Thursday, March 28, 2013

Literal Nursery Highlights

Last weekend, the weather was gross, dull, and cold. We didn't have anything on the calendar so we decided to tackle the nursery walls. When we moved in last summer, the walls were a deep royal blue/navy; we knew we would need several coats of paint to cover the darker color. 

I had been thinking of a neutral color in the green or blue family, a color that could work with pinks and purples or more blues in greens depending on the baby's gender. 

We love Fink's paint store, not just because of their quality paints, but because we like to support local, family-owned businesses. We took a few minutes to check out the paint samples. Chris, who rarely has an opinion related to decorating, picked a yellowish green color. I didn't hate it and thought, I should actually jump on the fact that he voiced his opinion as opposed to his normal, "Sure. Yep. That's good. Whatever you think..."

We picked up the paint and headed back home. Because Chris is such an 80s music fan, we turned on Pandora to the 80s station and got to work. I think Chris was hoping that the music would seep through to the baby in utero; one more 80s fan in the making.

 The first coat, because we were painting a yellowish green color on top of a dark blue, yielded a nasty, neon, citron -type color. It was awful. In my mind, I was secretly hoping that the second coat would fix the sins of the first. It didn't.

I didn't want to voice my displeasure about the color because I wasn't sure if Chris thought it actually looked good. Much to my relief, he affirmed that the new color "looked something like the color that construction workers or nighttime runners wear to avoid being hit by cars." Yep. Bright yellow/green was not exactly what I was going for; the color did not say tranquil nursery. Instead it screamed I am so bright you can still see me with the lights off! 

The next day, we headed back to Finks and purchased another gallon of paint. This time, we opted for a light, pastel sage green. The color is leaps and bounds more appealing than that of the previous highlighter green/yellow.

I wish I would have taken a before/after photo to post, but in reality, your eyes are better for me not having done that.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

20 Week Photos


Baby Knipe's Face at 20 Weeks



The baby gave us a thumbs-up! 


20 Weeks and counting....



Monday, March 11, 2013

Springing into 20 Weeks

Ah! Spring is on its way and we are officially at the mid-mark of the pregnancy, 20 weeks. Even though it was only 50 degrees yesterday, the sun made it feel warmer. Invigorated, Chris and I took Stu for a walk by the river. Then, we went to Target. We needed some random staples like paper towels, lint rollers, shampoo etc. Yes sir, we are adventurous. Anyhow, as we were checking out, I spotted my FAVORITE Easter candy, Cadbury Eggs. Clearly these are seasonal items, so I decided to grab a few and throw them on the counter at checkout. 




This older woman behind me says, "Oh sweetheart, you are allowed to eat that many eggs because you are eating for two!"

Contradictory emotions surfaced at that point: 


Yay! Someone I don't even know can clearly see I'm pregnant! 

THEN,

Wait, does she think I'm fat? What if I were not pregnant? Wow. She's got some nerve.

I started laughing out loud as we made our way through the parking lot to the car. I told Chris about my internal dialogue and he laughed too saying, "I bet you $5 you can't make the drive home without eating one of those eggs."

Boy was he wrong. I ate two! 

Friday, March 1, 2013

I felt it! (I think)


Last night I was on the couch watching Jeopardy (like all cool people) and was answering the questions, or at least attempting to, when I felt something resembling a feathery golf ball hit/roll against the inside of my stomach.

I didn't think much of it until I felt it again, and again, and then again.

Was I not just writing last week about how I couldn't wait to feel the baby move!? Here I am, now experiencing this strange but wonderful sensation, and I don't even know to what I should attribute it!

I called Chris in from the kitchen and he put his hand on my stomach and waited. And nothing happened.

Later, we went up to bed and I felt it again. This time, Chris jumped over the bed to put his hand on my stomach. A minute later, even he, ever so slightly felt it too.

Even though the "bumps" were soft, I felt them and truly believed that I was feeling the baby move for the first time (as opposed to gas or my stomach churning away the massive amounts of food I've been eating lately).

Today, I felt the feelings a few times again. Confirmation that there is a life inside me! Too cool!