From Hiatus to Baby Room

My blog has been long-neglected due to technical difficulties. Computer dying, backup laptop dying, Justin fixing laptop, Dad fixing computer, computer dying for real, and finally, new computer purchased. And here we are.

So, Christmas has yet to be documented, but I thought I would do things backwards and start my catch-up with the nursery changes. Thatcher Reid is expected in the next 6 weeks, and goodness knows, he demands a nursery with updated decorations from when it belonged to his big brother. (Who has already been moved to his “big boy” room, more on that later). I had mentioned the owl idea in a previous posting, and I think that the whole thing turned out really well. Lots of colors and variety.

One of my goals for the room was to have a lot to look at. In my experience with Thad, I spent a LOT of time in the nursery. Usually planted in front of his crib, him swaddled, with static blaring on the radio, jiggling him to sleep. Often this was a 30-45 minute process before he would finally calm down and fall asleep. In the meantime, I would stare at the wall, willing my child to sleep. Eventually, I taped some printed-out Bible verses to the wall so I would have something to read. Needless to say, those verses are so committed to memory that I don’t think I could forget them if I tried.

This time, I wanted to be better prepared with a more visually appealing room, with lots to look at. Not for his sake necessarily, but for my sanity. That’s worth something, right? So far, it feels like a happy place.

Here is what it looked like before Thad was born:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is what it looks like now:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All new artwork, more of it, more going on in general. Things that I like: Lots of pictures. Pictures of Thad, the first picture with Thad and I at the hospital. Justin, Thad, and Justin’s Grandma. Me and my niece. My favorite, beautifully illustrated copy of the Chronicles of Narnia. Basket full of infant toys. Basket full of the necessary 300 burp cloths. U of O Duck from Aunt Jess. Basket full of our favorite Aden and Anias swaddling blankets. A collection of That’s favorite board books.  I bought almost nothing. The two corner tables were nightstands that Justin made for the guestroom, before it became my sister’s room. The lamp was a transplant. Other than that, the furniture is all the same. I made all of the pictures except one:

 

 

This one was done by a friend at work. Crayons glued onto a canvas, then melted using a hair dryer. Pretty sweet. She had just been over and seen his room, and did an awesome job going with the color scheme.

 

 

 

 

One of my FAVORITE things in the room is the “family tree” that hangs above the changing table. I got this idea on Pinterest (really, I got most of the ideas from Pinterest). I drew a tree, then took it to our Christmas celebrations with each side of our family so everyone could make their owl fingerprint. Rather than buying stamp pads, I just used some markers. Each person colored on their finger with their choice of marker, and put their owl somewhere randomly on the tree, and signed their name. Double awesome because it goes with the owl idea, AND Justin is a fingerprint expert.

Some other Pintrest-inspired close ups:

Glued-on button initial and “Cute as a Button” stitched onto a piece of wool.

Thad-assisted owl cut out of scrap book paper and printed alphabet using Power Point.

 

 

I cut this page out of a book called “Animals Animals” by Eric Carle (the Hungry Caterpillar guy). The book is full of his illustrations of different animals, each with poem, limerick, or little saying about that animal compiled from different authors. It’s a really cool book. Thad now says “uh-oh” every time we come across the cut out page, and I have to explain to him that it’s okay, Mommy did it.

 

 

 

 

 

I also did a little bit of sewing with a new gray and white hounds tooth print bed skirt and 2 wool appliqued owl pillows.

And last but not least, I added a bunch of framed Bible verses. Just little verses here and there for me to look at while I am in there. The one from Numbers (bottom left) is my favorite; it’s called the “priestly blessing”, it is the blessing that God told Aaron to say over the Israelites. Our pastor says it to the congregation at the end of each service.

So, that’s it. I like the room. It feels good. It feels happy. Ready for the new baby Crossland.