Sleep tight, son

We have had a blast getting our little boy's room ready! I've gotta say, Brett took the reigns on this project, as I was out of town the weekend he painted most of the room. Once we both settled on a theme and furniture, it was so much fun...and a breeze, compared to all the other renovations going on in our house!

Before "Mission Nursery"

Brett painted below the chair rails, baseboards, door frames and doors

The shelves were already there...one of the selling points when we bought the house (for me at least :)

The entrance to his room: our friends Kim and Shannon gave us the matching blue wall plaque and picture frame, which reads "Snips and snails, and puppy dog tails...that's what little boys are made of." Love 'em!

On the theme, Brett and I agreed on monkeys. The bedding is called Monkey Bars, by Carter's...it was secretly one of my top three favorites. I had shown Brett a group of about 10-15 bedding designs (I wanted him to choose it), and he picked this one!

Our cozy corner...I already had the lamp from college, and we finally got the glider last week! My cousin, Allison, made the nursing/rocking chair pillow :)

And the monkey theme has really taken off...Jameston has received monkey shirts, onesies, socks, blankets, stuffed animals, picture frames, books, and the list could go on. His Aunt Maggie even painted a monkey picture for his room.

During this process, I have fallen in love with Etsy's website (http://www.etsy.com), where I found both the wall decal and chalkboard initial. I highly recommend this website if you are looking for something that is hand-made and unique.

Paintings and a toy chest...we may eventually put in an armoir or another chest along this wall

We have been shown an outpouring of love and support from our baby showers, and everything is officially put away. Jameston's nursery is ready...now, all we need is him!

Insomnia and maternity pictures

Brett is in Chicago this week (just a short flight away, right?!), and I cannot sleep! This is a usual occurrence when he's gone, but it is even more magnified by the fact that I have a big baby belly that is impeding my sleep routine. I have been a lighter sleeper lately (due to all the excitement, frequent trips to the bathroom, anxiousness, etc.), so the combination of that with him being gone is not much fun. So, I have put my extra time to good use after work and have been busy getting the nursery put together (a separate post to come very soon), scrapbooking (thanks, Kimberlee!), going out to dinner with co-workers (thanks, Nancy and Sherri :), having visitors (my sister and her boyfriend), and last but certainly not least, getting caught up on my blogging! I have lots to blog about, but I am waiting on some pictures from friends and our glider for the nursery...but once I get those things in line, we are ready for some posts!

Since I am up, I thought I would post the maternity pictures my cousin so graciously took of me at the end of June. Allison was kind enough to take on this project (I was her first expectant client, as she just does this on the side for engagement photos, model portfolios, etc.). She gave me the proofs this past weekend, and I was so excited to see her great work! I think she did an amazing job, but I may be biased (hey, we're related, and we took them outside on a beautiful day).

I love the background colors in the pictures!

We met up one Saturday morning and headed to some area parks, and she captured what I believe are some very priceless photos of my current state: expanding (I was only 28 weeks at the time of these pictures, and my belly has DEFINITELY popped out there even more so since :) and excited!

We went to two different places, and in between three outfit changes, numerous water breaks, and plenty of resting in the shade, we had a blast! Since the photographer is my cousin, she gave me the rights to the pictures:) I got to play around with the color on our Mac, which was fun to do!

Can never pass up on the classic Sepia tones...

Can't wait to see his little feet in these shoes!

Thank you, Alli, for lending your great skills to help us remember this very exciting time in our lives. Jameston, Brett and I will cherish these keepsakes!

Three years in the making...and the newest Winters' family member!

No, not our baby boy...he's not here quite yet :)

About the first half of the blog title: when Brett and I married, we bought a house within six months, so a lot of our big purchases were postponed. One of those was a new bedroom suite for ourselves. We have been living with a hodgepodge collection of furniture in our master bedroom that we have not been very fond of. Don't get me wrong, I love my great-grandmother's armoire, just not paired with Brett's veneer dresser from college! Also, Brett promised me we would have a headboard (he even considered making one out of cedar posts). Before the upgrade:

Um, yeah...you can see why we were ready for new furniture!!

So, after looking around for at least the last six months, we FINALLY bought a new bedroom set from Weir's Furniture in Plano (thanks, Sharon, for the recommendation!). We got a super-great deal, and we love it! We feel so spoiled now to have matching bedroom furniture :)

Ta-da! Our dogs are not so fond of it, though...with a platform bed, they can no longer sleep underneath!

And about the newest member of the Winters' bunch...this past weekend we headed up to Lawton, OK, to meet our newest niece. Layne Rene Winters was born Saturday night to proud parents, Bryn and Jared. She was 10 days late, so you can imagine that everyone was very anxious to meet her!!

Layne Rene Winters

Proud parents!!

Dad, Uncles and Aunt with little Layne

What a cutie!!

Long, Tall Texan

So the title is a throw-back to an older Lyle Lovett song in honor of our impending bundle of joy. We had an unexpected sonogram yesterday (thanks to doctor's orders), and found out that our little fella ain't so little! They told us at the 20-week sonogram that Jameston will be in the upper percentile for length; and we found out yesterday that he's already ahead of the pack on weight, too. 

