Happy 3rd birthday, Downton Blabby

We were such bebehs

Three years ago this week, we purchased our home (the one we joke is "Downton Blabby"). I always feel like fall is when our home is its most beautiful, probably because that's when we fell in love with it.  Zach and I love our home so much. We worked hard to make it our own, with decor and improvements along the way. And our overall goal is to make it functional, efficient and most of all, comfortable for us and for guests that visit. This is a post for the home improvement folks. I've tried to document all the little things we've done, and I personally love to see how other people update their homes. We're not professionals--this was done with a lot of saving, scouring for deals and man hours. Zach is a machine! But we love the results.

HERE is my last home improvement post, which I wrote right before Wilder was born in 2013. I guess the home improvements are our way of nesting, because we're waiting on Felicity to be born now in 2015! So without further ado, here's what all we've done since 2013:

Window treatments
With the exception of the pink flowered valances I had as a child, I've never had curtains. My roommate in the dorm made curtains for our dorm, but I've never gotten any myself. Even when Zach and I got married, we didn't have curtains in our apartment. I just always felt like curtains = PERMANENCE... which is silly, because now I know they come in standard lengths so you could most likely move them to another place! But it took me two years of living in our home that we own to decide on curtains. And we slowly added them in the house since then. But now, we've got curtains from Pottery Barn in the formal living and dining room, casual living room and all the bedrooms upstairs. I just decided on our bedroom curtains, but we'll probably get them sometime early next year.

We also got an electrician to hang our Turkish light from Istanbul over the bistro table! We got it in the Old City, for a really great deal.  (Blog post about buying it is on my travel blog HERE). I had planned to purchase one back home after seeing them all over the place, but when I priced them (while we were still in Istanbul) it was actually far cheaper to buy one there and wrap it up well to bring home. It's got mosaic bits of turquoise glass in it and it really goes with everything in the room.

Leather furniture
My dad needed new furniture, so we gave him Zach's microfiber couch and oversized ottoman and we purchased a leather couch and chair from Rooms to Go... and I found an ottoman at Pottery Barn. We love how easy the leather is to clean of pet fur, and the slightly smaller sizes gave us more space!

New art
Above in the living room, you can see two watercolor prints we got from our last trip to Italy. We purchased them in the shadow of the Duomo in Florence after taking Wilder to see inside! We also printed some honeymoon, anniversary and family photos from Paris on canvas and put them on our hallway wall. Photos are by Stacy Reeves.

Wood floors
This was our biggie! We decided to replace the indoor/outdoor carpet in the workout room to make Felicity's nursery (You can see the whole post about her nursery HERE). While we were working on that, we looked into replacing the carpet downstairs with wood, leaving our slate tile throughout. We found beautiful hand-scraped wood at Floor Decor, and Zach has a contractor friend that gave us a great deal. We LOVE the floors! We put them in the office, the formal living and dining room, the casual living room and our bedroom. LOVE. :-) It's so much easier to clean, and I've been pleasantly surprised at how warm and not over-loud the floors are.

Good view of the floor.

I think the end chairs are new since 2013 too! Restoration Hardware.

New kitchen table
After we had Wilder, we realized our glass square table with sharp edges wasn't a good fit for our family. I'd had it since college and it has been with me on four moves! We gave the table and chairs to friends with older kids, and commissioned a maker from Craigslist to build ours at a fraction of the cost of similar ones from Restoration Hardware. This is a SOLID piece. You could sit on one end and it wouldn't tip. It also holds 8 chairs, vs. the 4 our previous table held. So we can have larger informal meals. We love it. We got our chairs and cushions from Restoration Hardware.

Utility Room Overhaul
Zach spent many hours planning his remodel of the utility room. He also spent many hours executing it! He replaced the fluorescent light over head with can LED lights. Took down the shelving over the dryer and replaced it with more user-friendly shelving. Added a bench and overhanging shelf, and added more shelving to the corner. Zach also painted the beige cabinets Sherwin Williams Dorian Gray, and replaced brass knobs with nickel. We also added gray baskets to each of the shelves, and a turquoise key hanger--they weren't there when I took the photo. :-)The room is so much more functional now!

