Dear Alex,

The past week has been extremely busy! You are about 32 1/2 weeks along now (the size of a squash supposedly? Must be a really big squash!) and we have been in super baby-prep mode. Last Thursday I had my bi-weekly check up with the OB-GYN… all was well except I’d gained more weight than they wanted (which I was expecting, considering we’d just gone out of town for Thanksgiving!), but overall things are still looking pretty good in the health department. Then over the weekend we took maternity/holiday photos– we’ve been in the habit of taking family holiday photos every year, but this year we sprung for a photographer since we also wanted to get maternity shots. That is why I do not have a “bump photo” this week– I plan to use one of those pictures instead, but we haven’t gotten them back yet. Hopefully they turned out well!

The other major thing we did this weekend was finish your nursery! I am so excited to be able to take you on the grand tour (haha):

This is the view from the door as you walk in. That rocking chair in the corner was my great-grandmother’s, and it has been in our family’s nurseries for generations. Dad put in a few shelves there to make a nice little “reading nook” — as you can see, you already have a little bit of a library going! 🙂 I absolutely LOVE to read, and I hope you do too.

Actually one thing we haven’t quite finished yet is the windows… it turns out that the blinds we bought won’t fit these windows, so we need to exchange them for something else. Dad can get those up pretty easily, though. The lamp on your dresser is very special to me– my grandfather (who I also called “Papa”) made it for me when I was little, and it was part of my room decor for the majority of my childhood. I always knew that I wanted to incorporate it into my child’s room someday, and so the rest of your nursery’s design was inspired by this lamp. 🙂

Not much to see here, but I am proud to say that I re-vamped these old metal closet doors myself! It’s amazing what a couple fresh coats of paint & some new knobs will do. It turned out so well that I actually ended up doing all the closet doors upstairs this way. Inside the closet, I’ve hung up/organized all your clothes up to the 3-6 months size (but still need to wash them before you can wear them).

Here is the changing table– my favorite part of this nursery are the letters hanging above it. 🙂 Dad actually came up with the branch thing, based off a Pinterest idea Nana showed us. We tried to find a fake branch at local craft stores without success, then decided to just cut a branch down from the backyard. Also in the corner is a cute little toy chest my Aunt Kathy made for you– you can’t see from this angle, but she burned your full name into the top of the lid. So cool! It kind of reminds me of a little pirate’s chest; I think you’re really going to dig it. 🙂

And last but not least– the crib! I made the teething guard using plain old fleece, and inside the crib are a few stuffed animals. Some of them are very special to me & Dad because they were ours when we were little. We can’t wait to share them with you! 🙂 Also, Dad & I teamed up to make the art above the crib– Dad painted the tree trunk by hand & I made the leaves/letters/bears using my Cricut machine. I love how it turned out!

So that is the nursery… I hope you like it! I also want to give some props to Nana– she painted the walls for me so that I wouldn’t have to deal with the fumes. She did a great job! Anyway, last night Dad & I took a tour of the hospital’s maternity ward. I’m really glad we did, it was really helpful to learn exactly where we need to go, what to do & what to expect when the time comes… hopefully not for another 8 weeks or so. 😉 The hospital we’re planning to give birth at, INOVA Alexandria, seems like a very nice facility. I think we’ll all be in good hands there!

This weekend will be another busy one– Saturday Dad & I are going to the all-day childbirth “bootcamp” class held by the local Lamaze chapter. I’m really looking forward to this, and I think it will be especially helpful for Dad (who isn’t as into reading childbirth books as I am, haha). Then Sunday I’m hosting a bridal shower for a friend here at our house… hopefully we can find some time to clean between now & then! I suppose that is enough for now. Until next week, little guy! 🙂

All my love,
Mom