26 Weeks/Feathering the Nest

I think I popped...maybe...hanging out in the nursery nook

26 WEEKS!!! Arggggggghhhhhhh!!!! I'm really grateful to be here :-) I think I'll finally be able to breathe a little easier when we hit the 28 week mark in a few weeks.

EH and I put the deposit down on our YMCA space this past Sunday and I'm so happy to get that out of the way. I'm almost to the point of letting it go. All we have left to do is find a place to cater the food and get the drinks! I had a moment of doubt the other day thinking about the food. Should I still go with the sandwiches and hot food? or just hot food and a salad? EH always tells me that I have Jamaican tendencies when it comes to food...i.e. I'm stingy with food! I never go to an event expecting people to have loads and loads of food but apparently this is the Dominican way and he wants me to get with the program. The invite list has been sent to my best friend and I'm feeling pretty OK about it.

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We're in the process of feathering the nest this week. We finally got the dresser complete and I love the way it looks. I convinced EH to leave the sides alone and just draped an extra curtain that we stopped using over the top so that it would hang over the sides. The pop of white against the dark wood really does it for me. I hung a piece of art over the changing table as a place holder. I'm not exactly sure what I want there. EH wants to put a mirror there but I'm leery of putting something so heavy above the changing table. I've put the few dresser things that I have on the dresser for now but I may have to find a new home for them. I'm keeping my little lamp so we have some light for nighttime changing.

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I'm happy to say that Whelpalina now has a sizeable wardrobe thanks to her previously estranged grandma! It was such a weird day. We drove up to see my mom not really knowing what to expect but she was gracious and acted as though we had been in contact with each other for the past three years. It felt very strange for me because I don't like pretending things didn't happen that hurt me and our relationship but I had to keep reminding myself that this is how she deals with things. I don't have to agree with it but I can respect the way she chooses to cope. The best part of the trip was reuniting with my younger half brother who I haven't seen in years. I really thought he wouldn't want to see me so I was nervous. He reached out to me and we hugged a bunch of times before this picture was taken, then he went away to play his video games! I truly had to hold back happy tears I was so happy to see him. He's going to be 16 this year!

I'm no sure what was happening with this dress. I look about 60!

We hopped in our cars and went to Woodbury Commons outlet mall, which is apparently a huge thing here in the East. I had never been before and to say I was overwhelmed would be an understatement. You can literally get lost in this place. We went there on a Thursday afternoon and it was packed with people from all over the world.  We hit up the Carter's outlet and my mother proceeded to rack up hundreds of dollars buying things for Whelpalina. At certain points I had to tell her that it wasn't necessary to buy ALL THE THINGS!! Poor EH's eyes popped out of his head when he saw the total at the cash register. Speaking of EH...I wish I had taken a picture of this man running all over the store...ooohing and aaahing and putting things in his basket for our daughter. He was too, too excited!! It was nice to see him so happy but I was the voice of reason on this trip, ya'll! Here are a few of our favorites:

The pink frilly onesie on the bottom is her going home onesie. I found it at Marshalls for like 10 bucks! Win! I liked that the frilly stuff was on the outside of the onesie so it won't irritate her skin. I have to admit that I go look in her drawers at least once a week and touch the clothes like a true creepster....

All in all, we were super thankful to be gifted all of these wonderful things. And who knows? Maybe we can cobble together some kind of actual relationship with my mother. One thing's for sure, she'll have a way better experience with her than I did growing up and that counts for something.

Getting all of these clothes has highlighted a need I didn't think we would have for a while....closet space! There's no way Whelpalina's clothes can fit in my closet so we're going to have to get her a temporary one. I was thinking of just getting a simple bookcase from Ikea and using it as a mini closet for her clothes, blankets, toys, etc. until she can have her own room. Similar to this but I would probably add a nice kiddie wallpaper to the back of it to add some color.

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My best friend graciously gifted us with my Godson's old Chicco car seat this week as well. My little Godchild outgrew that thing in like four months. His momma is super tall so I can't say I was surprised. It's the exact same one we were going to buy, in the exact same color (because she and I are that in sync), and it hasn't been in any accidents so we're confident it's the smart move, especially for something that she may grow out of right away.

EH loves to pet it when he gets home from work everyday and takes great pride in showing me how it works at least once a week.