Garage organization
I don't have photos, but Zach has completely redone our garage, with the help of his dad. They took down all the stuff on the walls, repainted and placed utility shelving from my mom's old store all along the walls. Zach has carefully organized, and purged, and rearranged, and purged some more until everything has a place and we can actually fit both our vehicles inside if need be. He does a lot of the home improvement work late into the night in our nice and clean garage.  We can even work out in there, now that we don't have a workout room anymore! It's nice to have a totally functional space like that!


I think that's about it! We still have some plans for decorating in the office and hanging a few photos around the house, and the aforementioned window treatments in our bedroom. But for now, we're settled in for another baby and another holiday season at Downton Blabby!

Felicity's Vintage Paris Nursery

It's so exciting when you have a vision for a space, and you get to see it come to fruition even better than you'd imagined. That's how I feel about little Felicity Rose's nursery. You might remember THIS post where I was working through inspiration...

I'm so excited to reveal how her room has turned out! Wilder's room is travel and adventure themed, and it really fits him and our family. It's adorned with decor and pieces that were gifts from loved ones and carefully chosen with love. And we love it. Felicity's room was similarly decorated. Paris means so much to our family and it's our favorite travel destination. So we brought that love into her little room, and it's been decorated with items we searched for over these months, as well as with items given to her by our friends and family. As this room was originally our workout room, Zach has worked hard to turn it into this sweet little girl's room. From removing the workout equipment and mirrors, replacing the carpet, painting and renovating the closet, to painting her furniture and hanging every little decor item I asked him to, Zach's labor of love is evident everywhere!

Without further ado, here it is!!

Cheat sheet:
French Provincial tall dresser, nightstand, dresser/changing table: Craigslist find from Shabby Chic by Tom & Anita. Zach repainted what was originally coral to Sherwin William's Dorian Gray (Many cabinets and items in our home are this color actually).
Vintage Paris wood illustration: gift from a friend! It matches the decor colors PERFECTLY.
Wreath: hand-made by MIL
Eiffel Tower Lamp: From target, but I got it about 5 years ago. It's been in my single girl apartment, our married apartment guest room, Wilder's room for a while and now Felicity's room!
Gray clothes hamper: The Container Store
Glider and ottoman: From Buy Buy Baby. The chair is Little Castle Mesa, with Ophelia Dove fabric.
Maternity photos: by Jashley Michelle
White Eiffel Tower: Hobby Lobby
Diaper bouquet: :-) Made by MIL!
Crib: gift from Bratt Decor Casablanca, in Pewter
Bedding and diaper changing table cover: gift from Carousel Design - Paris Script, Mint, Gray
Quilt: handmade by a friend!
Wood Monogram: Etsy, by Custom Cut Monograms, Ocean Mist
Mobile: gift from Pottery Barn Kids
Bookshelf: Pottery Barn Kids
Verse print: gift from Etsy, by Society6
World map art: By the talented Jashley!
Curtains and curtain rod: Pottery Barn, Emory linen blackout panels in gray, bronze rods
Curtain tiebacks: Etsy, by Bed Buggs, Blush
Pink Eiffel Tower: gift from PARIS!
Bronze Eiffel Tower: Gift from World Market
Boxes: various gifts from friends
All storage elements in closet: The Container Store
Vintage Paris Map reproduction: Gift from Amazon. Hand-lettered by a friend!

40 weeks!

Lol. Please note the amazon prime package... this is how I survive as a mom. :-D

Well, today is Felicity's due date. No labor in sight--she seems to be hanging out! Although I've had a lot of painful Braxton Hicks contractions this trimester, I am not totally surprised because Wilder was born at nearly 42 weeks. I hope she comes soon. I definitely had the thought today of OMG WHAT IF SHE NEVER COMES OUT... but we all know that's not reality.

Just reflecting on this pregnancy... I spent a lot of it working on my freelance business. I turned in more stories this pregnancy than I did before I had Wilder. I focused on spending time with Wilder, but when he slept or I had childcare, I worked more efficiently and many many many late nights. I did not turn on the tv or watch a movie for probably 3 months. There were other sacrifices made, and moments I was really stressed and overwhelmed. There were times I was worried I wouldn't get it all done before she was born. But God is in control, and I was able to get all of my assignments turned in before she arrived.

