the bump groweth.

move moreth.

press on bladder more ofteneth.

and am trying to smile through it all.

wow, what a 24 hour freak show. have never been in my state yourself?

imagine this—it's as if all of your internal organs are suddenly and sporadically flailing themselves around inside your body. jabs here. punches there. body slams here. head butts there. those who HAVE been in this state, did i miss this when you mentioned it to me??? i recall mentions of kicks here & there, but not inner tornadoes.

anyway, yeah, he's taking up more space. my bump's popping out with more aplomb and hey! i'm suddenly in my 3rd trimester.

holy cow.

AND THEN THEY WERE FRAMED

my watercolors are framed and ready for hanging in L's nursery.

i've also gotten a sneak peek at two additional, handcrafted/painted creations for his room that i'm utterly in love with too. one is so very darling, the other one manages to tie in my moon & star theme with THE CURE.

know me and know that is my fave band on planet earth.

L is loved.

already.

& that is so cool.

SO WE'VE DECIDED

we're just going to hang here, just like so,

and wait for this famous baby L to arrive.

i mean, we're dying to meet this little person

as a lot of fuss is being made about him.

and because we're so damn cute ourselves,

we figure it's cool if we just wait here.

around like, 100 days to go?

see you soon, kiddo!

love,

toodee & eebee

So am starting to feel like Gretel.

Of Hansel & Gretel. In that a German is attempting to plump me up, no doubt. Buying me canisters of mixed nuts, dark chocolate & cherry kashi bars, whole wheat crackers and cheese, yogurt, etc. etc. etc. Pretty certain he has no intentions of baking me though, which is such a relief. ;-) Oh those Brothers Grimm. Something tells me am going to be plunged into their dark little world in years to come...

LOOK WHAT LIAM GOT IN THE MAIL YESTERDAY

assuming he's as consumed by the moon as his mom,

THIS is going to be cool. it actually glows softly, mirroring the various

phases of the moon. thank you SOOOOO much, jen!

dear liam,

last night i was looking at this magazine your dad brought home from an OB/GYN office and it got my brain all worked up (birth photos are seriously scary). and well, can i ask something huge of you? can you be just as impatient as both myself and your father and 1) COME EARLY + 2) COME FAST. please. i beg.

what i'm saying is, when the big day comes, say, mid july rather than late?, don't hesitate, make your debut promptly (please, no long drawn out affair). sounds great right? you're in? cool. good. see you in a few months!

love,

me

THIS IS YOUR CLOSET, KIDDO.

and it's quite full already.

will be mad fun to dress you for however long you let me.

can't wait to find out what YOU'RE into.

what you love.

what you hate.

your favorite color.

your favorite toy.

p.s. you're never playing American football.

love,

me

p.s. wooden letters were acquired at Michael's crafts, as were glittery stars. they were stickers but i glued them on with liquid nails so liam can have these letters hanging in his room for the rest of his life. ;-)

little details. for little liam.

THANK YOU

just wanted to take a heartfelt minute to say thank you.

to liam.

you are too good to me, kiddo.

so far so good.

with my 'expect the worst, hope for the best' life mantra well in tact,

am expecting this whole journey to become hellish any minute now.

but so far it hasn't.

so L, sweet boy, thank you SO much for never making me puke.

for letting me go to Ultra Music Festival and actually enjoy it three days straight.

and allowing me to wear a great deal of my normal clothes to this day.

i'm going to spoil the stars out of you (already am) as thanks!

maybe you know that?

you did JUST kick me.

p.s. another thank you is in order. my dear little brother surprised me with the fab blog banner above. thanks jameykins!

COMPLIMENTS & TANKINIS
i just received, quite possibly, the nicest compliment ever. EVER.
so genuine and unexpected. and it happened coming out of a bathroom stall.
"Oh! i LOVE that outfit. Oh my gosh so much that it makes me want to be pregnant. I want to be pregnant just to wear exactly that. I really do. I love it."
i was touched. i needed to hear that. such a quirky, heartfelt statement like that works wonders for a growing girl that can't wear any of her bikinis or jeans anymore. that has been searching high and low for a new bathing suit she feels comfortable, yet stylish in (AND NOT MATRONLY OR DULL)—just over all, yeah, i needed that AND the tankini i found below on a site i've never ever heard of... (didn't really see one other thing I wanted from them, but the bathing suit alone made my day, well, that and the compliment. as i near the final stretch i fear a crazy dread about what the HELL i'm going to look like and WHAT i'm going to wear. and please, allow me this "petty" preoccupation—let me be distracted by it for now, please, because yes, i know there are MUCH bigger fish to fry coming up around the corner...

