Abbi's Week in Photos

 Last Friday night, JP and I decided to just relax and have a date night in.  I did my nails (Sally Hansen's Salon Effects 'Out of Line,' in case you're curious), made brinner (waffles with scrambled eggs 'taco-style'), and watched Pineapple Express  for the umpteenth time.  It just put me in a good mood.

 Saturday morning was spent putting up shelves in the nursery closet.  Mia, as you can tell, was a truly on-point supervisor of the process.

 Then, in the afternoon, we tried out a new juice bar in Inman Park!  I was so happy to drink this fresh green juice; it's one of my favorite combinations.  The cafe, Kale Me Crazy, is definitely on my list of happy places in Atlanta.

Kudzu is a shop here in ATL that specializes in custom furniture, and we thought this bar would fit perfectly in the sitting room.  What do you think?
Just kidding!  You can only rent these front-half 50s' style cars for events.  They are pretty amazing, though.

We had a wonderful summer meal of scallion shortcakes with tomato salad and whipped goat cheese last week, and paired it with our remaining jalapeno sausages from Illinois (my mom freezes, then travels with them when she visits!  They are out of this world delicious.).  I can't wait to share the recipe with you next week!

There are still some beautiful hand-knit pieces coming in for the churro, and this one is from his Great-Aunt Marta in Spain.  How precious is that tag?!  Muchas, muchas gracias!  I just love it, and can't wait to see how fashionable this kid will be in just a few weeks!  We're only 31 days away now...

Abbi's Week in Photos

I've got a couple of weeks' worth of life to catch you up on!  As I missed Mother's Day when it officially rolled around, JP made me breakfast in bed on the Sunday after.  Delicious waffles with scrambled eggs, a beautiful cappuccino, lots of condiments...you can bet I was a happy expectant mom.

We went to our first Braves game!  I haven't been to a baseball game in perhaps 18-20 years, but, if we're being honest, this wasn't a great re-introduction.  The game was delayed for 3 hours because of rain, then there was a 30 minute rain delay during the middle of the game- thank goodness we were under some overhang.  All in all, we ended up being gone from our house for 13 hours that day (between 'tailgating' at a friend's house to avoid the rain, the delays, traffic, and grabbing dinner out because I was too tired to cook)!
At least we won?

 Mia is so content in a sunny spot on the couch.

JP and I had a mini-golf date night.  After starting off with 2 holes-in-one (!!), I lost by 4 strokes.  Eh, I don't mind losing to that handsome face.

On Memorial Day weekend, we spent a couple of nights at the lake house, and were treated to this sight: an adolescent black bear just wandering around the front yard!  Apparently it's breeding season, and no one in the Parks Dept. was concerned, so we just kept a close eye on Mia that weekend.
For what it's worth, this bear was cute, but had some pretty long claws.  I was definitely glad to be behind some windows.

Here's the churro at 32 weeks, when he was the size of a honeydew.

And here's a side-by-side comparison of me at 15 weeks vs. 33 weeks.  Same dress, though you'll notice that it's a bit higher in the front these days.  All is going well, although my patience for wearing pants is waning; there are a lot of dresses going on at Casa de Diego.
Next week I'm going to do a full post on how the third trimester is going.  Come back on Wednesday for an entry with way too much information!

The nesting phase is fully underway!  Our changing area is set up in the nursery, and I'm so excited to share pictures of the finished space with you once we get our crib in next week.  In the meantime, we're practicing swaddling on an old teddy bear, and stocking our old kitchen island/new changing table with diaper necessities and burp cloths.

We've also started filling up one of the 'yoga studios' downstairs!  Got the couch (Restoration Hardware) and ottoman (Pottery Barn) on major sale at the outlets during Memorial Day weekend, and the rug is a cast-off from my mother-in-law.  Obviously, it's only about 40% finished, but it's a great space to read in the afternoon; this room gets lovely light.

April 2013 Illinois Trip

Last summer, my mom invited all of our female family members to visit her in Illinois this April.  A number of us are into being walking and/or running, and the last weekend of April is the Illinois Marathon.  No, no, we did not run the marathon (although Aunt Nesi did try to convince the passengers of our airport shuttle that we had), but we did compete in the Mini-I Challenge (a 5K on Friday night, followed by a 10K on Saturday morning).  Finally, the trip was here and five of us girls were together in Urbana!  

