Just a quick update for everyone hanging on the edge of their seats: Maxwell Timothy was born at 11 pm last night weighing 8 lbs, 11 oz, 20 3/4″ long and looking so much like his big brother. It was a very long day but everyone is doing great and we will post pictures soon. Thank you so much for all your kind words and prayers - we felt each one of them and feel so loved!

Long story short - my u/s and routine ob/gyn appt today showed BIG baby, LOW fluid, so bright and early tomorrow morning Tim and I will show up at the hospital for me to be induced. I am terrified. Truly. Max is doing fine, it’s just too many red flags that my doctor does not feel comfortable letting me continue on my own. So please keep us in your prayers and more specifically please pray that I go naturally tonight, and that Max doesn’t get stuck in the birth canal (his belly is bigger than his head so this could very well happen, ending in a section, which those of you who know me know I am so scared of). Will update hopefully with news of Max’s arrival!

Wow - two posts in two days! Aren’t you guys a lucky crowd? It’s really because I’m so excited and I feel I deserve a pat on the back, not because of what I’ve done, but that it got done and what is it exactly? THE NURSERY!!

So I won’t win the award for best procrastinator, not like I thought I would. It only took eight months of being pregnant and three of those being in a new house but I was finally ready to nest! One could assume that moving while you’re five months pregnant should catapult you into nesting-mode but it did the complete opposite for me. The downstairs was assembled and complete, but upstairs…well now that was a different story. But this past month I got a righteous anger about it, stopped hemming and hawing over paint samples and bedding preferences and went to town.

I’ll start with the kids bath and it isn’t that special, I’m just glad it’s painted and put together (had to say no to the beige!). Conner is the only one who uses it (and not even anymore since he’s been showering with daddy, which he much prefers anyways) but at least I can cross it off the list of rooms to put together. I love the yellow - I read somewhere that you should use bright colors in smaller rooms with no windows, like bathrooms and closets. So that’s what I did.

Ah, the nursery. How I loathed and sulked over you for so long. As you can see, we did not go with the mod-dots as we all had decided. It’s not because I don’t love you or care about your opinion, it’s just unless everyone could give to the “Baby Max Nursery Fund” we needed another option. I couldn’t justifying spending the money on just the bedding (not to mention the cash we were going to drop on Conner’s new bed, mattress, and bedding), so I opted for one from Target that was significantly cheaper, and I actually like it better (after I tweaked it some). Still plenty of dots to keep my heart content, but with plenty of cash left over to buy everything else I wanted, too. So I slapped some green on an accent wall, painted a tree and placed some reusable decals and voila!

I love it so much! I highly recommend doing the decals since it was easy and cheap and so cute.

Some playful prints that I sketched on the computer and framed so that the dots wouldn’t take over.

A must have for every nursery - a changing station.

Hear that whistling sound? That’s the pressure being let off in my head now that it’s done and my baby has a room! Conner’s room is about 50% done and I’m still hoping to have it done by the time Max gets here, but even if not it will be very soon after. So that’s five rooms down, only three more to go. I’m getting there and it feels goooooooooooood.

If this heat doesn’t send me into early labor, working like a dog certainly should. It was my own fault for putting so much off, but it’s hard when you’re pregnant and moving like a grizzly bear that’s been shot in the butt by a tranquilizer, and also while you’re caring for a very busy toddler. While my appointment last week did throw me into a tailspin of worry, and in between the ultrasound and waiting to see the doctor I shed a few frustrated tears because Max CAN NOT COME EARLY since I am so not ready, but those fears have really subsided as I realize it’s all just a guesstimate, and I really have no say in the matter. My doctor did give me two possibilities and that one would probably be definite: either Max will come early (YIPES!) or he will arrive on time and be bigger than Conner (this was the part where my lady bits shrieked in horror). The former definitely sounds better than the latter, but I really do believe in God’s perfect timing and so my prayers have shifted to just asking that I be ready whenever and however it happens. And that I am not ripped from stem to stern. Yowsa. Buying clothes for my baby boy definitely helps take the edge off of his imminent birth - so cute!

Conner’s been going through a rough spot now and for moms of toddlers, please tell me they get over themselves? I swear I feel like I’m dealing with a teenager. One minute he wants to kiss all over me and can’t get enough of me and literally the next minute he is disgusted at my presence, utterly annoyed that I am breathing the same air as him. Emotions are certainly running high around here as I want to just enjoy these final days of it being just the two of us but it’s hard. I know it’s growing pains and I need to be patient but I thought we were over a lot of this last summer. Parenting is hard!

One huge bummer with me trying to get all the nitty-gritties done before the baby is I’ve had zero time to craft. I did make some burp cloths for Max, but that’s the extent of my crafting. I was hoping to go out with a bang, since I knew that would be the first thing to take the back-burner once he arrived but that is not the case. Ah well, I suppose I’ll survive. I leave you with some pictures that my good friend Amy Martin took of us about a month ago. I count myself so lucky to be surrounded by such talent and appreciate her taking the time. Thanks so much Amy - we love them!

