LJK

Well, here it is. The post you've all been waiting for. We have chosen a name for Baby Boy Keyes! After much debate and searching, we finally resorted to reading through the boy names in the baby name book I have at home. Jason read through them, and I wrote down the ones we liked. We added these to our existing list, and then started narrowing it down. Jason marked his favorites and then I marked mine. We eliminated any we didn't both like. Then we started playing around with middle names. This all happened Thursday night September 22. We thought it over of a day or so and are now happy to announce that Baby Boy Keyes has a name....

Lawson Jace Keyes

Lawson is one we found in the book and it just fits. For me, I put it at the top of the list as soon as Jason read it out loud. Jason came up with Jace, and I think it works great with Lawson! So, another milestone in the crazy process of bringing a child into the world. One more step toward meeting out sweet baby boy.

Lawson Jace Keyes, we cannot wait to meet you!!

Mandy

24 Weeks

This week marks the 24th week of my pregnancy. Essentially, 6 months! There are days when it seems like it has gone by so fast, but there are also days when I wonder if January will ever get here. Either way, time is passing and progress is being made. I'm getting bigger and bigger and so is Baby Boy Keyes. At this point, he weighs over a pound (maybe even two) and is about as big as an eggplant or ear of corn (depending on which site you look at). I have my next doctor's appointment in a week, so I'll give a weight gain update, etc. then. For now, here are this week's pictures.

Yay for making it through 24 weeks! Stay tuned for more exciting updates.

Mandy

23 Weeks

I've officially been called out for not updating my blog in a timely manner. I apologize for the delay. To be honest, I think of it when I'm sitting on my couch at like 9p, and don't want to get up and do it. Then, I forget the next day and so on...

Here is the 23 week picture. Someone asked me last week if I had gone back and looked at all my pictures from the beginning of my blog to present. Well, now I have, and HOLY COW! I know I'm getting bigger, but it's interesting (and a little shocking) to see it happen in pictures.

I don't have a ton of updates this week, as a lot of things are still in progress. Jason is plugging along on getting that new shop built. Bless his heart. First it was 115 degrees outside and now it wants to rain.

I purchased two...well sort of three more letters for the alphabet wall this week. I now have D, E, U, W, K, J and the & symbol (to go with Z).

Carla and our moms are planning the first baby shower, so that's super exciting. Much of it will be a surprise, and I can't wait! I'll be sure to post lost of pictures and a recap after (that won't be until November). The KKLJ (Katie, Katy, Laura, Jill) crew are also planning and have a date on the books as do the ladies at my office. That's THREE showers! We are so very blessed (see blog about being overwhelmed) :-).

And, the question most popular question: "Have you picked a name?"

Nope. We have a list of possibilities that we're considering and we're staying open to new options as well. We can't decide if we are hesitant to pick one of the names on the current list because we like them all or because none of them are THE name....what if THE name is still out there and we haven't even considered it yet? This is a big decision, but as soon as we have made our choice, I'll let ya know.

Mandy

22 Weeks

This weekend marked the 22 week point in our journey to meet Baby Boy Keyes. We're more than half way!! Things are slowing coming together. Here's the update on a few things I've been working on (as well as this weeks pic):

Cleaning Out Baby's Room
I've made progress on cleaning out the junk that's in what used to be our spare room (now the baby's room). I've reorganized some things, and I've thrown some things out (I might have been a little hasty when I did this as I have already had a few regrets :-).) The problem is the room is now fuller than ever because I have boxes and boxes of baby clothes from my sister (Tina) and Carla. I'm pumped to have the clothes, but holy cow where am I going to put it all!?!?!?

The Shop (i.e. cleaning out the baby's room cont...)
As some of you may know, Jason is going to build a new shop, which will ultimately lead to more storage space out of the baby's room (really Mandy space to be honest). There has been much talk of this alleged shop, and this weekend Jason and some friends made some progress.

The old shop has been demolished!!! Jason hopes to have all the rubble out of the yard by the weekend.

Registries

We are officially registered at two of three places on our list. Jason went with me for one, and I ventured out to do the second by myself yesterday while he demoed the old shop. One more stop and we're good to go. Carla is going to go with me to spot number three, so that will be a fun lunch trip!

Photography

I've officially scheduled my maternity picture shoot for the end of October! Jason and I hope to come away with some great shots of us (including my huge belly) and maybe even some fall leaves. I've also officially booked a newborn photographer for the week Baby Boy Keyes arrives. SO EXCITING!

Decor

I mentioned last week that the fabric for bedding has been purchased (check!) Now have five letters for my alphabet wall! Only 21 to go!! :-) Katie first showed me a picture of this concept, and I loved it. Here are sample pics of what I have in mind.

If you have suggestions of where I might find just about any size/shape of letter, let me know.

I realize this is probably enough information for more than one post, but there it is just the same. I'll keep you posted on any new developments. Perhaps someday soon we'll have a name!

Mandy

Fabric Shopping

Some of you may know that I went fabric shopping on Saturday with my oldest pal Carla. It was a highly productive day! We found pretty  much all of the fabric for Baby Boy Keyes' bedding. Below is a picture that inspired the design and a picture of some of the fabric:

The bedding will follow this design in many ways, but the color scheme will be different.

We are using these prints on bedding and the diaper stacker and accenting with cream (curtains), brown and blue (on the bedding).

If you've spent any time with me at all you've heard me talk about my pal Carla and how FABULOUS she is. Well, she's proving it again because she is making the bedding!!!! Have I mentioned that she's AWESOME? Once it's all finished, I'll post pics of the nursery (which still has a whole lot of junk in it right now...).

Mandy

20 Weeks

I've made it past half way!! Hooray!!! As of this post, I'm at 20 weeks and five days. We had a doctor's appointment and ultrasound this week, so I thought I'd share what we learned.

Baby Boy Keyes (still no name, but we're working on it...and are open to suggestions) is growing and is healthy. He weights about 14 ounces and is like 10 inches long! I just can't believe how big he's gotten...or how much bigger he will get :-). He is still due to arrive January 14, 2012. I am feeling his movements more and more every single day, and I LOVE it! We purchased a DVD of the ultrasound (best $3 we ever spent), and I just love watching it and seeing my little boy moving around. It's crazy to know he's in there right now moving around. What a miracle!!! I thought about having someone show me how to post the video on the blog, but decided I will spare you all (although if you're interested, just say the word...I never get tired of watching it.)

I am staying healthy too. No complications. Praise the LORD! Everything is going well. I'm feeling great these days too. I've gained another three pounds (for a total of nine since my first appointment in late May). Here are this week's pictures:

I'll have new belly pics next week, and hopefully I'll have fabric for the bedding. Carla and I are going shopping on Saturday!! And, eventually, we WILL have a name too.

Mandy