a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

I could give you the million and one reasons why I have been slacking on the blogging or I could just catch you up. I think I'll go with the ladder.

On the home front...

We finished negotiations for the repairs from the inspection. It ended up not being a big deal since there weren't many repairs to be made anyway. The sellers offered to split the cost of replacing the back door but that would require an entire rewrite of our contract so we decided just to eat that and we will now get full say on what door is chosen (since we are the ones that are going to have to live with it). This doesn't have to be done immediately but should be done before winter comes.

The appraisal came back as more than what we agreed to pay, which means the bank is still willing to give us the loan.

Now we are just waiting for closing day. I have gone house crazy and drawn up a floor plan (since I am a visual thinker) and started deciding where we are going to place the little bit of furniture we have and plan out a shopping list for items that we will have to purchase immediately and items that can be put on the wait list.

I am itching to go to Lowe's and start scouring paint colors but am trying to hold off until the weekend. I have already started to compile a folders upon folders of living rooms/bedrooms/kitchens that I like from different magazine websites as well as searching for textiles and accents that match the airy/beachy house we are hoping to create. I have even started searching craigslist.com in hopes of finding those bargains to save us some pennies since we are about to start purchasing boatloads of diapers!

To say I have gone a little house crazy is an understatement. But I guess its good I am enthusiastic (at least that's what I tell my husband!) Plus, it is distracting me from the ginormous growth on my abdomen...

Speaking of big bellies...

On the baby front we are doing quite well although incredibly uncomfortable.

My belly is so big but poor Coop is too, so his space is definitely limited. His feet spend more than half of the day wedged under my ribs which makes every position but laying completely straight (which is highly discouraged due to the baby's weight on my organs) extremely uncomfortable. Even slightly bending to the side is uncomfortable because it just seems there isn't enough space for all his bones and mine! I spend a large portion of my day massaging my belly, trying to encourage some position changes.

We have 7 weeks left! Eeeeek!! I really can't believe he is almost here!!

Aside from house and baby news...

We are wrapping up an amazing (and long!) vacation. We went to Norfolk last weekend for the Boogaloo Music and Cajun Food Festival. It was basically New Orleans set up on the Norfolk waterfront. We had a great time eating everything from alligator to beignets!

Then we headed to the Outer Banks for the annual Shelton Family Beach Week. We had 31 Sheltons present this year (although some of us go by a different last name). I really can't even begin to summarize what an amazing time we had.

But I must thank my absolutely wonderful aunts for throwing Rick and I a very wonderful baby shower. Baby Coop is on his way to having a nursery! We are so very blessed to have so many people that love and support us.

I wish I took more pictures, but here are some of my favorites of the moments I did capture.

I go back to the doctor tomorrow for yet another check-up. I will keep you posted on how that goes!