So now, I'm on maternity leave. We've gotten some great family time in, lots of long walks, and I've completely stocked our freezer with meats, veggies, fruits and prepared meals.

Italian chicken soup, broccoli cheese soup, pulled pork, baked ziti, frozen veggies, rice, meatballs, spaghetti sauce, chicken broth, beef broth, pumpkin puree, frozen fruit, marinated meats, plain meats and bread.

With Wilder, I made extra meals like, here I go, I'm making brand new untried crock pot meals and freezing them! But some of those I didn't end up liking that much. I learned that I don't really like using the crock pot as an everyday cooking item. So this time, I basically just doubled recipes for meals and froze the leftovers into family portions. I've done this the last couple of months just in general, and it's been a good go-to on nights when I don't have a meal planned, so I'm hoping it'll work for when Felicity gets here. I also made a lot of chicken and beef stock (so handy for so many things) and some pumpkin puree for fall desserts. I'm finishing with one more Spicy Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork from the Pioneer Woman today, and I think I'm done with stockpiling food! That part makes me feel like my mom would be proud. :-) She used to have a deep freezer and froze all kinds of stuff... like an entire half of a cow's worth of meat. I wish that deep freezer worked--I'd love it right now! But we have a hand-me-down fridge/freezer in the garage and I'm definitely making good use of it.

I also feel like I've been more physically active this pregnancy. With Wilder, I exercised somewhat regularly, but it was a lot of elliptical, weights early on and sporadically later, and some walking. And some yoga. I did walk a lot toward the end, that's for sure. Will never forget THIS moment from Wilder's pregnancy.... I was wearing Zach's workout clothes because I didn't have anything warm enough in maternity clothes.

SO attractive! haha. Have not had to do this for Felicity!

It's definitely not that cold yet this time around. We're finally getting *cooler* weather, but that's like, 58 degrees. :-)

I've been consistently walking 30-60 minutes 4-5 times a week, pushing a stroller, the entire pregnancy. I've not done much strength training though, other than some squats and pushups. Wish I had done more of that! And I have done yoga the last two months too. I'm hoping that the slow, consistent work will help me in labor because I know it really is physically demanding.

I feel ready for Felicity's arrival. Bags are packed, desk is clean, to-do list is done (I keep adding to it, but it's just things to do, not things that HAVE to get done before she gets here). But I have these moments where I'm anxious. What if I can't handle the pain of labor this time? I did last time, but what if I just can't do it? I don't think this way all the time, only when I have contractions (ha). And when I try to sleep. I told myself i would sleep a lot these last few days, but I'm finding that it's taking me a long time to fall asleep, I wake up in the night and can't go back to sleep and I wake up early unable to sleep any longer. I think it's a little bit of anxiety and also that it's uncomfortable resting in one position at this stage of the game. Kind of disappointing because if I'm being honest, I short-changed my sleep for months in order to get my work done. Those days I fell into bed and slept like the dead and I miss that! Trying to make up for all of that, but it's not really working. :-) I lie down at night every night wondering if this is the night i go into labor and my brain just keeps running. Hard to relax!

Anyway, I don't want to sound like Debby Downer. I'm glad God gave me the chance to have these work-free days to get mentally and physically ready. I love this time with our little family of three. And it's special feeling her move and trying to picture what she will be like on the outside. I'm just in the "advent" stage--eagerly awaiting our precious gift.

Thanks for reading. It's been great tracking my journey through the blog, and I appreciate your thoughts and prayers though these last few days of waiting!

Abby's List of 10 Pregnancy Essentials

Hey guys! I'm on maternity leave now, which has been a great mental break. I've been able to finish some last-minute tasks and spend a lot of good time with Wilder... as well as try to get a little more sleep and actually watch some TV for the first time in many months.

