Merry Yule TILINGS!

Week 18

House news:

The majority of the tiling of the bathroom's was done this past week and Jim and I are pleased with the results so far. You will notice that the accent tile for all of the bathrooms are similar...I guess if you like something stick with it. My tile nightmare is over! I think my hatred for tile stems from how overpriced everything is. Of course the tile I initially fall in love with is $40 per square foot...ridiculous and not going to happen! The kitchen cabinets, doors and wall finishes (baseboards, crown molding etc) arrived this past week and are scheduled to be installed this coming week.


Master shower



Kid's bathroom



Downstairs guest bathroom



Baseboards, crown molding, doors and kitchen cabinets take over the back of the house

NICO Week 4
Nico is one month old! This past month flew by. I fall more in love with my little man each day. Jim and I have taken 100's of pictures...here are a few taken in the past week.

Aunt Lauren with Nico making his "fat face"

Tummy time: Nico hates this but I managed to snap a picture before he got pissed off :)

One month old!

Nico's 1st Christmas: he got passed around all night!

Nico slept the day away

...and night

The beautiful Christmas tree and mounds of presents

Our first family Christmas!

Deck the halls (and walls and floors)!

Week 16 & 17

House news:
The progress on the house is speeding up just in time to slow back down for the holidays.
The dry wall is up and finished and the hardwood flooring has been laid down as well. Tiling the bathrooms began this past week. A few of our appliances were delivered and stored in the basement until they are ready to be installed. Wall finishes such as base boards, crown molding, wainscoting and coffered ceiling are next on the list to be accomplished. I am starting to go a little stir crazy in this Wrigleyville apartment as boxes filled with purchases from Craigslist and online stores for the house take over our living space. I am looking forward to the day we finally move into this house!

The floor which is yet to be sanded and stained (last thing to get done)

1st floor looking toward the front of the house

Grout less floor of the first floor bathroom

Upstairs bathroom: aka kid's bathroom

NICO Week 2 & 3
Week 2 and 3 of Nico's life have whizzed by. The other morning I woke up and looked at him and swore that he literally grew over night and even his face looked slightly different to me. I may be biased but he gets cuter by the day! 

2 weeks old!

3 weeks old!

I have my moments

Reflecting

Nico and I out to brunch at Bad Dog

We have walls!

Week 14 & 15

House news:

The dry wall went up this past week. This was supposed to be put up the week before but could not get done because the dumpster was in the way...frustrating but par for the construction course! The floors will be the next thing to get done.

Formal dining room looking into butler's pantry and kitchen

Fireplace in front room

Great room adjacent to the kitchen

Sunroom/eatery off of kitchen and great room

Upstairs hallway: looking towards the front of the house

The nursery

NICO Week 1
Nico turned one week old this past week. What a difference a week makes! I finally feel like I am getting the hang of this motherhood thing. Overall I have been lucky to have a baby that sleeps all the time (takes after his father) and I hope this keeps up. I finally washed my hair, put on a little bit of make-up and ventured out into public this past week. Jim, Nico and I went to Target and Home Depot and the little guy slept the entire time. I was on pins and needles afraid that he would wake up screaming to be fed at any time.
We had our one week follow up visit with the pediatrician and she was impressed by how good he looked. Since our last visit with her a week ago he gained a whole pound and inch. I can't believe how fast he is growing!

Getting ready to brave Chicago's cold weather

Nico's first sponge bath...he was not a fan

Sleepy baby

Nico James Ammirati (our little thanksgiving turkey) has arrived!

Nico James Ammirati was born on 11/23/11 at 3:38 a.m. at 7 pounds 14 ounces and 20 inches.
Jim and I are incredibly blessed to have this beautiful and healthy baby boy. Each day is a new challenge and lesson learned but all is good. Friends and family have been extremely supportive and encouraging with phone calls, texts, e-mails and visits bearing food gifts. Jim and I are feeling and appreciating the love from you all. Thank you a million times over!

Nico minutes after being born

Taking it all in

 

Mom and baby get some bonding time

 

 

Grandma was so excited that she stayed over night at the hospital and got to hold Nico minutes after he was born

The Ammirati Family!

 

 

As you can see, Jim and I have been a little busy this week so I don't have a house update but I will make up for it next week. 

The waiting game

Week 13

House news:
The windows are installed! The dry wall is going up early next week (week of Thanksgiving). This past Thursday Jim and I picked out pendant lighting for the front door entry and above the kitchen island.

Two of these will be hanging above our kitchen island

The windows are in!

Jim is wiring the audio-visual for our house...if this works I am impressed!

