited to decorate clothing for the baby, write in a guest book and give advice for names and parenting! 

Our families contributed to the decorations and goodies served! It was definitely a team effort and everything was amazing! 

If you could not attend, here are some pictures of our day! 

Baby's breath bouquets

Diaper wreath

Decorating station

Beverages mommy could not enjoy

The diaper cake, made by my mother in law!

It's pretty amazing! We love the St. Bernard onesie she had specially made! 

My sister made the cake and cupcakes!

She is so talented and everything was delicious! 

With the future grandmothers

By the end of the day, Winston was exhausted! 

 We feel so fortunate for all that we have received and for having such loving families to share this joy with us. Now we just need baby Hurley to arrive to start putting all these things to use!  

28 weeks!

Third trimester, here we come! Time is certainly flying and we're in our 28th week of pregnancy. I am being told more often that I look like I've "popped" and I am feeling the weight!

I feel like a contestant on The Biggest Loser. You know that challenge each season where they need to wear weighted bags and run an obstacle course? That's what teaching kindergarten with this belly feels like!

My only, well o.k. probably not ONLY complaint during pregnancy is the shortness of breath! It's hard to feel like I get a good deep breath anymore. I find that when I talk a lot (especially at school) I get very winded!

All well worth it for the like guy or girl growing in there! S/he has been very active over the past week. It's exciting to feel all the movements! 

"Nana" in the Nursery

The nursery is coming along; here's a sneak peek!

Stuck inside after a break in! 

Winston seems to be enjoying the room most of all. He's snuck in there quite a few times and has probably spent more time in there than us!

In the story of Peter Pan, the children were watched by "Nana". I think she was a St. Bernard dog. Winston has been caught on several occasions breaking into the nursery (the door is usually closed) and laying in front of the crib! It is pretty cute... for now!

We think he's really going in there to get after the stuffed animals. In particular, Chris' old stuffed animal from when he was little... looks like Winston will have some learning to do about whose stuffed animal is whose once baby arrives!

Winston eyeing Simba from afar.

We'll have to break him of this breaking and entering habit before there's a sleeping baby in there because mommy and daddy will need all the sleep they can get!

27 Weeks

We're 27 weeks pregnant today... 13 weeks to go! This past week was very busy with Hurricane Sandy taking out some of our fencing in the backyard and Halloween! While stopping at Lowe's to prepare for Sandy we actually found some great curtains for the nursery!

I have been looking everywhere for polka dot curtains that are gender neutral and never considered looking at a hardware store. We took a peek in the window treatment section while looking for generators and settled on some cute, light blue polka dot panels with an orange trim at the top! They've yet to be hung up. I'll post pictures of the nursery sometime soon.

We have a costume parade on Halloween at school each year and the kids love it! Here's a picture of my Halloween costume; a bag of jelly beans. It's fitting with a little "jelly bean" growing inside my belly, right?!

Men at Work

Do you hear that? It's the sound of hammering and wood being cut! Nothing's sweeter to my ears!

Chris and his friend, Luke have been busy at work making built-ins that will go into the nursery. I can't wait to see how it turns out. Our garage is a mess but this type of chaos is perfectly acceptable! Chris has also been working on re-wiring our outdated electrical and is certainly keeping busy!

While the men are at work, doggies are at play! When Luke comes over he usually brings one of his dogs, Jack who is currently Winston's "bff." They had a lot of fun and this past weekend... getting VERY messy with the water left over from Friday night's storms! Winston's loving the excitement. Another mess, but well worth it!

25 Weeks!

24 Weeks!
October 13, 2012

Last Saturday marked our 24th week... we're now into the 6th month of pregnancy!

I continue to feel great but find myself going to the bathroom more than ever. This can be tricky while at work with 18 students who need constant attention!

My belly feels a lot bigger... I can't imagine how it can possibly double in size from now.

Say "Ahh!"

At the end of September I had my 6 month dental cleaning. When my dentist heard I was pregnant, he asked if I wanted to know the gender of the baby. When I laughed and said sure, he informed me that he did not want to ruin the surprise since he was known for his accuracy.

Apparently when you are pregnant, your gums have certain characteristics that my dentist feels indicate the gender of the fetus growing inside your belly. I thought, "what the hell" and had him predict away.

According to him... it's a boy! I'm not so sure if I have faith in this prediction of the gender, but he's got a 50-50 shot. We'll find out soon enough! :)

4 Months and Counting!

Exactly 4 months from today our baby is due! Time is flying. I'm sure these last 4 months will drag, because everyone tells us the last month or so is torture. Speaking of torture, I couldn't wait for that crib to be put together any longer!