With that little break, I feel like I've got lots of blog posts bubbling up in me. New baby permitting, check out abigailboatwright.com for posts sharing articles I've written and recent photo shoots, this blog for some home and child updates, and I've turned my original blog, throughabbyslens.blogspot.com into *just* travel updates. I'm hoping to blog about our last few trips--I have some beautiful photos and I really want to share them!

OK, so on to the topic of this post. As a near graduate of two pregnancies, I feel like I'm an expert on the things that have made my own gestation a little bit easier. I thought I would list them out, in case any of you are pregnant or thinking about it. :-) So, in no particular order, may I present:

Blanqi support tank

I'll admit, I was skeptical about this tank at first. It's pricey, and it looks weird. DEFINITELY have to wear a shirt over it! But let me tell you how great it is. The Blanqi tank kind of feels like soft Spanx, but better. It supports your belly and helps reduce back pain. I've found it really helpful for photo shoots, where I'm on my feet carrying many pounds of equipment for hours at a time. You can use it in place of a belly band to hold up your non-maternity pants. It's also really good for exercising. The website shows pregnant women running in it... yeah that is not me. I do wear it for walking. ;-) I notice a huge difference in my comfort overall when I wear it walking, vs. not. I've worn it through both pregnancies and I'm glad I have it.

Hydro Flask water bottle

Pregnant ladies know the importance of hydration. I spent most of this pregnancy also breastfeeding, so needless to say, I really needed to drink water. I found Hydro Flask sometime this year, and I'm loving it. It's stainless steel and insulated, which means ice cubes hang out for like 24 hours! Even in a hot car! I like it because it's sturdy... I bet I could use it to club an assailant. ;-) And the mouth is just the right width to easily add ice cubes and drink from it, without being Nalgene bottle humongous. It comes in a bunch of styles, sizes, mouth types and colors.

Snoogle pillow

So... apparently I've been using this wrong all this time. Whatever, it still works. Go look at the link if you want to see how to sleep using this giant pillow. It basically replaces four pillows. We're supposed to sleep on our left side with a pillow between our knees during pregnancy. It can be hard to arrange. But this pillow does help. It's just hard to get out of bed when you have it. But. It really helps with a good night's sleep!

Birkenstocks

I got some Gizeh Birkenstocks last year, and they really made a difference during pregnancy this year. Definitely more supportive, and my feet were a lot more comfortable overall this time around!

Destination maternity clothes

I know lots of people that never need maternity clothes and they're proud of it. I am not one of those people. Even though you only wear maternity clothes while you're pregnant (and maybe some for a bit afterward), depending on how many children you have, those clothes really get worn. When you have like five shirts, and that's all you can fit in, those clothes are worth it! I love Destination Maternity. I did get a few items from Target and workout tanks from Old Navy, but the rest were from Destination Maternity. If you can get to the store in San Antonio, I highly recommend them--the customer service experience was really good. For both pregnancies, I invested in a pair of nice jeans, work jeans, everyday tops, a few nice tops, 2 pairs of shorts, a few dresses and leggings (MANDATORY for the last trimester). Plus some hand-me-down jeans, it's been a good thing. Being comfortable while pregnant is really, really important. I learned this second time, when I had to break out maternity pants at 11 weeks that comfort was the difference between being miserable and functional!

Maternity Spanx
While the thought of Spanx sounds SO uncomfortable while pregnant... in actuality, maternity spanx are brilliant. No more worrying about panty lines, and they're really comfortable. I probably don't have to tell you ladies why Spanx are necessary... but I just wanted to tell you that the maternity ones are equally great, and way more comfortable!

