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The pretty crib and wall mural. You can't tell from this picture but the flowers are covered in fabrics from the bedding and are 3D so they stick off the wall.We have made good progress in the nursery. The walls are painted, the mural is painted, the curtains are made and hung, the furniture has arrived, the bedding is almost finished (courtesy of and many thanks to the amazingly talented Brenda Mangold), and little by little the final touches are falling into place.
Glider and Dresser which are now in different locations.
Accent pillows made by Brenda Mangold. So cute!The furniture is dark espresso stained and the gilder is upholstered in chocolate chenille with a subtle geometric square pattern on it. 
Curtain panel and sheer panel with a view outside and of one of the bookcases. This was my first attempt at curtain making. Do not look closely. My sewing machine revolted in a few places.
My Grandma Harriet left this set of plates to me. She purchased these because the little girl reminded her of me. I couldn't remember what colors they had in them and I was so happy not only to see that three of them are blue, but that these same three plates have a little girl holding or watching birds. Perfect!We have been spending more time in the nursery too. Derrick and I will go in there and put the ipod on Clara's playlist (yes Derrick started her very own play list) and take turns rocking in the glider and talking. It's so relaxing in there. I can't wait for her to see it.
These handmade flowers will help to make the mobile. They were also made by Brenda Mangold.
Little Clara's closet is beginning to fill up with cute girly things. My friend, Tina, in California gave us the cute organizers to divide clothes by size. Right up my alley. :)Even Boomer likes the nursery, although he is not so sure about the new family member in my tummy. He gets very jealous when Derrick talks to my belly or feels the baby kick. I think he will be a good big fluffy brother though. He's so sweet and protective.
Another view of the hand quilted flowers for the mobile.I hope to have finished pictures in the next week or so, but until then, here is a picture of the much enlarged bump. I am 32 weeks on Tuesday. Less than 9 weeks to go. I cannot BELIEVE she will be here in 2 months! To be honest, I am totally and absolutely ready to meet her. Derrick might be more ready than me (probably because he is ready to have his energetic, non-moaning wife back) and asks Baby Clara, "When are you coming to see Daddy." This of course melts my heart and makes me love him even more.
Boomer thinks Clara's room is the perfect place for a nap.
...and a stretch...Oh and I have been working on little projects for her too. I made this taggy blanket and a boat load of hair bows. I will post pictures on the hair bows later because there are a ton of them.
First taggy blanket attempt. I made one for my friend Terri too. 
Before we started planning to try for this baby, we talked about nurseries and how we would not have a pink room if it was a girl. She would have enough pink in her life from dresses to pj's and toys. Plus, neither one of us could imagine so much pink in our gender neutral house.
Her nursery, pre paint (Derrick was getting the room ready to paint)Fast forward to June, we found out it was a girl and I started looking into nursery ideas. When I first started thinking about the nursery, I decided to look at all kinds of bedding and the rest of the nursery would come from there. The first bedding I loved was a Dwell Studio baby bedding called Dragonfly. It has bright yellow, chocolate brown, white and the palest pink you've ever seen. I started imagining the room and just really liked the whole idea...then I showed the bedding to Derrick. He vetoed it immediately saying, "I thought we weren't going to do pink."
The Dwell Baby Dragonfly Bedding- super cute, but vetoedSo, I started looking at bedding that was girly, but not pink. There were not that many choices out there. That's when I found the Serena and Lily website. I just loved the Rye Bedding. It was simple and clean and could be turned into a relaxing girly paradise. Derrick approved it too. Then I looked at the pricetag. $500 for THREE pieces. Really? I know it is the nursery and you only get to plan it once, but I would rather invest that money on her crib, the glider or her entire stroller/carseat getup.
Serena and Lily Rye Bedding- beautifulAllison, one of the best friends a girl can have, has the best mom, Brenda, who can sew up a storm. She made Allison's nursery bedding (which is amazing) and generously agreed to make ours. I was so excited! Not only would I not have to spend $500 on three pieces, but this baby girl's bedding would be made with love from someone I love. Hurray! I traveled through the greater DFW area searching for the right fabrics and finally found them all. They are now safe with Brenda being made into something wonderful and I can't wait to see it! It definitely has the color scheme of the Rye bedding, but with a girly, funky twist.