I debated whether or not I should attend after figuring out I'd be 6 months pregnant at the time, but finally decided that a. I owe it to myself to try and b. I could always finish the races by walking.  

We all arrived in Urbana on Thursday night, and hit up a frozen custard place for dessert.  Soo tasty!  I just love spending time with these girls: Amber on my left, Haley on my right.  We had a great time!

On Friday afternoon, we picked up our race packets, and listened to Katherine Switzer talk about running and changing the world.  She was the first woman to complete the Boston Marathon back in 1967, and actually entered the race using her initials because females were not allowed to race (you know, because our uteruses might fall out).  Not only did she bring me to tears, but really reminded me why it's important to do the things that make us happy and feel accomplished, even when others might think we shouldn't.  I'm getting emotional just thinking about it.  You can find out more about her here.

On Friday night, Amber, Mom and I finished the 5K!  Oh man, there was some sweat going on.

The churro's first race!  We ran the whole thing, and didn't even finish too far below my regular running time.  Which is either great or disappointing; I choose to think it's great.

Saturday morning, we all competed in the 10K, with Mom, Amber and I running it, and Aunt Nesi and Haley speed-walking.  We have our medals to prove it!
I'd like to send a little thanks to Amber, who motivated me to jog the whole race.  Without her, I would've been out after mile 4.  So nice to cross that finish line with you, Amber!

Yes, Haley, it's real.

After the race, there was free beer!  I didn't partake, but you'll notice that Amber stepped up to the plate for me.

On Sunday morning, we hitched a train up to Chicago to spend a few days in the big city.  Our first stop was the Bean, where Haley and I posed for a couple of photos before I met up with a college friend for coffee and baby talk.  So nice to catch up, Chelsea!

We did an architectural boat tour on Monday morning.  How beautiful is that skyline?!  It was a great tour, and I would highly recommend it next time you're in the city.

We hit up the Adler Planetarium for lunch.  Yes, this is a terrible picture, but look at Mom's glow-in-the-dark shoelaces!

The Field Museum is a must.  Here are Mom and Haley with Sue the T.Rex!

Thanks to my cute new matching robot ring, Mom and I won't forget our weekend.

What a wonderful trip!  I hope we can all do it again next year!

Adventures in Pregnancy: Week 25

Well, here I am, barefoot and pregnant.  End of post.

Just kidding!  It's been a couple of weeks since I did a dedicated post on growing a person inside my belly, so settle in for some chit-chat about the my last few weeks.

 A month ago (at 20 weeks), you couldn't even really tell I was pregnant from the front.  I was thinking to myself, arrogantly, "Purchasing those maternity jeans was such a waste of money!  I'll be able to get away with holding my regular pants together with a hairband throughout this process; how much bigger can I really get?"  Ha!

 At 21 weeks, we found out the churro is a boy, and I also tried to bring back above-the-waist maxi skirts.  Not sure if that's going to work until week 40 (!), but I am positive that this skirt is the absolute workhorse of my closet right now.  It's fabulous!

 Cravings include homemade brownies...

...and lots of waffles.  Also biscuits.  Those don't stay around long enough to photograph.

 How cute is the churro's nursery?  There is obviously a lot of work to be done still, but I absolutely love how it looks so far.  That light was JP's when he was a wee one, and the rocking chair was transported here all the way from Illinois by my mom; Haley and I were both rocked to sleep in it.

There are lots of cute little blankies and teeny onesies in the black baskets by the dresser, and we're going with graphic black and white prints on the wall.  It's good for baby's eye development, blah blah blah.

