Our Very Own Handcrafted Hardwood Dining Table

As promised here are the pictures of the dining table my sweet husband, Bryce, finished.  I can't even begin to describe how much I love it!  He is so talented.  He would never brag about himself so I'm fulfilling my wifely duty and bragging for him.  This is the fourth piece of furniture he's built for me.  When we were dating/engaged he built me a bookcase for Christmas, he also helped me build a headboard right before we were married, last year he built me an entryway bench, and now he has built our beautiful dining table.  I told him the style and design of what I wanted and I ordered steel hairpin legs that would go with the design of our chairs.  Bryce did all of the rest.  The wood he used is called Myrtle.  It is a beautiful hardwood with really unique coloring.  We were able to purchase the wood from one of my dad's good friends who is a carpenter.  It is a very simple design, which is exactly my taste.  I love that we now have such a beautiful piece of furniture that will be in our family for years to come. 

   

Weekend Recap

  Friday night Bryce and I were finally able to spend more than two hours together, hooray! His school is the pits sometimes.  Date nights are pretty rare lately.  I chose my favorite kind of date night staying home with a movie and treats. I'm such a homebody, I'm being completely serious when I say that is my favorite way to spend a night.


Growing up in my house a movie night was never complete without popcorn and m&ms. Bryce agrees with this requirement. We rented the movie Jack the Giant Slayer.  (We both thought it was okay, nothing spectacular).  While we watched the movie Bryce also worked a little on our dining table.

Rory chaperoned our date from her designated spot on the rug.

Saturday my sister Laci colored my hair.  I went back dark and I love the change.  My sister and I worked out a trade for me taking their family pictures she cuts and colors my hair.  It works out nicely for both of us.  

I did lots of cuddling with this girl while we waited for Bryce to get home from work Saturday night. 

    Bryce is so good to me and he is an incredibly hard worker.  After spending the whole day working he came home Saturday night and worked even more finishing up the table.  He knew how excited I was for it to be done.

 Rory was Bryce's "helper" and I took pictures to document the momentous occasion.  He finally finished everything at 2 a.m.  The table turned out fantastic.  I'm pretty lucky to have such a talented husband who helps carry out my endless list of ideas.  I'm saving the pictures of the finished table for a separate post, because it most definitely deserves its own (stay tuned)!

  

Pregnancy Update: 30 Weeks

How far along? 30 Weeks

How big is baby? About the size of a head of cabbage.  I had a doctor's appointment on Thursday and according to the ultrasound my doctor said she weighed around 3 1/2 pounds.  Something that made us laugh is at my appointment I was about 29.5 weeks along and when the doctor was checking and measuring her he said she had a 31 week size head.  Bryce said her head is big because she is already so smart ;).
Maternity clothes? Oh yes.  I feel like my belly has tripled in size over the last couple weeks.  I still wear a lot of my regular clothes but a lot of them look weird with my growing belly so my maternity clothes are now in constant rotation.
Stretch marks? Still none luckily, nothing new from the last update.

Sleep: I've been sleeping okay.  I still take at least two bathroom trips during the night and no matter how much sleep I get I always feel tired.  I might as well get used to it since that probably won't go away for the next several years ;)

Best moment of the week? Getting to see Claire on the ultrasound at my doctor's appointment on Thursday.  I love getting to see her once a month and receive reassurance that she is still doing great.

Food cravings?  Diet Pomegranate 7-UP!!  It is my favorite and I love when it comes out during the holidays.  I've been watching for it but I haven't seen it any stores yet.  If anyone does please let me know!  I will bake you cookies or something!

Symptoms?  Yucky heartburn every time I eat and lately I get it during the night and wake up from acid coming up my throat.  The round ligament pain hasn't been as bad the last week or so that's been nice to have a break from.      

Movement: She has had her legs up by my ribs on my right side lately.  She loves hanging out there and kicking me whenever I slouch or something.  I think she gets mad from getting squished when I have bad posture and she makes sure to let me know.

Gender? girl!

Belly button in or out? Still partially out.  It's not totally sticking out but I'm thinking it will get there soon.

Wedding rings on or off? on.
Anything making you queasy or sick?  I took my Glucose Tolerance Test on Thursday and that definitely wasn't my favorite thing in the world.  I felt so sick the rest of the day. I managed to keep everything down until eleven o clock pm....then I puked.  That makes the total number of times I have thrown up during my pregnancy two.  (I know I am still so lucky that I haven't been as sick as some women get!)