Enjoying the view

Baby news:
I am officially on maternity leave and I am STILL pregnant. I have an doctor's appointment on Tuesday 11/22. If I have not had the baby by then I am going to undergo a non-stress test to make sure the baby is doing okay. I will also schedule induction of labor for a week past my due date (god help me) if it comes down to that. I am no longer taking this pregnancy one day at a time but rather by the hour. I feel like a baby myself: I sleep for 2 hours at a time throughout the day and eat every 1-3 hours.



My last day at work with my fellow pregnant partner in crime Marni who is due 2/1/12

My mom and myself 30.5 years ago

HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!



Window PAIN

Week 12

House news:
These windows are becoming the bane of our existence. The windows were ready to be delivered this week but won't be ready to be installed until early next week. The dry wall cannot go up until the windows are in which does not bode well for our time line. When the hardwood flooring is installed it will need a few days to just sit which means that practically nothing will get done in the house during those days. With the holidays coming up we are uncertain if moving into this house by Christmas is going to happen. I am not in a rush and in general I am taking a "go with the flow" attitude...I have no choice!

This past Friday I was off of work and Jim and I headed out to the suburbs to again look at granite, tile and vanities. I think we have made our FINAL decisions on everything...except the island granite. I think I mentioned before that this rehabbing experience has taught me that I hate 99% of tile and granite and absolutely hate shopping for it. Luckily I had a sudden burst of energy and was able to muscle through a 12 hour day of tile & granite madness. I did not take pictures of the house this week because there was nothing new and interesting to take. Hopefully next week I will have pictures of some windows!!!

Baby news:
11-11-11 has come and gone and no baby. Oh well. I have been sleeping pretty good at night so I am thankful for that. This coming week marks my last week of work if I do not have the baby before then.

I had a doctors appointment on Friday and my cervix is approximately 1-2 cm dilated which from my understanding can mean something or mean nothing. It's amazing what advancements medicine has made over the years but predicting more of an exact time of when a baby will arrive is NOT one of them. 

Everyone keeps telling me to enjoy my free time while I can. Truthfully I am just plain bored and physically uncomfortable. In fact I was so bored that I took pictures of my makeshift nursery that I have attempted to set up amidst the chaos (I took pictures of that too) that is our apartment right now.

The bassinet that Jim, all his siblings and all grandchildren have slept in

Dresser with washed 0-3 month baby clothes ready to go (and diaper genie to the left)

Changing table, boppy pillow and random assortment of baby paraphernalia in baskets

Comfy glider that I will spend many hours in

Collection of things bought off of Craigslist

My kitchen: another reason why I do not cook anymore these days

False labor

WEEK 11

House news:
Everything is coming along. Jim has decided to wire the house for surround sound himself and with another guy that in the past helped him set up Merkles and Bad Dog.  He has to work quick though because we were told that dry wall is scheduled to be put up the week before Thanksgiving...only one week away! The windows are scheduled to arrive this week and will take 2 days to install.

The backyard

View of the backyard and the back of the house

Our long driveway... plenty of room for guests :)

Baby news:
This past Monday (Halloween) my co-workers threw me a surprise baby shower that they called a "shower-een celebration". I had pizza, cake and lots of baby presents (baby video monitor, boppy pillow/cover, hand-made knitted blanket, nursing cover...lot's of love). I am so lucky to work with such thoughtful and supportive people. I am realizing that I will actually miss work when I am on maternity leave (who knew?). 

Happy Halloween and "Showereen" from AthletiCo at the Millenium Park bean

False alarm
On Saturday night I started to feel more frequent and painful Braxton-Hicks-like contractions around 10 p.m. I was able to fall asleep only to wake up at 1 a.m. in more pain and a feeling of nausea where I could not find a comfortable position. By 2 a.m. the contractions were approximately 8 minutes apart and lasting for 2 minutes. I called the doctor on call at the hospital and was told to try taking a warm bath to ease the pain of the contractions. I did this, which helped but as soon as I left the tub the contractions immediately got stronger. When my contractions were 6 minutes apart I called the doctor and she told me to come in when my contractions are less than 5 minutes apart or if I cannot take the pain. Overall I felt nauseous and could not get comfortable. At 4 a.m. I ran to the bathroom and threw up multiple times. I thought this would make me feel better but for the next 20 minutes my contractions proceeded to get stronger and more painful. I told Jim to get ready to take me to the hospital. We decided to time my contractions for a few more rounds before heading to the hospital and he timed 2-3 rounds when I FELL ASLEEP. I woke up this morning NOT in labor. I guess I must of ate something that made me sick and somehow triggered contractions. Today I am having a noticeably increased number of Braxton-Hicks contractions and feel for the first time like my body is getting ready. When I went to the doctor on Friday she predicted that I would NOT have this baby in the next week but then said "but what do I know...you could have this baby tomorrow". How's that for certainty?!

2 days shy of 38 weeks

Come on baby!