Now, at 25 weeks, the churro is 13 inches long from head to toe, and weighs close to 2 lbs.  His eyes are also open!
It's not as glamorous as I thought it would be: there are stretch marks on my tummy, my bellybutton is a mostly-outie at this point, I can't sleep more than 3 hours at a time due to the bladder situation at night, and only elastic and drawstring bottoms fit.
These hormones are starting to kick in like crazy: lots of tears at the season 2 premiere of The West Wing, when I locked myself out of our house yesterday for 1.5 hours without having eaten lunch beforehand, and even when the stroller we registered for arrived today from my dad (first registry gift and it's awesome!  Thanks, Dad and Karen!).
Running is getting harder, the churro sits on my sciatic nerve sometimes, and I stupidly find myself holding in my belly when shaving my legs, as if it will help me see my ankles better.  Note to self: you can't suck in a baby.
We went bowling a few weeks ago and, on my first frame, in front of some people I knew and some I had met a 5 minutes before, I released the ball and fell right onto my hands and knees because my center of gravity is just not what it used to be.  (I fouled that frame, but did go on to win.)

HOWEVER, I cannot get over how incredible it is to have a doctor's appointment and hear our son's heartbeat in stereo.  JP and I fall asleep with our hands on my belly so we can feel him kicking us and squirming around.  I look at my husband when he's folding up swaddling blankets and smiling because the churro is giving him internal high-fives, and cannot wait to see him as a father to someone we created together.  I can't get over that this is all happening inside of me.  What a crazy time.  15 weeks to go...

House Tour 2013

After several weeks of boxes and figuring out where everything should go, our home is (mostly) put together.  There are a few pieces of art that need a home, but what we have is out in a room.  Granted, a lot of those rooms are empty (I didn't even photograph one of the bedrooms upstairs because it's just like, a bed and one framed print), but it feels like we actually live here now.  This is a super picture-heavy post, so get ready!

Here's our home a couple weeks ago, when the flowers were in bloom (they're mostly pink now).  It's so lovely to drive onto our cul de sac and see it right in the middle!  It's my happy place. 

Once you walk into the front door, there's an office to the left.  Right now, the bookshelves are completely overwhelmed, but we're on the lookout for some new shelves to go in the sitting room.  I do like the way this room has come together: academic but not stuffy. 

Our sitting room!  AKA yoga studio 1.  The windows let in a ton of light, and I'm digging the warm grey on the walls.  This room will one day have furniture in it, but it's really low on the priority list right now. 

Right next to sitting room is the dining room, aka yoga studio 2.  We'll get a table and chair one day, along with a buffet to go under JP's 'Ecstasy,' but, again, no rush on this space.  I'm kind of looking forward to it being a tummy time area for the churro!  

These windows look into the backyard; more pictures on that next week after JP and I get our hands in it this weekend. 

From the dining room, this is the view: kitchen straight ahead, family room to the left, and staircase to the right. 

The family room is our homey space, with the big ol' couch and the teeny ol' coffee table (it's just a substitute until we find our forever table).  Mia loves sleeping in the sunlight that comes in; it's the cutest thing. 

The view of the family room from the breakfast nook; how do you like our owl perched on top of the built-ins?  Again, the bookshelves are color-coordinated and packed to the gills.  We're very literate.

All of our eating is currently done in the breakfast nook, which we adore.

We re-hung the gallery wall this time, with the photos hung along an invisible line in the middle of the wall.

Our makeshift garden, which makes me smile at our meals.  It's cute and low-maintenance; what could be better?

 The kitchen houses an embarrassment of riches: large pantry behind the white door, tons of counter space, gas stovetop, even a little desk (where I'm currently writing this post) to the left!  I'm in here a lot, barefoot and pregnant.

Our wonderful laundry room, with lots of storage and a cute little bird sign from Grandma in North Carolina!  Very practical and I totally don't mind being in here a lot throughout the week. 

Upstairs is our bedroom, which is the most awesome oasis.  It's awful to get out of this bed in the morning.  We're going for a clean, minimal look in here, to keep our minds calm. 

The master bathroom is another relaxing space.  It actually gets tons of light, but this photo totally doesn't do it justice. 

I could write odes to my closet.  That's right, this is all mine!  (JP's is to the right of his dresser in the photo of the master bedroom.)  

It should be noted that I can't fit into about 1/3 of this stuff at 24 weeks.  Pregnancy is kind of rough on a wardrobe. 

Our guest room is pretty simple: bed, dresser, nightstand in shades of beige and brown.  It needs some color, but is definitely open for business (wink, wink). 

I'll post more photos as the house comes together more.  Seriously, you're going to love the nursery when it's done.  Here's a little peek of what's going on in there so far...