Just the three of us (for now)

Conner, you look like you’re up to something

He’s such a ladykiller

I could eat that face right off

Me and the babydaddy

Tim quoting 30 Rock to me - does it every time

Although it makes me groan when someone asks if I’m feeling “Maxed-out” as I approach my due date, I have to appreciate their courage to make such corny jokes (Ryan, your boldness in this area is always enjoyed). Just like the old man at the gym who repeatedly says, “Looks like your ab routine isn’t working!” Normally I would give a painful courtesy smile, but he’s cute and very old so I indulge him a little more. But the truth is I still can’t believe I’m four weeks away from delivering my baby boy. This pregnancy has been so much easier in some ways, more uncomfortable in others, but the truth is I will always be a fan of pregnancy and I really do love the belly. And seeing as Tim and I are not quite sure if more than two children are in our future, I’m really trying to soak up as much of this time as I can and enjoy every moment. Even if it’s been three nights in a row that I haven’t slept more than four hours and he kicks my cervix so hard I’m waiting for a foot to come shooting out of my vajayjay.

Sunday night my amazing girlfriends surprised me with a baby shower and loved on me with gifts and quality time together. This pregnancy has gone by so quickly and I often find myself having a hard time getting in the mindset that this is really happening. But opening all the gifts, seeing the itty-bitty clothes and reading the encouraging cards sent me home excited and really kicked-started me in the direction of emotionally preparing for Max. And it also made me realize not only how much I am loved, but how much my children are loved as well and that touches my heart so deeply.

Not that I didn’t appreciate all the baby-love, but I have to share the hand-made gifts because as you know, that’s totally my thing. Amanda made the sweetest little pillow for Max to match his bedding, and I was secretly hoping she would make one since I saw one she made for another one of our friends and she didn’t disappoint.

Jen recently acquired a serger and has been sewing things like crazy and made some burp clothes and washrags. They’re super soft and even have a tag in case Max follows in his big brother’s footsteps of being extremely tactile and wanting to rub them.

Gaylyn made the cutest stamped onesies (I know I know, the tutorial is coming I promise - please don’t throw trash at me), and the favorite of the night was “Small Grahl” (for those of you who don’t know that is my last name, pronounced Grawl. It just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?). She also made an adorable little brag book for me to whip out and annoy endless people with when they ask how many children I have. It was such a great night and I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful, supportive and generous women. I love you guys!

Another jolt into the reality of Max’s impending birth: Our labor refresher course. Having Conner without meds was one of the BEST experiences of my life, I would never go back and change it, all of it was totally worth it (pinky swear), but this time around the thought makes me break into a cold sweat. I thought for sure after taking the refresher course that I would be psyched to do it again au natural, but that is not the case. I have no doubt that I can do it - obviously I can. Even at the worst time of labor I never once regretted not taking the epi, but this time around I just don’t know if I want to. It was exhausting. And long. And, yes, hurt like the dickens. When some of my girlfriends had their firsts (and second), they talked about how peaceful it was since they opted for the meds. Conner’s birth - not so peaceful. But any mom who has chosen to do it naturally can tell you how amazing it is once they are born. All those natural hormones rushing and your so into it because of everything you’ve just felt and gone through, and not to get all women’s lib, but it really is empowering. So I have no idea what I’m gonna do. Not really asking for advice on this one - I know I’ll make the right decision for me and Max (and Tim since he’s the one who will have to walk the five miles around the hospital during labor like I did the first time), just trying to sort through my thoughts and feelings about it.

Okay, lots more stuff going on but to keep you from being bored to tears I shall stop here. Here’s a picture of my baby as he wakes from his fourth night sleeping in his big boy bed (and it’s going so well - woot woot!). Ugh - it kills me how fast he is growing up.

No onesie how-to, but have no fear, it’s coming. I forget how much energy doing tutorials and how-to’s can be, even as easy as that one. Actually everything these days seems to take so much effort. Just the thought of getting off the sofa seems to get me out of breath. Six weeks to go, that’s all that stands between me and a whole new brand of exhaustion. God bless!

My bloggy pal Amanda co-hosted a baby swap that had the participants send three items: a must-have, a wearable and a keepsake. I breathed a sigh of relief when I got paired with my other bloggy pal (because you never know who or what you’re going to get with swaps and I totally trust Bee’s taste) and began working on her gifts. The must-have came pretty fast to my mind and that was burp cloths. Conner wasn’t a bad spitter-upper, but I have seen my fair share of babes who can’t seem to hold their dairy and the best burp cloths are the ones that are absorbent, like this. Not to mention they’re pleasing to the eye. And the wearable was a stamped onesie for her baby girl to sport.