They think he weighs about 5 1/2 to 6 lbs. already!! According to all my books, babies at 33 weeks are only supposed to weigh around 4 1/2 lbs. or so. At this rate, my doctor is guessing he'll weigh in around 8.5 to 9.5 lbs! We'll have another sonogram before the due date, just to make sure, in my doctor's words, that we have "no surprises." What, like a 12 pound baby?!

He's flexing his arm, as if to taunt us about just how big he is :)

The first thought to cross my mind was (besides the ever-popular question, "And you are still trying to have him naturally?" Thanks...like I have not thought about how that course may be affected) I hope he can wear his cute newborn outfits and fit into those Swaddlers newborn diapers we have, which are made for babies up to 10 lbs.!

Profile and hands view: Awww, all my L&D worries (well, maybe not all) go away when I see this picture. No matter what, he'll be so worth it!

Who's out there?

So...we are wanting to know who is checking out the blog. Many of you have told me you are (but following our blog does not substitute for catching up via phone, lunch dates, email, etc. :). Please sign into the "Followers" section on the left of the blog page so that we can see who is reading...Thanks ahead of time!

Lakin' it

This past weekend, all the Stewart siblings were in town at the same time. So, we headed to Flower Mound and Lake Grapevine to hang out with Dad and our stepmom and go out on their new boat! It was fun, especially because it's been awhile since all four of us have been together.

Me, Scott, Maggie, and Lynnlee

Whoa, Mommas! Me at 32 weeks, Lynnlee at 17. How exciting!!

The best sisters in the world!

Brett saved the day by moving a really stinky (dead) fish off shore...no one else wanted to get near it!

Sista, sista...never knew how much I missed ya

Thanks Dad and Glenda for being such great hosts. We really enjoyed the relaxing Saturday afternoon together (hope you did, too :) !

Renovations 101 (Part 2): Finally done!

The title of this post could also be, "He's a Hard-Workin' Man!" Brett has been, as my mom often calls him, an example of Saint Joseph lately with his assortment of handyman skills. He has definitely been able to put his talents to great use on our fixer-upper of a house! I blogged several months ago about our first renovations to our kitchen, entryway, dining room, and guest bathroom (see blog post: http://thewintersworld.blogspot.com/2008/11/renovations-101-part-1.html). Lately he has been preoccupied with our master bathroom and the nursery. He is so good at tiling, so he thought he'd try his hand again on our second shower. Here is a refresher of what he did for the guest shower:

Before shot: White tile everywhere!

After shot: travertine and the oil-rubbed bronze hardware

Taking on the master shower...a big task! You can see the reflection of the old shower in the mirror (along with the hideous wallpaper, light fixtures, and linoleum floors). This 90's-inspired bathroom was in dire need of a facelift!

Let the demolition begin!!

Now there's a big hole in our wall (and floor)!

Brett worked on this shower while I was on a vacation with my girlfriends. When I got back, it was almost completed. What a great hubby I have!!

Tile is up, now all we need is the glass.

Aw, much better. Our newly-tiled, frameless shower :)

My hubby is one dedicated renovator, that's for sure! Even though he works 50+ hour work weeks (sometimes 70-hour weeks :( depending on the time of year) he has spent what seems like every available weekend and night he gets away early from work to improve our house. Here are some more before/after pics of the rest of the updates:

Above: before shot of the linoleum tile, wallpaper, brass sink fixtures, and closet mirrors/doors (can you say, "Ew, ew, ew.")

Below: Now we have stained concrete floors (a dark brown with some black) and new cabinet hardware. Now, we need to do something about those cabinets...

Our new light fixtures, painted (a caramel color) and textured walls, and the uber cheap home-made frames (Brett sanded and stained some boards for this rustic look...I love 'em! And the fact that we saved money on the frames is a definite bonus:) You can see both vanities in the reflection.

Above is the centerpiece off which we based the designs around. Brett received this 1845 Texas map for being a groomsman in a wedding last summer. Thanks David and Sara for the inspiration!

Our brushed nickel faucets (watering holes) and sinks. We also had leftover granite from our kitchen remodel. Below is my favorite new feature in our bathroom (okay, maybe second favorite behind the shower): our water spout faucet for the tub. It is so cool!

While we were tackling the master bathroom, we thought we'd just continue the renovations to the closet. As you can see, it needed it!

Before shot/Above: carpet in a closet...not fun when you have two big dogs who like to hang around you in the morning while you get ready for work.

Below: off-white/cream-colored mounts and shelves (eye sore) that we repainted to white.

Distressed wood floors from Floor and Decor

New hardwood floors, stained rods, and painted shoe rack. Not too much on the list, but it made a BIG difference! It feels so upscale now and I love it! Now, all we need are the saloon doors for the closet entrance :)

Honestly, I could not be more ready to submit this post because we have had renovations going on in our house since last June! Ahhhh...but HOORAY, we are finished!! And now (as I have said before) we can kick up our feet and enjoy a newly renovated (and much cleaner) house before our little boy gets here.

And, for those who have been asking, here's a sneak-peek of the nursery. Can't reveal too much (we are still waiting on a couple of items) because I will designate an entire post for it when it is finished. Can't wait!