I finally talked Chris into putting it together this past weekend and LOVE it! Since we're still doing construction in the nursery, we haven't set any of the bedding up but here's a sneak peek!

You can also see the wall color. We painted a neutral tan color called "Bermuda Sand" to be ready for boy or girl! I am loving the coral color trend for girls and thinking of turquoise for a boy... that will all be in in time, though!

Mama's Got a Brand New Bag (of Apple Products!)

Ooooooooooh!

We are in full swing preparing for baby's arrival. One thing I needed to do was upgrade my cell phone. I ended up with an iPhone 4 this weekend and love it!

My old phone took crappy pictures and kept shutting off (with a fully charged battery), so I'm happy that I'll be able to capture the exciting events ahead with a better camera, among other things!

       I also am given the opportunity to take fully-paid courses through work and took an iPad workshop last week. I was given an iPad for attending and have already started exploring on it! It's amazing to see how you can use iPads in the classroom but also at home!

Aaaaahhhh!

I found a great app from The Baby Center and have been alllllllllll filled in on the scary details of childbirth! I'm feeling a little more ready with this new technology!

Crib Notes

Our crib arrived this week! Since the nursery is still under construction, we are not putting it together just yet. This is what it'll look like when we do get to that point. Did you notice the drawer underneath? Perfect place to store extra sheets! Can't wait to set it all up with our new bedding!

20 Weeks | 5 Months!

We've officially reached the "half-way" point! Five months... time is flying and hopefully the rest of the pregnancy will go by just as quick. I feel like I am starting to show a bit more now and while I can get away with my regular shirts, I am definitely in maternity pants. Baby is starting to kick quite a bit more lately, especially on my rides to work. I think s/he is a fan of music already... or is telling me the radio is way too loud!

What to Expect When You're Expecting

Last night Chris and I finally saw What to Expect When You're Expecting... which was not very good. During the movie, the baby was really kicking and Chris got to feel it for the first time! It was really exciting! I had felt the baby kick for the first time a few weeks ago, at a prenatal yoga class but it was fun for Chris to get to experience it, too. At least something exciting came out of watching that movie!

18 Weeks!

18 Week Ultrasound
August 29, 2012

At 18 weeks we're starting to notice a slight baby bump! We had our last scheduled ultrasound which looked very closely at the baby. It took quite a while because baby was curled up in a ball and difficult to see. But, eventually we saw the ventricles of his/her heart, blood pumping in and out and bones already formed! It was difficult but we did decline to find out the gender of the baby! We will find out soon enough!

Delivering Surprises

We used the element of surprise to notify our parents and families we're pregnant! Chris' dad opened this DVD on Father's Day and we had flowers sent to my mother's work with a note that let her know! Surprises are the best... especially waiting to find out the gender of the baby!

Back to School

We are both officially back to school... Michelle as a teacher, Chris as a student! This is Chris' 5th and LAST year in apprentice school! When the year is over he'll have his license. Just another exciting event ahead!

Under Construction

The nursery was fairly untouched throughout the summer. We finally got to work in the last weeks of August. We Chris demolished an insufficient closet the prior homeowners built into the room. Next, we plan to build a more space efficient, customized system. It’s a mess in there right now, but we'll post updated pictures when it's not so much of an eyesore. We painted the nursery Labor Day weekend. I'm hoping for many things to be finished by November's end: 

• clean the carpet
• build new closet system with built-in changing station 
• get furniture
• decorate!

12 Weeks!

12 Week Belly

At 12 weeks we had our ERA testing. ERA stands for Early Risk Assessment and basically, we had an ultrasound which looked for the baby's 46 chromosomes (23 from mom and 23 from dad) to determine if there are any extra, missing or rearranged which can impact baby's development. We received the results a week later and everything looks great! 

12 Week Ultrasound
July 25, 2012

When we got home we took some photos of my belly our bellies. Chris wanted to pose as well! (He won't like that I'm posting it but... I'm sure it'll make you laugh as hard as I did) My mom bought us the stickers to put on my belly as it grows. They're so cute!

First Post / First Image

First peak at baby Hurley!

1st Ultrasound - June 26, 2012
8 weeks! 

Welcome to our first blog! Now that we are expecting, we're hoping this blog can keep family and friends updated with the pregnancy and eventually, baby!