5 on Friday

I'm linking up with the lovely ladies above for their 5 on Friday Link Up!

So I've talked a little bit about how my dad has built us a new, second bathroom in our basement. He just finished it about a week ago and we're loving it! Our house originally just had one bathroom and with the way the market is right now, we new selling our house with only one bathroom someday, might be somewhat hard. So we decided to bite the bullet and add a second bathroom to our basement. Half of our basement is finished and half is laundry and storage. So my dad, being the amazing guy that he is, built us a second bathroom into our unfinished basement, from scratch, with a door from the finished part.. There was no plumbing or anything for the bathroom! He did such an amazing job and we absolutely love it!

Let me start by saying, these pictures really don't do it justice at all. I took them with my phone, so they just don't show how nice it really is. Once its decorated and our basement is put back together, I'll take some better pictures and add them to the "Our Home" portion of the "Our Story" tab at the top of my blog.

Here are the doors from the finished part of our basement. (To see what our basement looked like before, you can click here.) The door on the right leads to the unfinished part of our basement and the door on the left is for the bathroom.

Our pretty new bathroom!

Now that the bathroom is done downstairs, we can move on to moving the office downstairs and then finally get to painting and decorating the nursery. Right now my dad is building a closet in the unfinished part of our basement so Jake can have a closet. Our closets are small in this house so Jake has always used the closet in the office. Since that will now belong to Baby Girl, he needed somewhere to go with his clothes. So since the downstairs bathroom is essentially Jake's new bathroom, my dad is building him a closet down there too. :-) Once that's done, which should be in the next couple days, we can start moving the office downstairs and then start on the nursery. I can't wait!! With all that being said, I think I've finally narrowed down exactly the look I want for the nursery. Here is a little mood board I've put together! I can't wait to finally get started on it.

 Last week we traveled to Phoenix to visit a friend! We had a great time!! It was so nice to get away from this frigid cold and snow and relax in the sunshine! Here are just a few pictures from our trip. I hope to do a more detailed post later next week.

Jackson's first plane ride. We flew out Wednesday, early and thankfully Jackson slept a majority of the flight! He did great.

Landing in Phoenix.

Thursday was spent sight seeing around Phoenix. First we went to the Deer Valley Rock Art Center to see some Petroglyphs.

 Then we went to the Japanese Friendship Garden.

Friday, we drove to Tombstone!

Saturday, our friend Jim had a BBQ and invited some of his closest friends. We spent the day outside on his beautiful back patio and then spent the evening by a fire he built. It was a very relaxing day. Jackson even fell asleep outside by the fire. :-)

Sunday, Jake and Jim went to the Phoenix Open (a Golf Tournament), so Jake's mom and I took Jackson to the Phoenix Zoo! We had a great time.

Jackson mooing like the cow! Ha.

Then Monday we left early and flew home to the ice box that is St. Louis right now. :-( We had a great trip!

I think this little outfit is so adorable!! I'm pretty sure Baby Girl needs this once we finally pick a name.

Speaking of baby girl names, we are narrowing it down even more. There are just about 2 or 3 names in the runnings now. I think it's narrowed down to Lyla, Harper or Ellie. I hope to have a name announcement soon. I promise to let you know as soon as we know. :-)

And that's it for this long and very random post! I hope you all have a super great weekend.

Project 52 2014 - Week 5

"A portrait of Jackson, once a week, every week, in 2014."

I'm a little behind on getting this posted, but with being out of town last week, getting back to work and the snow storm that hit yesterday, I'm glad to have gotten to it at all. :-) 

 Jackson playing in our friend's back yard while we were in Phoenix, AZ last week. 

*Linking up with Practising Simplicity.*

27 Week Bump Date

How Far Along: 27 Weeks + 1 Day

(You can check out my 27 week post from when I was pregnant with Jackson here.)

Size of Baby: (According to babycenter.com) 27 weeks: This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (about the size of a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I had a dr. appt. at 25 weeks and was up 19 pounds then. She was measuring 1 week ahead as she has been for a majority of this pregnancy.

Maternity Clothes: Yes, all maternity clothes.

Gender: Its a GIRL!!! Still nameless!!

Movement: Yes, she's moving around quite a bit now, and I love it.

Food Cravings: Still no real food cravings.

What I miss: Nothing really at the moment, other than just being able to do normal things without feeling tired or out of breath. I also miss being able to wear my wedding rings, which I haven't been able to wear for quite some time now. :-(

Sleep: Having to get up at least once a night to use the restroom and just can't seem to get comfortable sometimes.