Her crib and dresser (we didn't need an armoire)A few weeks ago we ordered Clara's furniture- a convertible crib with an espresso stain that not only converts to a toddler bed, but also a full sized bed. She'll have it for life. -a double dresser with six drawers that will act as the changing table for the first few years. -and a glider. The glider was lovingly provided by Derrick's parents, Pops and Noni. It is pretty big and covered in a chocolate chenille with a geometric print. I love it! Thanks, Pops and Noni!
One of the bookshelves in her room (Derrick brought her the "pudgy bucky" from a conference)In the meantime, while we wait for furniture and bedding to arrive, we have started preparing the nursery. Derrick painted the closet this weekend (it was blue and the wrong color of blue and really needed a facelift) and Tuesday night he painted the nursery. The color is Latte by Sherwin Williams and it's perfect! I sewed new liners for the baskets I found at Hobby Lobby. The fabric is one of the fabrics for her bedding. I am now working on the curtain sheers. I have finished one of them. It's a white cotton with a blue/tealy raised dot. I love it!
The baskets I just lined with one of her fabrics. I love my sewing machine!
The fabric for her curtain sheers. This fabric is the most "baby" thing in the room. Oh- I also found a super cute lamp at Pier One. I added ribbon details and a covered button. The covered button is fabric from her bedding too. It's a funky retro floral with blue, turquoise, pink, chocolate, ivory, white, orange and green.
The cool lamp from Pier One with the embellishmentsAbove her crib, I am going to apply a tree branch wall decal and to the decal I am adding little blue birds and 3-dimensional flowers. Above the tree branch I am paiting her name "Clara" in a very girly font. Allison's mom is making quilted flowers for her mobile and I am putting the mobile together. I ordered the hanger for it yesterday.
It's hard to see, but this is the mobile hangerSo, it's all coming together. I am really getting excited and I love this planning phase. I can't wait for the room to be complete and I promise to post pictures as soon as I can.
This great bird painting was painted for me by my Aunt Dale for Christmas last year. It goes perfectly in her room.
Today, I turn 30. I really can't believe it. How did 30 get here so fast? In so many ways I feel like I just graduated from high school and college. I remember the days when I thought 30 was old. I don't feel old. I feel young...and pregnant. I am officially past the half way mark in the pregnancy and I thought from this point out, I would keep a better update of how things are going.
So, to update, IT'S A GIRL! Clara Charlise Morgan will be here in less than four months. I can't believe how fast time has flown! We have accomplished many things in preparing for her, but still have many things to do as well. We have ordered the crib and dresser, the glider and the fabric has been mailed to my amazing friend Allison's very talented mother who will sew a miracle (she's so talented). We picked out and purchased the paint and I have started picking up little accents for her room here and there. I am going to attempt to make the curtain panels myself, which I need to start and I have pretty much wrapped up the registry. We are booked for our birthing class and feeding class and next week I have my super exciting glucose test. So far I am feeling really great, other than terrible sciatica in my left bum area. It really smarts and may be the most painful thing I have experienced to date. I am sucking it up though. I have been to the chiropractor, tried stretches, warm baths and I am currently sitting on an icepack. Nothing seems to relieve it. The doctor says my hips are spreading and that combined with the baby gives a lot of pressure to that nerve. I just want to be able to walk without looking like I'm 80.
I am 23 weeks and Baby Clara is 11" long and weighs about 1 pound. She can hear sounds, voices and music and can feel movement like the sway of dancing. We can't wait to meet her!
I hope everyone is doing well! Here are some of the latest ultrasound pictures:
Her perfect little hand
Both of her not so tiny feet (I think they look huge!)
Her profile
She sucks her left thumb, which is cute because Derrick is left handed.
I am officially 20 weeks as of Tuesday and Friday could not get here fast enough! We have our 20 week ultrasound on Friday morning and we will find out if there is really a little girl in there. I am so excited and nervous at the same time. It would be pretty funny if the doctor told us it was a boy after we have imagined a little girl, started registering for a girl and planned the nursery (we have not painted or anything...yet). We will be happy with whatever we are blessed with. We just want a healthy baby.
I think I have started feeling little flutters/movements, but I am not 100% sure. I will say that on Friday, this baby did a somersault in my belly and it was the weirdest/coolest feeling. I can't imagine what it will be like when the kicks really get started. I am really ready for Derrick to be able to feel the baby move so he can have something he experiences other than a sleepy wife.
