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?!