Nursery in progress...

Well, the nursery is officially underway, and the painting is over half done. The only things left are to touch up the baseboards and window sill, and to install the chair rail, which will happen this weekend. Below are some pictures Nate took over the past few days while I was in the midst of blue tape hell. I'm really happy with how it's turned out so far though, and can't wait to see it done!

This is after about 7 hours of taping. The laser level is my friend.


This is after the first two colors were painted.


Me painting the last stripe!


Tada! The (almost) finished product. Although it looks kind of naked without a chair rail.


I'll be sure to post more pictures as it comes along. Nineteen hours of work down...

B

A Happy Thanksgiving Indeed

We here at the House of Rulis hope that each of you had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving Holiday. We spent our days hanging out with family, eating a ton of food, and working on Avery's nursery. Here's a short recap...

My aunt and uncle came in from Phoenix with my three cousins. Cordell is 6 and Kamryo is 5, so they are both at really fun ages. They both attached themselves to Nate and didn't let go the entire weekend. Kamryo's other favorite activity was taking Chloe (our little dog) for a walk, but I think that Chloe ended up walking her most of the time. We had an opportunity to take them fishing on Friday, but it was so cold and windy out that after a half hour we just went to McDonald's for happy meals (and they were just as satisfied).

Thanksgiving Day was great. We had 20 people at my mom's house with enough food for 40. Nate and I did our (now traditional) deep-fried turkey to go along with my mom's regular oven one. I was also in charge of the Kugelis (Lithuanian dish) and the green beans. Next year my mom said that I can try the gravy, so I'm excited about that. After dinner we all sat around a played board games and drank wine (or apple cider in my case). I must say that my mom gets pretty funny at Balderdash after a few glasses!

Saturday and Sunday were spent painting the nursery for me and working on a huge term paper for Nate. The nursery painting should be done in a few more days and I'll post some pictures when it is. Saturday night was definitely a highlight of the weekend. We were able to go to dinner with Erin and Joel. You should see those boys put it down at the all you can eat sushi place! It was wonderful to be able to catch up with them and just spend time with good friends. We definitely don't get to see them as much as we would like.

Well, that about wraps it up. Now it's back to work and looking forward to Christmas break! Hope you all are well.

Love, Brittany

And the belly grows...

Well, I have officially hit the half way mark, and I thought I would post a new "belly pic". Avery has been kicking a lot, and Nate was finally able to feel a couple of nights ago. Her favorite new game is to kick mama in the bladder as much as possible to see how many times in an hour I have to pee. Not much news right now, just tired and eagerly awaiting the weekend!

B

Heeeellllllloooooo!!!!

Hey everybody, I just wanted to add my two cents (can't let Brittany hog all the blog space). So, let me just begin by saying that the last couple of months have been the most incredible in my life. Everything changes when you realize that you're about to be responsible for a little tiny person. Nevertheless, beyond being busy with school & work, I just hope that I do a decent job of giving Brittany the support and caring that she needs. Anyway, we continue to look forward to sharing the progress of the pregnancy and more after she is born. Also, we always appreciate hearing from all of you and look forward to continue sharing in our lives with you.

- Nate

She's already a brat...

We went in for our "big" ultrasound today. It was scheduled to last an hour, and during that time they check the baby head to toe. They need to get pictures and measurments of a myriad of different things, and the baby needs to somewhat cooperate. Well, apparently Avery was very comfortable curled up in a ball, and didn't really care about our agenda. The tech got some things done, and then was getting frustrated and gave me some juice, and told me to walk around for ten minutes to try and get her to move. We went back into the room hoping she would be more willing to cooperate, but no luck. We left almost two hours later, still needed some measurments. So the good news is that we get to go back in a week for another ultrasound, but the bad news is that the baby is already being a pain in the butt (she takes after her dad:) )

Today was also great because I got to feel Avery kick, or rather poke, for the first time. I could tell she's been moving around for a week or so, but I had been eagerly awaiting that first good kick. I guess after being lazy at the doctor's office, she decided to wake up and move around!

** Editor's Note: I am NOT a pain in the butt, just a little stubborn at times... (Nate)