And the count down begins...

I'm 7.5  months pregnant, and I have to say, I am at the part where I am remembering how awesome not being pregnant is and how uncomfortable being pregnant is.  So my new plan is each week to post a picture, give some insight on what's going on with me and the little dude.

So at 30 weeks...

• Due to bean's movements I cannot sleep for more than 3 hours without having to get up
• Some of my maternity clothes are feeling snug
• A 2-3 block walk can be a challenge
• Bean must be growing because I am hungry and exhausted all the time
• On Sunday, for the first time ever, I ate pickles and ice cream (although not together).  I had chicken nuggets and pickles, and then ice cream.
• Baby is apparently the size of a cucumber.
• This week's doctor's appointment is my last monthly appointment, I'll be seeing them every two weeks now.
• Bean is kicking up a storm, so I'm not sure how he's going to gain any fat since he's very wiggly.
• Its been really hot lately.  I could go for a mojito or a gin and tonic (don't worry, my go to bar drink is a Shirley Temple).  I'm glad we have AC.  I'd be a lot happier if it was like 70 degrees out instead of high 80s.
• This is the first week where I feel so big that I can't do much.  Before it was a shouldn't. 

Didn't get a chance to get a picture this week sorry! I've been waiting since Wednesday to post this for one, and I just haven't had the chance!

Naming Baby Bean

Does anyone think its harder to name Baby #2?

We already came up with perfect name once.  But now, whatever we choose will start a tradition and has to be just as perfect.

• What if we choose another C name, then all of our future kids names should start with a C.  Or the one that doesn't will think we hate them or something. That would also make this blog confusing.
• If we choose two family names again, do we have to do that with all of our kids? What if we start running out of names that we like, that are also family names?  How far back to do you go?  My mom has a family tree book that goes back to the 1600's, do those names count?  Last time we picked two of grandfathers' names, does this mean we should always pair up names like this (like my dad, his dad or our other grandfathers?)
• Do the traditions have to apply to both genders?  Luckily this time its another boy, so we don't have to worry about this yet.
• One of the reasons I love C's name that it has multiple nicknames, so if he decides he doesn't like the one we use, he still has plenty to pick from.  Should we eliminate a name because it only has one "normal" nickname?

Our current rules:

• First name cannot belong to anyone in our generation of our family (siblings & cousins).
• Middle name can share the name of someone of our generation, if the intention was to name them after someone of an older generation.
• Must be a traditional spelling and name. We want people to be able to know how to say our kids name and not have any trouble spelling it.  Plus after spending 5 years of looking over resumes, I just want any future employer to be able to call our kid for an interview without trying to guess how to say their name.
• Can't end with a "K" sound, since our last name starts with one.  It just doesn't sound great.
• Can't rhyme with our last name.
• No double initials for first and middle name, like A.A. (oh that would be awful, everything monogramed would be AKA!)
• No juniors (M doesn't feel comfortable naming babies after him, and I think sometimes it can be confusing from my experience as a telefundraiser - especially if both dad and son attend the college).

Other things to consider:

• What will their initials spell?  Monograms?  Does it spell out any sort of offensive/infamous groups (like would you want your kids initials to be KGB?)
• What could be potential email addresses/usernames? (like I read a story about a Fran Atkins, whose work username/email was fatkins).
• What if Prince William and Princess Kate pick our name?  We like traditional names, family names, and I'm first generation English-American, its quite likely we are looking at the same lists.  I don't want anyone to think we named Bean after the future King of England.  But then again does it matter, since it is so traditional?  Its not like we've suddenly decided that North is the best name ever.

So I think we have a first name for the little dude, I'm 85% sold, but it's been a lot of back and forth.  Once we came up with C's name I knew it was right, even though M wanted to wait to see the baby before giving a final yes.  (He thought there was a chance that the baby might not look like the name we picked, despite my telling him that all babies look like babies when they are born and not like specific names.)  The middle name is still up for debate.  I just want us to be on the same page come the last week of August, so that when the baby is born we can give an answer right away (I know you actually have like 15 days or something, but what do you call the baby in the mean time? Plus can you imagine announcing on facebook, "Baby has arrived, 8lbs 7oz, 21 inches long, no name yet."  Like that's one of your first big decisions as a parent, and you've had about 40 weeks to decide (unless you end up on that I didn't know I was pregnant show), shouldn't you just make a decision?)  

So why is #2 so much harder to name?  In theory, we already know what names we like, so should we just pick the next name on the list?  So for those of you who have been there, how do you pick the perfect name for a second time (or 3rd, 4th, 5th...)  What are your rules and thoughts on names?

Crafty Stuff

The one good thing about this past week is that I have completed a ton of craft projects (some have been "in progress" since 2010!

I forgot to mention when going over my goals, I did make the living room curtains!  I also made matching pillows with the leftover fabric.  Earlier this month, I used some of the fabric to cover a side table (I bought years ago in the As-Is Section of IKEA, the top has a giant price tag on it, so it's always covered up).  The fabric in this project is Heather Bailey's Pop Garden Sway-Brown.

This pillow was "designed" by myself and just filled with fiber.

This pillow used a pillow form for its stuffing.

This is the table, I found something to make this easier to do was to use Iron on transfer paper to get it to stick to the top, then I stapled gun/glue gunned the underside.

For some reason this is upside down, but this is the right side of the curtain.

This is the back side (what you'll see looking into the house).

 The second project I completed was a baby sweater for my friend who is due in January.  I made the decision to make this project on a whim when I found the yarn at JoAnn Fabrics.  The yarn is Red Heart Team Spirit in Burgundy/Gold, the burgundy is much closer to crimson than what I think of as burgundy.  Crimson and Gold were our fraternity colors in college - and my friend and her husband are both brothers, so it only seemed natural that their baby would have something in those colors. This was my first time working with self-striping yarn, I think in the future I would buy extra yarn or choose a pattern that didn't create the jacket in one go.  It's the just the stripes are different sizes in the front, back, and sleeves.  The pattern I used was from Lion Brand's Crochet Baby Christening Set (which I had previously made for C.)  It's a free pattern on Lion Brand's site.

Love the penguin buttons, in honor of the fraternity bird.

 The very last project to mention was the start of my gift tote bags!  This year I've decided to make some tote bags as part of people's gifts rather than using wrapping paper.  The first one I made is for my sister E's birthday gift.  I used this tutorial from Skip to My Lou.  I'm pretty happy with this bag and plan on using the pattern to create other bags (I love that it allows the flexibility to change sizes).

Finished bag

Stuffed with goodies

Lining inside

 Have a good night and a fun weekend!  I hope to get another project finished before my next post!