The keepsake one was tricky because everyone’s taste is so different. Blankets are usually a hit and since I already knew the nursery colors from a previous conversation we’d had, I made Alicia Paulson’s Tiramisu blanket but in more playful colors. You can imagine my delight (and slight jealousy) when Bee told me she was doing her baby girl’s room in teal and red - my dream. Needless to say making that blanket was total eye-candy for me and a pleasure to finish.

I scored some great stuff too: a sweet bib with a porcupine/hedgehog appliqué (I’m such a sucker for appliqué), personalized name tabs to go on Max’s sippy cups (another score - I hate writing on those things), and Butt Paste. I have heard lots of good things about the butt paste, just never used it so hopefully it will treat Max’s derriere right. Thanks so much, Bee!

The nursery bedding has been bought, now the assembly must be completed. This part I loved with Conner however this time around I just keep wondering if I can pay someone to do it for me. Any takers? We’re also doing Conner’s room as well - how smart am I? Eight months pregnant redecorating two bedrooms. And we’re about to move a toddler who has zero sleep issues from his crib that he loves so much into a twin bed - GULP! I am not looking forward to that at all but it must be done. However neither of those things will I fret about this weekend as I am off to a night of rest and relaxation with some mommy friends as we get fed, pampered and showered with attention at our church’s Mom’s Pampering Retreat. I’ve been looking forward to it since last year. Seriously. I leave you with this picture of my little Picasso enjoying his newest favorite past-time, watercolor.

Thank you all for the birthday wishes, and the owl-softie love. I’m hoping to make more but we will see - time seems to be running out for me as my due date is in eight weeks and then my free time will be reduced dramatically for awhile. I think that’s the biggest thing that freaks me out about having another baby. We’ve got such a good schedule going where I get to enjoy Conner all day, but he plays good on his own and that leaves me lots of time to get stuff done around the house, and also things personally that I want to do. It will be a huge adjustment, but it’s only a short season since they grow up so fast, right? That’s what I will have to tell myself as I’m nursing an infant while simultaneously reading a book to a toddler when what I really want to be doing is cleaning or making something.

We had a fantastic weekend that flew by, however the week is not turning out the same unfortunately. Conner’s getting more teeth and because of that he has been insufferable. He is such a joy to be around most days, so to see him miserable breaks my heart, especially when he climbs into my crowded lap, points to his mouth and says, “Mama, hurrrrrrt”. Our silver lining has been that the weather has been gorgeous so when he really gets to grouching at me, we put his shoes on and head outside where he can play with sticks and follow caterpillars and I can enjoy my happy boy again. This picture was a rare moment amongst all the fits of annoyance and gnashing of teeth.

I feel like I should have something exciting to share, but things around here have been chugging along smoothly, so nothing to share except a quick update and a 32-week belly shot. So much I want to blog about but that will wait a few more days as I finish up some projects and try to keep the little man happy.

Even though baby season is pretty unofficial, if there was a start date for the year 2008 it would begin today. One of my good friends is about ready to pop, with two more followed closely behind. Then it’s my turn, and then about a dozen other’s thrown in as well. I really do count myself so fortunate to be going through such a long and often uncomfortable process with so many that I love, but the hospital staff is going to get so used to seeing all of us as we visit each other and spend a few days recuperating ourselves.

It’s been a little difficult preparing for the gift-aspect of the baby infestation that’s about to happen, esp. since my craft space is not completely unpacked yet. But I did rummage through my supplies quickly enough to whip up a few things. A few of us threw a small shower for Kelly, who is hopefully going to welcome Bennett into the world this week *crossing and double-crossing everything* and I got to show off some new crochet skills.

When I found this pattern I fell in love with them, however like most of my bootie-making experiences, they first came out like boats as apposed to baby shoes. So once I reworked it a little, they turned out great and I can’t wait to make a pair for Max.

I also stamped a onesie since they’re always cute and easy gifts to give. I’ll probably do a quick tutorial on them in a few weeks since I have quite a few more to crank out. I love the colors of this one - boyish and fun.

Last week Tim had a bike-thing he had to go to so for five days it was just me and Conner while daddy flew out to California. I was expecting the week to be long, but I wasn’t expecting to have so much fun with Conner. He certainly got to rule the roost and call the shots - well, as far as having fun and the activities were concerned. Even tho we didn’t do anything special or new, not having Tim there helped us break out of our routine and I feel like we reconnected. And the fact that we will be welcoming another little one soon, it was nice to have a few days with my baby to soak up and enjoy before our world is shaken up a bit.

I can’t remember the last time I posted on a weekend, but this is worth it because I am about the lose my friggin’ mind!