L's ROOM in PROGRESSbook shelf & armoire

uh oh, seems someone thinks the blue bear floor mat was acquired for her...

and this is a small little hint of what L's room will look like by night.

i promise to upload more photos, these were just a couple snapped saturday after the german, the other german & i made major headway on L's very own little starry space.

thank you, uncle marcus!

thank you, tim!

DO YOU HAVE ONE OF THESE?
is this what i do when i need to take a shower or something?
just tie L to a chair. i mean it's a rocket print, it matches my theme.
but REALLY?
maybe next they'll have a cute print design
that allows me to tie a child to a tree outside?
am i missing something?
i find this little contraption weird.
but hey, if you don't, get one here.

LAST NIGHT
it began & happened again this a.m.
the feeling that Liam is suddenly the length of me, horizontally,
stretching out and flailing all his limbs.
prior, what i'd felt was a swift kick here, a quick punch there,
(neither of which hurt, YET.)
but in the last 24 hours my entire uterus has been in action.
and it's WEIRD,
& cool.
but yeah, weird.
i know now, with absolute certainty, that he throws his little dance parties the moment i'm dead still AND lying on my back. i have tested & confirmed this hypothesis all this week. again, baby-producing vets may be reading this, rolling their eyes and uttering big fat "DUHs". but it's major. because UNTIL NOW, besides the moments i was staring at L on an ultrasound, it wasn't real. it's real now. the monster is letting his thriving presence be known.

p.s. fun fun fun! just had another nose bleed. 'twas a gusher. just noticed. it's all over my pale pink tank. AWESOME. #grrr

WAIT WHAT!?
TOPSHOP HAS MATERNITY FASHION
pinch me. am dreaming....i've died & gone to favorite-london-store-in-the-world heaven. check it: TOPSHOP maternity.

If the Shape Fits Eebee Doll

is now Liam's.

i don't even know what eebee IS but

i found this little guy so cute. and

when i saw the photo of the random

baby model wearing this eebee doll's shapes

on her? own wrist i pictured the future

baby L doing the same thing & clicked purchase

like a lightning bolt. am going to look up this Eebee thing now.

supposedly award winning?

what a brave new world to discover...

in other news
SHAME ON YOU TOKIDOKI.
a gun-toting cartoon cow?!
surrounded by bullets!
for a baby!?
#FAIL

fail fail fail fail.

was soooooo stoked to see a tokidoki baby sale on zulily,

but my bubble bursted LOUD

when i saw a docile little cow being

turned into a violent A-hole.

ugh.

AND PARTY EVERYDAY.

why do you decide, the very second that i'm actually chill & still,
that you want to rock & roll all night?
because you're mine, that's why.
trust L, i want to too, but a girl's gotta work.
grrr's & giggles.
your night owl/insomniac/ridiculously
light sleeping mom

GOOD LORD HAS MY
APPETITE SKY ROCKETED.

someone is determined to grow, and demanding that i inhale something every five seconds. i can eat a spinach burrito, a side salad and a healthy handful of cinnamon almonds (my lunch on saturday) and scarf down a bowl of cereal an hour later. i feel it's out of my control and am trying crazy hard to make sure that all the crap i am shoveling down isn't crap, for the most part. nevertheless the bump is making itself known and the scale is making me want to puke (don't worry, i won't. i don't!) and as a thank you? liam is kicking the mess out of me. so much so that if i lay really still i can watch my stomach jump up and down and all around. for A LOT of you, all of this is nothing new. but holy WOW is it madness for a 1st timer...
here you go,
THE BUMP

I Have Already Run Out of Hangers
Thus, the additional darling little Liam attire acquisitions have not been photographed & gushed about. Once I track down hangers like the ones I've already filled up, I'll be back in business. ;-) Fellow pregnant co-workers were immensely surprised I've already began filling up Liam's closet. Really!? Spent the weekend hanging with my mom & dad and was so excited to see the little Kids Ink romper my mom so stylishly found for baby L. I had to snap a close-up of the little boy & pup over the moon amidst stars. SO PERFECT. Mom & I also spent quality time crafting together. And that's when I whipped up the below wooden blocks.
While I was away, the German kindly slaved over L's crib, armoire and bookshelf. He also made the bed which is so. stinkin'. cute. so the nursery is well underway! photos to come...

AND SO IT BEGINS
fabric samples sent to me from germany. i ?think? for handmade bed linens (sheets, pillows, blankets?) i said "really cute. but she DOES know the nursery theme right? stars, moons, rockets, robots? i love the flowers but aren't they girlie? the german groaned. i said "did you have flowery decor & such as a baby?" he said "yeah...."
right.