As of this week, Baby Morgan is about 10 inches long from head to toe and about 6.5 inches long from head to bum. I still can't believe how fast this process flies by. Before we know it, December will come and we will have a baby, a little person to love who will have us all wrapped around their little finger (ahem...Derrick).
Our parents are so very excited. Billye practices holding any baby she can get her hands on, my mom is already trying to schedule her visit and Derrick's dad is so over the moon. He said, "I just am afraid I won't be able to tell the baby no." He of course says this about 3 minutes before he asks me how old the baby has to be before they ride in a go cart!! We are going to have one spoiled little person on our hands!
Boomer knows something strange is going on. He is very snugly (more than usual), super needy and pouts like crazy. It's going to be interesting to see how he reacts when the baby is actually here. Friends have given us a few gifts and he loves to smell and root through them. One of the gifts is a little green stuffed elephant and I know he thought it was for him. Poor Boomer. His world is about to rock.
I hope to update again soon and be a better blogger. That first trimester really did a number on me. I was so tired and nauseous, but I am feeling like my old self again.
I have been a terrible, basically non-existent blogger as of late. I swear it has been for several good reasons. The main reason being that nausea and exhaustion took over my life for several weeks and I am just beginning to feel like myself again. Pregnancy is a magical thing, but feeling like I have a permanent hang over is something I could do without.
Yesterday Derrick and I had a 13 week appointment complete with ultrasound. The doctors did some early testing for chromosomal defects (Down Syndrome, etc.) and provided an ultrasound. It was amazing! In just 6 weeks the little bean we saw at first turned into a baby. We saw the toes, feet, hands and fingers, the head, profile, brain, heart beating and round tummy. The heart beat was 163 beats per minute and that baby was wiggling up a storm!
The doctor also provides a gender prediction. They are accurate 95+% of the time and only have 1-2 false predictions a year. The prediction....GIRL! Derrick and I were in shock. For some reason we have had boy on the brain. We are happy with whatever God blesses us with, but now we have to get used to the idea of pink, bows and girly things. We have the official gender ultrasound in July, but this lets us call the baby "her" instead of "it" which I like a lot better. I am starting to show a bit which is SO WEIRD but exciting! I know the next 6 months are going to fly by. I hope you are all doing well!
I may be late in posting this, but I am not late in celebrating. Derrick's birthday was Friday. We have been having all sorts of fun, so I am just now getting around to posting. Friday night we drove into Addison and went to 300 Bowl. It was so nice. It may be the nicest bowling facility either one of us had visited. 
You grab a lane and they bring your shoes and ball to your lane. You have a server while you bowl who takes your order for drinks and food. We played 4 games and Derrick beat me every time. It's okay, I will bring my mad bowling skills next time.
After bowling we stopped by the Flying Saucer for a beer before heading home. Can I just tell you that both Derrick and I are sore from bowling. We are officially out of shape and getting old.
Saturday, I had a whole day planned. We drove into Dallas and had a late breakfast (basically brunch by the time we got there) at Lucky's Cafe. So good. They have such a friendly staff, great coffee and it is a great spot for people watching. After our late breakfast, we headed to Ft. Worth for a tour of the Rahr Brewery. Neither one of us knew what to expect, but I guess we both imagined it would be like the wineries we visited in California. A little quiet spot with a nice walking tour of the beer making process. Boy were we wrong. It was a very laid back operation that was hopping with live music and tons of people. It was a blast!
We will definitely be visiting again. Every Saturday fro 1pm-3pm they offer the "tour". $5 buys you a pint glass and a few tokens for beer tasting. From 2-3 they offer a free tour which is basically a quick visit through the metal building telling how they make the beer. Top that off with BBQ, burgers, live music and perfect weather and we were in heaven. It would be a great spot for an event too.
After our visit to the brewery we headed to downtown Ft. Worth. I had originally planned for us to visit the Arabian horse show or Ft. Worth dog show, but it was D's birthday and he just wanted to sit outside and relax. So we visited Razoo's for an afternoon snack on the patio. The weather was perfect. It was nice to just spend time together after we had both been out of town all of the last weekend and week. We headed home and spent the evening watching movies and hanging out. So fun. I have to say I cannot believe this was our 6th birthday to spend together. Time flies when you are having fun and we are definitely having fun.
Oh and for his big birthday gift, I got him tickets to the Ron White Comedy show in April. Hurray! He is so funny. Happy Birthday, Derrick! I love you more and more and more every day.