Tim used to never care or have any opinions about any decorating I did until about a year ago. I think it was all the Trading Spaces we used to watch that made him realize decorating your space shows off your individual style, and too you can be super masculine and hot while also caring about it (thank you Ty Pennington!). Tim pretty much allows me to do what I wish, although he certainly has gotten more mouthy about decorating recently. The blue that I LOVE in the kitchen, he asked me repeatedly not to paint it that. The dining room in our old house, BEGGED me not to paint it yellow, and in both instances it came out looking great and I wasn’t the only one who thought so (and he even liked it, too!). So now that I am in my third trimester (what the what? When did that happen? Where is time going??), I’m thinking I should start taking this baby #2 issue more seriously and start planning, esp. the nursery. I’ve scowered so many bedding themes and color schemes that it makes my head spin, but there was one that stuck out to me from the very beginning. It’s got two of my favorite colors (red and aqua), while also incorporating others so it could be more flexible.

Isn’t it so cool? Ah, I love it so much. Our decor is certainly not “mod” but I just love the bedding - the colors and the dots, LOVE IT. Tim, on the other hand, keeps saying it’s too feminine. He can’t see past the room as a whole in the picture and focuses on the “sterilness” of it. The bedding, for me, is just setting the stage for the colors. I want to do some fun prints on the wall, maybe a mural, make it my own. The more we talk about it the more we each dig our heels in on our opinions and neither will budge, which makes me say fun things like, “Fine! He just won’t have a nursery! It’ll just be white walls and a crib with a sheet!” and then I throw something small and harmless at him and storm out of the room (because sometimes even my own maturity astounds me).

The other option (since I’ve painstakingly narrowed it down to two) I like the colors a lot, but it’s more “themey” - we’re not really “themey” people, but it is cute and whimsical.

Yeah…I so want the dots. Disregard the border, the lamp, the rug, the hamper, we’re just doing the bedding. It is cute, but I just don’t know if I can commit to this. I keep fast forwarding in my mind to four months from now and every time I walk into Max’s room and I see those animals I’m going to say Tim’s name very harshly under my breath as I snarl. So now I need help - can I really not see Tim’s point of view? Are the dots too feminine? Are the animals too “themey”? Will Max have a room with white walls and a crib with a sheet? And can someone help me win this argument so Tim will see my side?? I can keep adding question marks until you understand the desperation in my words.

Okay, so between those two posts there were 56 comments. I guess that’s a good way to get people to come out of lurkdome - have a giveaway or get pregnant (and hello to all the de-lurkers - it’s great to finally *meet* you!). Either way, I appreciate all the words of support, both for the clutch and for little G-bean.

On the baby: We are very excited. VERY. We decided back in September that my reasons for not having another baby were selfish (seeing as Tim was ready for another awhile ago). So once I got over myself, we decided to let the chips fall where they may and a few very short weeks later I was blessed with my early symptoms: dull cramping and hormone-overload.It was so bad. I cried at everything, felt stressed and overwhelmed at everything - I was really scared that I was slipping back into my depression, but hark! That wasn’t the case. Tim kept insisting I was pregnant, but I wasn’t entertaining the thought yet.

Then I had a dream that I took about twenty pregnancy tests and all of them were either faulty or negative. Oh, and I was wearing a diaper. Like, a baby diaper but for my size. Don’t ask. So when I woke up I thought it was too early to take a test, but I might as well, so I did. I squinted and only saw the one line - didn’t even wait for the full 3 minutes since that first line popped up pronto - threw it away,went downstairs and started my day. Three hours later I went back into the bathroom to pee and Jaxon had pulled it out of the trash can (ewwwwww). I picked it up, glanced at it and holy crap there was a line. It was faint, but it was there (and I didn’t want to repeat the same thing when I was pregnant with Conner and the first test I took was a faint positive so I called the hotline number on the back of the box and harassed the lady for about twenty minutes, where she kept saying, “A line is a line - you’re pregnant!” and I kept saying, “Are you sure? It’s really faint!”). So a few days later I took another and that second line came up so stinking fast. So I’m like 99% sure I’m pregnant. (kidding)

And of course this occurs a month after I had finished losing the 25 pounds I put on when I went on anti-depressants and bought a fabulous pair of skinny jeans, but that really is okay - I have the rest of my life to be fit. And to add icing to my big fat prego cake, I get to experience this with a few of my closest friends. Not just people I know, but people I know and love and cherish. And our poor husbands can start a club. Or a refuge, depending on how many months/weeks/days/ are left.

Okay, now onto why you guys really checked my blog today: the winner of the clutch. I put everyone’s name in a bowl and had Conner pull one

Isn’t he the cutest little assistant?

and the winner is…

Congrats, Whitney! I will be emailing you shortly to get your mailing info. And the other 32 of you who did not win, I will (hopefully) be having another giveaway next week so check back for another chance.