Symptoms: A growing belly, and some sciatic nerve pain that seems to be getting worse, especially after I've cleaned the house. I'm also having a few Braxton Hicks contractions here and there and some pain under my right ribs, which I had with Jackson as well. I've also had a little bit of heartburn this last week.

Best Moment this week: Taking a family trip to Phoenix, AZ to visit a friend. It was so nice to get away from this cold, snowy weather for a few days and relax.

What I am looking forward to: Deciding on a definite name for baby girl and getting her nursery ready. I'm also looking forward to my next Dr. appt. where we'll get to schedule my c-section and have a date to look forward to meeting our sweet Baby Girl!

Here's a little comparison for you.

And for another comparison... here is a side-by-side of me at 27 weeks pregnant with Jackson and me at 27 weeks pregnant with Baby Girl.

26 Week Bump Date

How Far Along: 26 Weeks

(You can check out my 26 week post from when I was pregnant with Jackson here.)

Size of Baby: (According to babycenter.com) 26 weeks: Your baby is about the size of a scallion. Your baby, now about 14 inches from head to heel and roughly 1 2/3 pounds, may be able to hear both your voice and the voices of people you talk to.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I had a dr. appt. last Monday and so far I'm up 19 pounds. She is measuring 1 week ahead as she has been for a majority of this pregnancy.

Maternity Clothes: Yes, all maternity clothes.

Gender: Its a GIRL!!! Still nameless!!

Movement: Yes, she's moving around quite a bit now, and I love it.

Food Cravings: Still no real food cravings.

What I miss: Nothing really at the moment, other than just being able to do normal things without feeling tired or out of breath. I also miss being able to wear my wedding ring, which I haven't been able to wear for quite some time now. :-(

Sleep: Having to get up at least once a night to use the restroom and just can't seem to get comfortable sometimes.

Symptoms: A growing belly, and some sciatic nerve pain that seems to be getting worse, especially after I've cleaned the house. I'm also having a few Braxton Hicks contractions here and there and some pain under my right ribs, which I had with Jackson as well.

Best Moment this week: Getting our bathroom downstairs pretty much finished!!! I am so thankful to my dad for all his hard work. It looks great and I can't wait to share the finished product with you guys!!

What I am looking forward to: Our trip to Phoenix this week, deciding on a definite name for baby girl and getting her nursery ready. I'm also looking forward to my next Dr. appt. where we'll get to schedule my c-section and have a date to look forward to meeting our sweet Baby Girl!

Project 52 2014 - Week 4

"A portrait of Jackson, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Jackson taking a nap Saturday afternoon.

*Linking up with Practising Simplicity.*

25 Week Bump Date

How Far Along: 25 Weeks + 2 days

(You can check out my 25 week post from when I was pregnant with Jackson here.)

Size of Baby: (According to babycenter.com) 25 weeks: Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — 1 1/2 pounds — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I had a dr. appt. on Monday and so far I'm up 19 pounds. She is measuring 1 week ahead as she has been for a majority of this pregnancy.

Maternity Clothes: Yes, all maternity clothes.

Gender: Its a GIRL!!! Still nameless!!

Movement: Yes, she's moving around quite a bit now, and I love it.

Food Cravings: Still no real food cravings.

What I miss: Nothing really at the moment, other than just being able to do normal things without feeling tired or out of breath.

Sleep: Having to get up at least once a night to use the restroom and just can't seem to get comfortable sometimes.

Symptoms: A growing belly, and some sciatic nerve pain that seems to be getting worse, especially after I've cleaned the house.

Best Moment this week: Getting to hear my sweet girl's heartbeat at my Dr. Appt. on Monday. I'm also excited because my Dad has gotten a lot done on our new bathroom downstairs in the last 2 weeks. He's hoping to have it done, or almost done, by the end of the week. It will be so nice to have a second bathroom in our house and once it's done, we can move on to working on the nursery!! Yay!

What I am looking forward to: Our trip to Phoenix next week, deciding on a definite name for baby girl and getting her nursery ready. I'm also looking forward to my next Dr. appt. where we'll get to schedule my c-section and have a date to look forward to meeting our sweet Baby Girl!

Project 52 2014 - Week 3

"A portrait of Jackson, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Jackson hiding from me in the coat closet Friday evening. 

*Linking up with Practising Simplicity.*