Prenatal yoga
Probably the most important thing I did pre-pregnancy was prenatal yoga. I am a huge huge fan. The techniques I've learned and the time spent practicing was immeasurable helpful for actual labor. If you've done yoga, you might be wondering why PRENATAL yoga versus just modifying in a regular class. First, not all yoga poses are safe for pregnancy, and what is safe changes throughout each trimester. I tried researching safe/unsafe poses online and got overwhelmed trying to remember what not to do. That's not meditative, worrying about if you're going to possibly do something unsafe. Second, one of the goals of regular yoga is to further your practice, so you always are trying to push just a little bit further. While pregnant, the hormones in your body make you more flexible, so it can be easy to overdo things and hurt yourself if you push the same way. You want to maintain your practice while pregnant, not progress. Different mindset. If you go to a prenatal class expecting to sweat and contort and leave exhausted, you'll be surprised. It's much more like restorative yoga. There's a lot of focus on bringing your mind inward, slow poses that unlock sore pregnant bodies, opening up to breathe and breath work. We often work on poses that can double as positions for surviving contractions. The biggest part of prenatal that helps me is the focus on breathing. You learn different ways to breathe, and you become practiced at them, so that when labor came, I found that I was naturally using breathing techniques from yoga, which helped with pain at the very least. Finally, prenatal yoga is a great way to connect with other moms that might be like-minded. Last pregnancy, I found my prenatal chiropractor, doula and lactation consultant from my fellow yoga mamas.  My link above is to the studio I go to now, but I highly recommend finding a prenatal yoga class!

Prenatal chiropractic work
I've been blessed both pregnancies to not suffer from a lot of pain. I don't know if it's just how I carry babies, but it's more likely getting adjusted helped. Dr, Terry Garcia says that the relaxin hormone helps you get looser for delivery, but it also allows you to get out of alignment easily. Pair that with your body being pulled over by a big belly, and you are just waiting for pain. Dr. Terry helped me a lot these pregnancies. Supposedly chiropractic work can help shorten labors. I can't really say because Wilder took forever, but I do believe adjustments can help baby get into proper position. Dr. Terry also does newborn adjustments (I talked about that HERE) and that was very helpful.

Birth Boot Camp
Zach and I took one 10-week birth class with Wilder. Birth Boot Camp is a natural childbirth class. We learned a lot about pain and birthing positions and techniques, nutrition, mental preparation, exercise, breastfeeding and a lot of information about interventions and pain relief methods. It helped us feel prepared and informed, and our first class was with our doula for Wilder. This time around, we took a refresher one-day class, and it was a good reminder of the most important parts. I was reminded of just how much happens to your body during labor. Having those facts and mental pictures helps me visualize what is happening during labor. It helps me know that every contraction and all of the pain are moving my body toward delivering that baby. There is a point!

Doula
Finally, I found a doula really helpful. With Wilder, I worked with Ashleigh Trimble. She was wonderful and I loved her! Unfortunately, she's moved to Georgia. This time we are working with Maria Pokluda and I'm excited. :-) But in any case, I loved having a doula. The support Ashleigh gave us made such a difference. She reminded us of pain techniques, was a calming and helpful ally and just made the whole process a little bit less nerve-wracking, knowing she was walking alongside us. Highly recommend!

That's all I can think of right now! :-)

22 months

22 months

Friday was Wilder's 22-month birthday! He went to the park with Daddy, got a haircut from "Uncle" Les and played with trains at Mimi and Papa's. Wilder's days are filled with exploration, reading, laughter and lots of talking. He speaks in exclamatory sentences, but they're mostly understandable. He picks up random words all the time--he's seriously a parrot. We can have conversations recalling things that happened earlier in the day, or the week before, or about books we've read together. It's such a fun time interacting with this little boy! Everything is fun for him-- from running in the house, to looking at trash trucks outside. As I get ready to deliver his little sister (sometime in the next three weeks! Due October 7!) and things are finally winding down with my work, we are really savoring this time as a family of three.

Wilder is still wearing 12 month old shorts with a belt, still wearing 18 month old tops, but they are getting a smidgen short. I got him new shoes last week: 5.5 mediums. In the spring, got shoes that were 4.5 wide width. He's been wearing his size 5 Natives most of the summer. So his FEET have grown. I'm pretty sure he's taller too. He's just a string bean! I was built that way as a kid, and Zach was thin too, so it's not really surprising. I don't have any idea what clothes he'll wear for the cooler weather. He's probably too tall for his 12 month old pants from last year (CRAZY) but 18 month old waists will swallow him!

