Hey Kids, I'm Back!

Well, hello! As I celebrated my 30th birthday with so many wonderful friends here in California, I was reminded that I once had a blog! In the blink of an eye a whole year passed me by. In 12 short months, while I went blog-MIA, we had a baby and watched her grow into a little human. She's about to turn 1 and my little heart can't handle it. I'm planning her first birthday party, and have been reminiscing over the last year and all the amazing things we've watched her accomplish. Here's a photo recap of what's been going on! Stay tuned to see what this sweet little magical unicorn will be up to next!

Holy Smokes!

It's official... there's no going back on home repairs. We just started tearing out the laminate floors to put in wood. Eeeek!! Our house is one step closer to being ready for baby!! Check it out:

Also, the walls are mostly done. Just some light sanding to be done and then paint!

And last, for a final update... here's the bump at 36 weeks:

We're in the final 4 weeks now!! Baby V is almost fully cooked!! We did some shopping this past weekend to get a few things on the baby list and now we have to start packing our hospital bag. Its crazy to think that it could happen any day now. We're getting closer and closer to May 30 and I don't know if we're ready! 

We can read and buy things and prepare as much as we can, but I don't think anything will prepare us for what we're about to start. Parenthood is upon us... I hope Tim and I live up to the hype! 

Halfway There

We're almost done with the wall renos. Tim got some help from our good buddy, Kevin, getting the sheetrock to the house. It was a little more work than expected, but its all there and Tim is installing as I type!

Here are some progress photos:

Can't wait to finally put some paint on these bad boys and make our living room live-able again!!

See y'all soon.

:)

Demo Day

Yesterday we did some light remodeling in the house!! Tim and his coworker, Don, put on their demo gloves and busted down the faux wood panel walls in our living room. I was a little nervous to find out what was behind the walls, but luckily it was far less frightening than I imagined. No pesky little creepy crawlies or squirmy wormies for us, just 2x4s and nails. :) The guys also tore out the tile on the fireplace, so we'll have a chance to put up new tiles or Tim can create a mantle that fits our own style.

Here are a few before photos. This is what the wall looked like in its original state:

And here we have the guys tearing apart the walls:

Last but not least, we have the aftermath of demo day:

Today Tim has been working to put up new walls. We'll get some update photos for you soon!! Eek!

Bump-Date

Hey Y'all!

Thought I might be overdue for a new bump photo. Here I am at Week 32... Only 8 weeks to go!

Cravings: Donuts, Ice Cream, Macaroni & Cheese

Baby's Size: 3.75 pounds, about the weight of a jicama

The princess has been moving quite a lot lately. She has no issue with telling me that I'm squishing her. If I'm slouched over too much, she'll give a little pop to say "move it mom"! She also has started some sort of gymnastics or tumbling in my belly. Tim and I sometimes watch my stomach move as she rolls and somersaults around. It's so crazy!

She's been hiccuping a lot more over the last few weeks. I've been wondering what that little pulse was that I've been feeling. Tim can't really feel it on the outside, but I sure do!

We've slowly been organizing the house. We still have a lot of boxes to deal with, but we're making some progress. Tim will be doing some bigger projects starting this weekend. We have a strange faux wood grain wall that is coming down and being replaced with regular drywall. Tim and some friends have their work cut out for them. :)

Photos and more updates to come...

No More Traveling -- Yay!

Wow! A whole month has flown by! We've moved into Casa de Villarreal and are almost done unpacking boxes. We've been to Dallas for a wedding, had our very first baby shower, and I've just come back from Seattle for a work trip. We're exhausted! But the good news is... No more travel. Doctors orders! Seattle was the last long trip I was able to take before baby girl arrives.  I'm officially staying LA local for the next 8 weeks.

We had a super easy move this time around. On the recommendation of several friends who have recently moved, we splurged for a moving company and spared those lovely friends the backaches and sweat. If we weren't before, we are definitely adults now. Buying houses, having babies, and hiring movers! Ha. :)

Now the tough part is unpacking all the boxes said movers moved for us. We've been in the house for about 3 weeks and still have a good amount left to unpack. How on earth did we fit all this stuff into a 1-bedroom apartment!? We have twice as much space now and no where to put things. It's one of life's mysteries.

Tim has been super busy starting on some home renovations. We've made lists upon lists of what we want to do vs what we need to do. He has so many fun projects to start and will keep him pretty busy during our time in this house. He's already changed out locks and doorknobs, leveled out some crooked shelves, handled some lawn care, met with flooring contractors, and next on the list... creating closet systems for us and the baby.

He also had the pleasure of watching one of his oldest friends, Adam, get married to a wonderful woman. We headed home to Dallas for a weekend, so Tim could be by Adam's side on his wedding day. Adam has been in Tim's life as long as I've known him. Adam was actually one of the two people who introduced Tim and me. We can all blame him for that!!

During that weekend, we were lucky enough to have our own baby shower. Our lovely mothers, Barbara & Judy, threw us an amazing shower. We were able to celebrate our baby girl with our Texas family and friends. This little girl is surrounded with so much love! We received so many wonderful gifts. Her nursery is basically stocked for the next 12 months!! Thank you to all of you who came and to those who sent their love.

Once we came back from Dallas, I was off to Seattle. Great city, but I'll need to go back for vacation. I had no time to explore, since I was 6.5 months pregnant working a full-on convention!! As soon as my work day ended, I passed out in the hotel. But I was able to squeeze in some quality time with some family in town. Tim's cousin, Blake, and his wife, Barbara, live just a ferry ride away from the city. I was able to visit with them and their sweet baby boy, Lucas, for a day. It was so great to visit with them, it was the first time I got to meet little Lucas!! I got a quick glimpse into what parenthood looks like at 6 months. :)

After 6 days in Seattle, I touched down at LAX and couldn't have been happier to be home. The last 4 months have been non-stop!! It is so nice to be able to relax and finally have a weekend with my way-too-good-to-me husband and sweet little fur-baby, Oliver. Tim has been so helpful and accommodating to my ridiculous pregnancy requests. Since I've been on-the-go for so long, he has bent over backwards to make sure I stay as calm and stress-free as I possibly can. Ladies -- make sure you send your men to Tim's school for "Husbands of Pregnant Wives." He should really teach a class!!

We're finally spending our weekends at home. My first weekend in the house was spent unpacking and sleeping. A perfect weekend in my book. :) Tim gave me a perfect birthday by taking me to see Newsies at The Pantages. Newsies was one of my favorite movies growing up and when I heard they were bringing the Broadway stage performance to LA, Tim knew exactly what to get me!!

We plan to use the next 8 weeks getting our house ready for baby. We're planning out her nursery, buying her furniture, and generally organizing this new place for a third little person to join us. I sure hope time slows down for a minute. It amazes me how fast the last 7 months flown by. Parents say it all the time, but it doesn't resonate until you live it.

Here's hoping...

We're Homeowners!

It's official. We own a home! Never in our wildest dreams did we think we'd be buying a home in California! We're Texas kids born and raised, but we've made an amazing family of friends out here and have found exciting jobs that keep us on our toes constantly. It's made it hard to leave a setup like this!

We have always planned to move back to Texas to be near our families. Don't worry family... we'll be coming back! Our plans have just been delayed a little longer. It's crazy to us to think that not only is our fur-baby a Californian pup, but our now our human-baby, our daughter, will be a Californian! Who knew!? She'll probably come out with bleach blonde wavy hair and hanging ten on a surfboard. :) Rest assured the Villarreals will always be a Texas family #texasforever, but a little bit of us will stay Californians for now.