This is for you Linda!

So, my good friend Linda has been bugging me to see pictures of my bathroom remodel. So I thought I would post some pics to give her an idea of what has been happening at my house for the last month. Just to reiterate, my husband is doing ALL the work himself. I'm very blessed to have a husband that knows how to do plumbing, electrical, drywall, and tiling (shower and floor). I think he's doing great! Take a look at his craftsmanship!

This is the shower... travertine. The "gray" stripe you see is actually a space where Doug is going to do a mosaic of slate tile from the floor. This will be done last prior to grouting. The cut-outs in the walls are for storage.

Here's my bathtub!!!

Here's some of the slate tile on the floor. He's started with the whole pieces first, and will do all the cuts second. With all the broken or cracked pieces of the slate tile we have, we're going to use it in the shower as the mosaic.

Later on when we have more money to finish it, we're going to change the vanity area. There will be two sinks instead of just one, new cabinets, new vanities and light fixtures. I'm also trying to convince Doug to remove the wall between the toilet and the vanity to make the bathroom look bigger instead of so choppy.

For me, I'm still not as excited about all of this until I see the finished product (or even a bathroom that is clean and usable!) Although it looks great, there's tools and dust EVERYWHERE and it kind of detracts from the beauty of the work that he's done so far. But it's slowly getting there!

Birthday's

Well, today is my 29th birthday. After I hit 26 (which was my meltdown birthday), birthdays haven't seemed like such a big deal, especially since I have a toddler to chase after no matter what day it is. Things were going great, then my parents called and my dad decided to put a video of my cousin and I dancing on youtube. It's not as bad as I make it out to be, but I was so embarrassed I almost cried (with laughter mixed in).

Then after lunch at Doug's parents, we came home and both Garrett and I took a well deserved nap. Then my mom and dad came over for a birthday dinner and we had fun discussing baby names. Now, as I'm typing, they are on their way home to Muskegon with my son. Garrett is going to spend the night over there and be brought back tomorrow night. Although its great for them to be able to spend quality time with him, as soon as he left the house was so QUIET! It's very unnerving. I don't mind the noise or the mess that he makes. I actually really miss him right now.

I guess I'd better enjoy the quiet in any way I can for now because it won't be this quiet for a while. Maybe a long, hot bath is in order...

Bathtub Fun

Garrett LOVES to talk. I was trying to capture is garbled mess of words as he's exploring the bathtub that we've recently put in. Besides his obvious boyish bouncing, there's also the unmistakeable fart that frequently escapes his bottom. But that doesn't slow him down!

Kid Talk

Hungry for "soup" anyone?

What's pregnancy without a little scare...

Last night I went to the hospital. From first thing in the morning, baby girl was not moving. The only reason I noticed her lack of movement throughout the remainder of the morning was because Doug kept putting his hand on my belly, trying to feel her kick. I noticed after a little while that her normal times for movement were NOT happening. By 2:30 pm, I called my fellow preggers EB (whose hubby is an OB/GYN and also helped deliver Garrett) and asked her what I should do. I took her advice, to drink some juice and lay down on my left side for 1 hour, but nothing happened. I started chugging candy. I did feel a couple flutters, but nothing substantial like she normally does. I had also tried calling Brad (EB's hubby), but he wasn't home. So I called the on-call doc at my office and he told me to go to the hospital.

I was pretty upset and very worried. Once Doug got home from the store, we left and dropped Garrett off at his Mimi's house and went straight to the hospital. They hooked me up to the monitors and they found the heartbeat right away. I was so relieved I started crying. Unfortunately she was being VERY uncooperative and kept moving away from the monitor. After several attempts, we got her secured and Doug and I just sat there for what seemed like forever, just listening to her heartbeat. That was heaven for me.

They kept us for a while, just to check everything over a longer period of time, and then they did an ultrasound. But this was not just any ultrasound. She had 4 categories that she had to pass within 30 minutes. I don't remember all they checked for, but she had practice her breathing and had to show movement. Let's just say that this little one is an overachiever and received the highest score possible (an 8) within 2 minutes of starting the test.

So, everything is fine. Thanks goodness! I never felt so relieved in my entire life. So far this morning she's already more active than she was all day yesterday, which is great news to me. Hopefully she doesn't continue the trend to make mommy worry like that. If so, she's going to be in time-out a lot!

Christmas Bliss

This year was a pretty cool Christmas. Garrett was much more into the present opening than last year, but his attention was focused on that one present and didn't want to open anymore. He got lots of cool things, but most were just a little over his head and he doesn't quite understand the concept of them just yet. Among the favorites were a wooden Thomas train set, a kitchen set with play food, a power wheels 4-wheeler (courtesy of Uncle Dave), and so much more. He's also pretty excited about the snow shovel he got, but with all the rain, not much opportunity to use it. Here's some great pics capturing the essence of Christmas:

Merry Christmas!

The Nameless Girl

I don't think I'll EVER find a name for this baby girl. I've started the search over again (for the third time) in hopes that I'll find something that stands out. I was getting very frustrated so I gave up again, stopping at the letter G. I don't know what I'm going to do. There are a couple names that I kind of like, but nothing that screams "Here I am! I'm your daughter's name!" Nothing feels right! Ughh! I know that I still have PLENTY of time, but it seems to be going by so quickly that I'm worried that I'll be delivering her in no time flat and she still won't have a name! I know there are some people that are undecided on a name until they see their baby's face, but I'm not one of them. I would feel too pressured to pick a name right away, then maybe feel like I rushed it and have doubts-AFTER the name was written down!

So, of the names listed in the poll. Only one, well...two of them are mine. I can see that everyone likes Lillian, but I really don't (sorry to those who voted for it). So definitely Lillian, Gillian, Kendra, Jinny, and Helen are off the table. Those names just sound all wrong for our little girl. I like Ellis and Lucy, and I'm maybe still considering Evelyn. I know Doug still likes Evelyn, so I'm willing to keep considering it.

So I guess it's not too bad. I have 3 candidates. But finding a name that both Doug and I like is seemingly impossible. Too bad its not twins, only for the fact that I could name one and Doug could name the other...

...kidding!

If you feel like commenting and maybe giving me some more ideas, I'm all for it!