Some of the words Wilder has said lately: Bulldozer, haircut, helicopter. He will say "Sad" when he's upset and "NoNice" when we do something he doesn't want to do. He rates everything as "Tiny," "Big" or "Really big." Everything is "Funny" to him. He calls after "Afed, Pierre, Ewwie" and wants to pet them. "Choo-twains" Thomas, Percy and Caboose rule the roost right now, but he is equally enamored with his cars and planes.

He can count to 10 all by himself!

Favorite books: Little Engine that Could, People-God-Moon(Bible), his non-fiction adult books about classic cars and steam engines, 10 little snowflakes (it's a counting book). He will go through days where he wants the same 4 books read over and over, and the next day he's on to a different set. He can tell you which book he wants and say no to other suggestions.

For the most part, he's stopped this thing he was doing where every night he would wake up around 12 and call for mama or daddy. All he wanted was a diaper and rocking for a few minutes (he can tell you what he wants, which is nice) and then he would ask for his bed again. It was every night for a couple of weeks, but this last week he stopped doing it and went back to sleeping through the night. He goes to sleep around 8:30, no matter when we put him in bed (usually 8 and he rolls around for a while). He's up between 6:45-7:30 am. He also naps 2-3 hours in the afternoon like clockwork.

I'm so grateful for my Wilder snuggles. Even though my belly is huge and I can't get around very easily, he's such a hugger and lets me hold him in ways that we can still be close. I just feel so lucky to have him for my son.

Here are some more photos from today!

Jumping with Daddy. :)

36 weeks

A little less than a month till my due date!

I'm in the home stretch! Today I am 36 weeks pregnant. I am always happy when I get past 34 weeks. My mom had me at 34 weeks, and I was so worried about that with Wilder--ironic, since he was born at 41 weeks 5 days! I breezed past 34 weeks and Monday was one month till my due date. I can't believe this pregnancy is almost over.

I have occasional contractions, and they kind of put me in a panic, because I still have assignments left to go before my due date. That number of stories is shrinking rapidly, though. I can see the finish line! I really just want to get these completed so I can relax and focus on my family during those early days with baby girl. It won't be the end of the world if I don't get it all done, but I sure would be a lot more stress-free going into labor if I could get them done.

So I workworkwork. Went to San Antonio twice this m month, and the last time, even with compression socks, I was really happy when I got home because I started swelling. No more long trips for me for a little while! I feel really heavy and bulky and it's hard to move quickly anywhere. I'm still trying to stay active--stretching and yoga, walking, some squats, but it's difficult. My calves have been hurting--the chiro says that's because pregnancy causes the muscles in your back and backs of your legs to contract as your body is pulled forward. Makes sense! My feet are starting to swell... yay. :-) Loving warm epsom baths. I'm still able to sleep well, but I'm not resting enough. I'm trying! :-) I still feel good most of the time, but I can definitely tell I'm carrying a big ol' baby, and my body is getting ready for labor.

Felicity's room is almost finished. We got her dresser, nightstand and chest of drawers yesterday. I'm waiting for some curtain tiebacks in the mail, and I'll be finishing her room next week with decor. I organized her closet on Monday. It's looking great! We have a few more items we need before she comes, but it's nice to already have some things from the first time around! Once it's done I'll take some photos and share them!

I'm packing our hospital bags today, just to have it done. :-) Probably she'll come late, but I'll feel better if I'm prepared!

We met our doula today and I think she'll be great to work with!

Yesterday I had my 36 week appointment with the midwife. All is well. Her head is down but she's moving around still. We scheduled the rest of our WEEKLY appointments till my due date! Getting close!

and... for comparison, here's a photo from the same point during my pregnancy with Wilder. I look a lot bigger and you can really see how much lower she's sitting! I weigh less than I did with Wilder at this point, but I've gained a bit more throughout pregnancy. Hoping not to gain any more, but I know she's growing at like an ounce a day? So I guess I'll be gaining a bit more. Oh well! It could be worse. :-)

I'm just really looking forward to meeting our baby girl and seeing Wilder interact with her too. It's going to be so different with two little ones, sometimes it seems overwhelming. But I'm excited for the challenge and I am excited to see how Felicity's personality shines through!

Thanks for reading!