Reconsidering...

I had imagined putting artwork above the changing table, but now that we've been using it for awhile I've reconsidered...it seems we have a sharp shooter on our hands. No piece of artwork would stand a chance there. Oh well.

Crib Skirt completion...

I've been putting this rather simple project off for far too long. I finally finished it Monday night. It was a free project (my favorite kind)...the portion that is under the mattress was a piece of an old ripped sheet that I saved for just such projects, and the white skirt was made from the leftover pieces that I cut off of the drapes in the nursery. Totally free. I used Amy Butler's Little Stitches crib skirt pattern and I think it turned out nicely. The crib has metal pieces holding the frame beneath the mattress in place, so it doesn't hang perfectly straight, but I'm okay with that.

Tidying up the nursery...

...(anyone catch the Mary Poppins reference?) **Insert "A Spoonful of Sugar" here**

Anyways...after an absolutely lovely shower last Saturday, thanks to the gracious hostessing of John's family, our nursery is filling up quite nicely. (If anyone has pictures of the shower...do share. I have none :(
Here's the pictorial tour:

The tower o' diapering supplies (purchased here)

Note to self...finish the crib skirt!

Hopefully this Friday night, as I have a sewing date scheduled with a few lovely ladies :)

Is is just me or is putting a sheet on a crib mattress a real pain?

We can now officially bring the baby home from the hospital

Grandma Net's quilt & an assortment of board books. Have I ever mentioned how much I love children's books?

Go, Dog, Go...with the stuffed dog to boot. (Luckily for me, quite a few elementary school teachers attended the shower so they indulged my passion for books & literary accessories)

A wooden toy...I'm obsessed with wooden toys. I just love the way they look.

"Wee Bee" burp rag purchased here

And, of course, the onesie to match.

Our new wheels...providing us with transportation to and from Grandpa Bob & Grandma Sharons, church, the high school, and of course, the public library :)

The diaper cake

Curious George

Baby's Room Update...

It's getting there. Here's the latest...

Ikea drapes before

Ikea drapes after. Too much white some may say, but I'm a fan.

My favorite part of the room...the shelf.

second.best.present.ever...

John and I didn't get home until 8:30 tonight...I told him before we walked in the door all of the things that needed to be done to the baby's room (finishing the beadboard paint, touching up the yellow, hanging the curtain rods...). But, when we opened the door we noticed that all of our painting supplies were neatly arranged in our front room. John noticed it first, but we figured that Bob had moved them out of his way and had come in to do more work. We turned the corner to see what else he had done when we saw this:

I was totally taken aback. Sharon had come over and finished painting the beadboard and then had cleaned up our mess (and believe me, there was a lot of mess to be cleaned) and set up the nursery. I've never seen a more beautiful sight.

Here's what else we saw:
Just about the cutest blocks ever (thanks Jill & Sharon). We'll have Baby Wiebe forming words in no time ;) I'm so glad they fit on the shelf, almost as if they were made to go there...

Yep, that white cabinet is repurposed from our kitchen remodel 2 years ago. (The door fell off, but we'll get to fixing that soon)

Crib & alphabet flashcards

And look what she spelled for our little wee bee

Sigh. This room has looked so bad for so long that I was having a hard time even believing that we would ever finish it. So, thanks Sharon for all your hard work. Even John is appreciative :)

best.birthday.present.ever...

I've intentionally opted not to post about this birthday present until now for one main reason...I did not want to put pressure on the man who would make this all happen (thanks Bob). We all know how patient I am when it comes to house project completion (sarcasm very much intended) so I wanted to wait until the project was completed (or almost completed) before I mentioned a word about it here. Despite the fact that I did not post about the gift, it has pretty much been on my mind ever since it was given to me. I won't lie, it's probably the greatest gift I've ever received. Wouldn't you agree?

So yeah...pretty much the best present ever.

After the purchase of the supplies, John kicked off the beadboard extravaganza with a hearty helping of white paint on the baseboards prior to installation. (The baseboards come primed, so you can imagine John's excitement when he realized that he was merely painting the already white baseboards another shade of white...yeah, he was ecstatic. I believe he mentioned once or twice that this child would probably care about this beadboard as much as he did...but I think I ignored these comments...)

Once the baseboards were painted the real fun began. See:

Bob knows me...he set up the sheets of beadboard so that when I got home from work I would be able to visualize the final result. Crucial step, in my opinion.

beadboard sans shelf & molding

with the molding & shelf

The shelf...wide enough for frames, yet narrow enough to keep out of one's way

The bird flashcards on the shelf look even better than I could have imagined. (the shelf is being painted white as I type)

...as do the Martha Stewart alphabet cards.

So, clearly it's no secret. I love beadboard...but not quite as much as I love my in-laws. Not so much for the gift, but mostly because they really know what I like because they spend time with me and listen to me. So clearly, this was indeed the.best.birthday.present.ever.

Thanks Bob for all the hard work (& Sharon for the idea and inspiration). I couldn't have asked for a more professional looking finished product. I can't wait to rock the baby in the (new) brown chair & stare at my beadboard...only 6 more weeks :)

(Oh, and in case you were wondering, there are no pictures of Bob working because he did most of it while John and I were gone at work last week...sorry)

Once everything is painted I will post after pictures.

The Brown Chair...

We have a brown chair, or more accurately, we have the brown chair. It was the chair that Sharon rocked John & Jill in when they were babies. It was the site of many a nap for John in high school. It is old & it is, of course, brown.

John loves this chair. It became his after college. He will never part with it. It has been with us since the beginning of our marriage. And while it is truly a comfortable chair, the upholstery fabric has seen better days. It is faded, dirty, and worn. Yet despite these issues it remains a favorite. We haven't used it much as it seems to be a bit large & bulky for our living space, but we both knew that when the day came to expand our family we would welcome the birth of our first child with the rebirth of the brown chair.

That day has come. We took the chair to our local upholsterer today. This will be, literally, the first time that John has spent more than a night or 2 away from the chair (excluding his college years). When we dropped the chair off, the upholsterer marvelled at the quality of the chair. The frame was sturdy, the foam was intact. An "easy" job to complete he said. So now we sit and wait, on pins & needles, for the return of the brown chair. What a happy day that will be. Only to be closely followed by that April day that we are waiting for with great anticipation. I'm pretty sure John's first stop upon arriving home with Baby Wiebe will be the brown chair. What a celebratory occasion that will be...

seriously faded

The chair will be recovered in this brown ticking fabric. I was firmly told that the brown chair must remain brown, so I complied...