The One with the First Birthday Wish List

As difficult as this is for me to wrap my mind around, the little man turns one in less than two weeks.

Holy.Shiznit.

I seriously have no idea where the time has gone.

We are planning quite the party for Memorial Day weekend and I put together a little wish list of presents for Liam.

Hubs and I haven't decided what we are getting for him yet, but here are some ideas.

Radio Flyer Ultimate Comfort Wagon

I have visions of strolls in the neighborhood with this bad boy and can already see Liam in this all dressed in his Halloween costume next fall.

Radio Flyer 4-in-1 Trike

This thing is pretty cool.  The harness and push handles can be removed so Liam can eventually ride by himself.  It even has a drink and snack holder!

Little Tikes Pirate Water Table

This is definitely something we will get a lot of use from this summer.  Liam already loves to splash in the bathtub and I can't wait to get him swimming.

Melissa and Doug Block Cart

Liam loved these blocks when we visited with friends last month and I think it's such a classic toy that he definitely needs.

FIsher Price Swing

So the jury is still out as to whether or not we have an appropriate tree to attach this swing to, but I still think L needs it!

Pottery Barn Kids Anywhere Chair

I can't decide which print or pattern I want for this chair, but I love the idea of getting a mini chair for Liam.  And my PBK chair is the most comfortable thing on the planet.

4moms Origami Mini

This stroller from my most favorite company isn't even out yet, but this mama is already drooling over it.  I truly love our stroller (Britax B-Ready) but would love this for quick errands when I don't need as much storage space.  A mom can dream right?

Liam can always use clothes too, but I did do some damage at Carter's this past weekend while we were in Maine.

Any other mamas have great first birthday present ideas for the little ones?

The One with the Nursery Tour

So I promised about 2 months ago that I would do a full nursery tour of the little man's room once it was done.  Other than one last picture frame to be hung, I think we have finally reached completion.

Well, no that's a lie.

I still have a couple of things on order from PBK, but those are just a few last minute storage bins and a place for dirty laundry so as far as I'm concerned this room is finished.

I am going to post a lot of pictures and also refer back to the other two posts I did about the nursery here and here because a lot of the sources are listed in those posts, including furniture, paint colors and some of the little details.  If there is something you see that I don't have a link or source for and you would like more information, feel free to comment below.

Without further ado...

View from the door with rug from PBT (link in posts above)
Blinds from Select Blinds in Dove Grey

 Crib, sheet, mattress, and sleep sheep from PBK (links in posts above)
Crib skirt from Etsy shop Lublini

Chair (love, love, love!) and Boppy cover from PBK (link in posts above)
TUVE floor lamp from IKEA (the shade actually looks gray with the light on)

Dresser and topper from PBK (link in posts above)

Ubbi diaper pail from BBB
 Storage container from PBK
aden + anais changing pad cover from BBB
Custom painted knobs from Etsy shop Sweet Mix Creations

 Shelf from PBK
Motorola Video Monitor from BBB

Little info on how on organized the dresser.  Not sure how it will work once the little guy arrives, but we are going to try it for now...

 

 Top drawers (L to R): extra supplies for changing, SwaddleMe blankets and receiving blankets, aden + anais swaddle blankets, socks and hats

SKUB boxes from IKEA

 

 Middle drawers (L to R): Onesies (0-3 months and a few 3-6 months), onesies and pants (newborn), pants and shorts (0-3 months)
 

 Bottom drawers (L to R): Pajamas and sleepers, burp cloths, extra bath supplies, and lovies

There is still room between the boxes for some more things to be stored in some of the drawers, so I may add in a few more things as I need them. 

 

 

Baby boy's closet is already filled with stuff as well!  The hanging clothes are the "complete" outfits that we have.

TROFAST frame and buckets from IKEA have shoes, bibs and hats, extra sheets and changing pad covers, and extra SwaddleMe blankets in them.

Stacking drawers  from The Container Store have bigger sized clothes and blankets in them.

I also have some breastfeeding supplies, our baby carriers, and some extra picture frames in there right now.

  

 There is no room for a full-sized bookshelf, so I used these BEKVAM spice racks from IKEA and painted them a grayish color.  They are behind the door in this weird little nook space we have.

We are so very excited to welcome our little guy soon and hope he loves his room!

Thanks for putting up with all the pictures and details!

The One with the Nursery Progress

Warning: lots of pictures to follow.  It's nursery overload.

This post will give you some details and show the progression of the nursery.  You may remember my post a while back with the nursery inspiration.  We ended up using a lot of the ideas from that post in the nursery.

I promise to do an official tour of the finished room in the coming weeks.

First off, there are some before pictures of the room.  It was a spare bedroom for guests, but also a catch-all for just about everything I didn't know what to do with.

Extra picture frames?  Oh, put them in the spare bedroom.

Leftover craft supplies from our wedding?  Just toss it in the spare bedroom.

Random extra clothes that I only wear on occasion?  There's room in the closet in the spare bedroom.

Well, I quickly discovered that all this crap couldn't stay in the soon-to-be-nursery so I had to do a bunch of rearranging and space managmatizing.

Paint samples, baby clothes, and a Kitchen Aid all in one spot.  Totes normal.

And this was after I had already cleaned out all of my craft supplies.

All my cleaning tools were stored in here too.  Love the Shark btw.

Once I finally picked the paint colors (Behr's Madras Blue for the walls and Porpoise for the stripe) and the bed was moved from the room (along with all the other shit), Hubs and I went to Lowe's and had them load us up with everything we would need to paint the room.  Way too much money later, we went home to get started.

 Max really wanted to help with the process, but he got kicked out shortly after this picture was taken.