Happy or moody most of the time: I've been sooo happy the last couple of weeks.  I love the holidays.  They always get me so excited and put me in the best mood!  I just need Claire to hurry up and get here so I can celebrate all of the holidays with her.

Miss Anything?  No not really.
Labor Signs? Nope.  Let's hope these hold off for at least seven more weeks.  Then I wouldn't mind if I started seeing them a few weeks before my due date (every pregnant girl's dream, right?).
Looking Forward to? My first baby shower this next Saturday with the Leishman side of the family!  

A Month for Gratitude

  

  

I finally took down my Halloween decorations yesterday.  I decided leaving them up longer than a week after the holiday was over was pushing it a little.  I put up the two Thanksgiving decorations I have.....while I listened to Christmas music.  I am one of those weirdos who start listening to Christmas music on November 1st.  There is too much good music to limit to only one month of the year, so I allow it for two.  Bryce is still not sure where he stands on the issue, but after year three of doing it with me I think I'm winning him over on the idea. 

Every year I'm always tempted to skip Thanksgiving decorations and just put up my Christmas ones, but then every year I feel guilty not celebrating the month specifically set aside for gratitude.  I get so excited for Christmas time, it's hard for me not to jump ahead!  I really have so much to be grateful for, especially this year, so I'm trying hard to focus on gratitude over the next few weeks and let Christmastime wait until December (except for the music, that is something I refuse to wait for).

One thing I'm grateful for is having time to work on my to-do list before the baby comes.  It feels like I have so much time still but she will be here in only a little over two months!  I sewed a carseat cover for her last night.  It was so easy and I think it turned out pretty cute.  The top is the floral fabric and the bottom is yellow minky.  I wasn't really sure how to take a picture of it because you can't really tell what it is unless it is on the carseat.  But anyway, I think you get the idea.  

Another thing I am so grateful for is good friends.  I got the sweetest little package in the mail yesterday.  One of my best friends who I met when we were roommates my first year of college has moved across the country while her husband is going to law school.  Even while living across the country she remembered my birthday and sent me a birthday/baby gift.  She sent me two little baby spoons engraved with Claire's name.  I teared up when I opened the package and saw them.  They are just so darling and it was so thoughtful of her. (Thanks Michelle you are the sweetest!!!)  Bryce thought I was crazy for crying over baby spoons.  I didn't even bother trying to explain it to him and we just left it at pregnancy hormones.

   

Watch Me Grow: 36 Weeks

      

It's time for Rory's 36 week update.  She now weighs 50 pounds so by Ron Swanson's standards she is no longer a cat.  I bought her a new toy today from the dollar aisle at Target.  I used her toy to bribe her to sit for some pictures.

 

After a few pictures she started to get impatient.  She barked vehemently to let me know she was rather annoyed.

 

I decided she finally had enough and handed it over.  She was so excited!  She sniffed and played with it on her own for a few minutes and than she kept bringing it to me to play fetch with her....for an hour and a half!!  I should be more selective when I buy toys for her in the future.

24 Years Old

Yesterday was my 24th Birthday!  Bryce got me a new pair of boots (that I may have picked out myself).  I loooove them.  My old pair was going on their third year of use, and it showed.  I was really excited to get a new pair just in time for winter.

Bryce still wanted to surprise me with something so he brought me a yellow rose when he came home from work.  He is the sweetest.

I love having my birthday on Halloween, every year I have an automatic excuse to dress up.  This year, if you didn't see the picture in the last post, for Halloween Bryce & Rory dressed up as Bakers and I was a "Bun in the Oven."  Rory definitely stole the show.  She was by far the cutest out of our little family group.

After Bryce and I both got home from work and were all dressed up in our costumes we went to my parents house for my birthday dinner/family Halloween party.  We had my mom's homemade chilli and homemade bread for dinner, one of my very favorite meals!  We visited together, ate our fair share of Reeses, and cuddled lots with our little niece Lydia.  It's so much fun to see her but at the same time it's like torture because it makes me sooo excited for my baby to get here.

Bryce and I have plans to continue the birthday celebrating all weekend long.  I'm feeling pretty spoiled.  I think this is going to be one of my favorite birthdays.  I am so ready for what my 24th year of life is going to bring!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the Leishman Family Bakers & our little bun in the oven!