Hubs did most all of the work, but I provided moral support as needed.

 Once the two coats of blue were on the walls and dry, it was time for the dreaded stripe.

Hubs' brother-in-law is a contractor and had this handy dandy laser that helped make a nice straight line on all the walls so Hubs could tape it off.

The stripe all taped off and painted.  We just crossed our fingers it would look good once the tape came off.

Ta-da...

I was so happy with how it looked and couldn't wait for the furniture delivery.

The painting was finished just in time for the arrival of the furniture during my February vacation.  We ordered the crib, dresser, and chair from Pottery Barn Kids.  The crib and dresser are from the Larkin collection and the chair is the PBK Grand Comfort.  It was definitely pricey, but I really fell in love with it and it all got great reviews.

There was a little drama on delivery day that ended with me shedding some extra-hormonal tears.  Long story short, the changing table topper for the dresser didn't arrive and was never ordered.  I will say that after a little back and forth with PBK, they did send out a new top at no charge to us (apparently we had never paid for one in the first place) and it arrived safely about 10 days later.

Yay for delivery trucks!

 Oh I just can't wait to put our little boy in this crib.

Loving all the space for itty bitty baby clothes.

This chair rocks my world.  Seriously, the most comfortable thing I have ever sat in.

View from the door.

Since these pictures were taken, we added several other things that I will show when I do the full nursery tour.  They include the mattress and changing pad, rug, blinds, and bookshelves.  The knobs for the dresser arrived but are going to require a little bit of work to get on the dresser (the holes in the dresser are too small for the screws with the knobs...nothing a little power tool won't fix).

So that's how things are progressing in the little man's room.  I am just loving how things are coming together and I can't wait to have a real baby to put in that crib.  It still feels incredibly surreal to me that we are going to have a baby all our own in just a couple of short months.  I feel more excited and lucky with every passing day of this pregnancy.

Stay tuned for more nursery updates.

The One with the Nursery Ideas

Ever since I found out I was pregnant, and for quite a while before if I am being honest, I have dreamed about a nursery for our baby.

I envision it as this calm and pretty space with matching colors and gorgeous furniture.  I also want it to be a place that can grow with our little one.  I don't love all the theme nurseries and just want something that looks classic and put together without being too baby or cutesy.  Finding this for a boy is difficult.  There are a million adorable baby girl nurseries and bedding sets.  The boy sets are either animals or sports.  Some people love that, but it's not my style.

That being said, we have a pretty small room and my "perfect" nursery needs to mesh with my real life.  It's quite tragic that I am not famous and/or rich because I could design the hell out of a baby space!

I love love love this nursery, but for some crazy reason Hubs wouldn't go for the polka dot walls.  Silly husband!

From Project Nursery

It took a little work on my part, but I finally convinced Hubs that a blue, gray, and white nursery would look fantastic.  So, those are the colors we are going with.

We have ordered some pieces for our little guy already and I have some ideas for other things I want to do.  So I figured I'd detail it all here and it would be a place to keep my ideas organized.

My fantastic in-laws generously purchased our crib and dresser for us.  They, along with the fabulous chair, are being delivered in late February during my school vacation.

Larkin 4-in-1 Crib from Pottery Barn Kids

Larkin Extra-Wide Dresser and Changing Table Topper from Pottery Barn Kids

Comfort Grand Swivel Glider from Pottery Barn Kids in Dove Gray Cotton with Ivory Piping

The plan is to do the walls in a light blue (possibly Glidden Sweet Baby Boy or Behr Madras Blue) and then do a gray (maybe Behr Porpoise) and white stripe in the middle of the wall, very similar to the picture below.  I don't have the original link, but it is on my Pinterest Nursery board if you follow me (button on the top of the blog page).

Baby's name is definitely NOT Lucas, btw...not so great experience with that name in my classroom.

I know nothing about painting and Hubs hates it so the whole process should be interesting!

I really like this area rug from Pottery Barn Teen.  Still trying to decide whether we will do a gray or blue rug on the hardwoods.

Decorator Border Rug in Warm Gray from Pottery Barn Teen

I have decided not to do the traditional bedding set and I am mixing and matching from different places.  I am going to order a crib skirt on Etsy.  I originally thought I would get it in gray, but now I am wondering if I should do a light blue because of the gray rug and chair that will already be in there.  Thoughts?

We have registered for a lot of different crib sheets that will all match the blue and gray colors.  Here are a few pictures:

Roadster Crib Fitted Sheet from Pottery Barn Kids...Hubs needed race cars in there somewhere!

 Gray Elephant Fitted Sheet from Pottery Barn Kids

aden + anis Oh Boy Fitted Crib Sheet from Buy Buy Baby

I am also going to have some new knobs made for the dresser from an Etsy shop.  They will look similar to this but will have gray in them as well.

From Etsy shop Sweet Mix Creations

I also registered for some of the canvas buckets and totes at PBK in gray and white.   I am an organization freak of nature and cannot wait to get everything in just the right place.  (And yes, I realize it won't stay like this once he starts moving around).

We have this weird space behind the door in the nursery and I am hoping to put up some IKEA spice racks to use as bookshelves, similar to this, because we don't really have enough wall space for a reading nook.

Original image here

I also need to get some sort of organizer for the closet as well.  It's pretty small and while his clothes are still so little and short, I want to put up some drawers or bins for non-hanging stuff that he will need, along with toys.

I definitely want to hang the wooden letters that spell out his name above the crib (name still TBD) and also put up some pictures from our maternity session that we are doing in late March.

So, that's what I am thinking for the little man's space.  I can't wait to start cleaning out that room this week so it can start to become "his."

Off to do more daydreaming and blog searching and pinning...