A New Chair for Baby

On Wednesday evening I got a call from Daryl at R + L Carriers asking me to call back and reference such-and-such PRO #. I hadn't been expecting any large items shipped via freight carrier so I thought he must have the wrong number. I quickly looked up the pro # on their website but didn't find any info about the shipper or the contents of the container.

As soon as I left work I called him back and found out:

It was our new glider!! For Baby's room!

I was so so excited! The last large piece of furniture needed to complete his room was on its way to my house at that moment! We worked out the logistics for delivery the next morning. When I got home from work I asked Kevin if the chair had arrived. He said "What chair?" ... I was not surprised by this since he loves to tease, so I went into the baby's room and there it sat. =) He easily installed the back of the chair onto the base, since it had shipped in two pieces. We rearranged the room so we could place the chair where we thought would be best and ... now the room is done! I could not be more excited!!

I had to check the registry to see who gifted us this awesome chair since there wasn't any reference on the package - my sweet friend Jennifer was the gifter; I sent her a picture of the chair in the new room right away so she could see how great it looks. What a sweet and generous gift.

Now all we need is a little bit of artwork, a couple wood shelves and to hang the new quilt and curtains. I'm just so pleased to have all the big stuff out of the way - what a huge relief!!

Here's the room in its new layout with the new chair and its pretty chevron pillow. =) (ignore the tools and junk on the dresser!)

DIY Project: Baby's New Room!

The last several weeks (months!) I've been working on the baby's room. I put together a "pin board" with a lot of inspirational and real life pieces that I envisioned for his new space.

The hardest part has been finding the right paint color. I wanted JUST the right color and didn't want to settle.

I knew I wanted yellow. And I knew I wanted a bright, clear yellow, not a pastel, precious yellow. Almost neon really. 

So the search began.

I would pick up a few paint swatches whenever we were out at Lowe's or Wal Mart. I narrowed it down to 4 favorites and then went to Lowe's to get samples mixed up. I had prepped the room for painting and then applied some primer to seal the old paint - mustardy tan/yellow and dark maroon. Then I painted big squares of the 4 samples onto a couple of the walls so I could see how they behaved in different lights. Then I waited.

Here's how the room looked when we first moved in - the red/maroon is on the left and right walls, and the yellow is on the window and entry walls. Very dark and enclosed...

We'd go into the room during the day, night, clouds, rain. I even went into the backyard and looked at the color from the outside! ;) I liked one of the swatches best so I painted over the other 3, enlarged the favorite remaining swatch and waited some more.

Like I says, I didn't want to settle. :)

I finally decided I officially loved the color. We left for vacation over the 4th of July week, I still hadn't finished painting. So as soon as we got back I went to Lowe's and got a gallon of the color - Sparkling Yellow Shimmer - and finished the room in a weekend, walls trim and doors.

I'm so pleased!! I love that it has a lot of cool green with the yellow, more grellow than yellow: like a tennis ball but toned down.

My parents were nice enough to outfit baby's room with a majority of the large furniture items - dresser, nightstand, crib, rug and yet-to-be-hung curtains - and Kevin built them all for me last weekend once I was done with the painting. I was pretty worthless as an assistant since sitting on the floor, getting back up from the floor and lifting large pieces of furniture are kind of beyond my capacity right now, but I did try. ;)

Here are a few photos of the room progress and how it looks now.

We still need the rocker/glider and the layout is tentative, but it looks so good! I'm really happy with it and am pleased with how my pin board came together so well in real life. :))

Here is my original pin board:

Priming the dark red beadboard paneling on this wall was a nightmare. 

The gallon of paint, ready for the walls!

Finally done painting - walls, trim and doors - and almost done cleaning up.

Cleaned up and read for furniture!!

Getting started on the dresser.

Half way there...

The crib is done and looks amazing!!

Here is the room as it looks today, as complete as possible (the cat seems pleased ;).  

We still need to ...

1. get the glider (brown leather),

2. get the laundry hamper

3. paint and hang the curtains

(I'm going to use this tutorial and paint wide navy stripes onto some of these great, simple curtains from IKEA)

4. get some art for the walls

But it looks beautiful to me, even incomplete.

We put in a lot of time and effort and the energy this room exudes now is so serene and happy and welcoming. I hope Baby likes it, too. ;)

Next up: Baby's first quilt!

Good Friends

Sometimes there is a lot for me to complain about. Or I just make up stuff to complain about? Either way I seem to gripe a lot, at times; not ALL the time.

Lately I've been stressing about getting the baby's room ready, finding the right paint, getting my kitchen updated and looking decent, making sure everything in the house is perfect before he gets here - because he'll know if my kitchen floors are ugly or if there is dust behind the couch. ;)

I've had some really nice experiences lately that have reminded me how great it is to have great friends. It's nice to have new friends, but it seems for me that the old friends are the best friends. It's so great knowing people for years and years and having history and familiarity with them. They are my family.

I just spent the weekend with some of my friends/adopted family to commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. An excellent excuse to get together for a proper tea with lots of Earl Gray and goodies and finger sandwiches.

And yesterday once I was back in town, I had a visit from one of my oldest neighbors - she has known me since birth. Crazy. Anyway, she has generously made some beautiful quilts for me and Baby. She is a seasoned and talented quilter/seamstress and does amazing work. Here are the two small quilts she made for Baby ... perfect for "tummy time" (tummy time is great and important but I do hate that term for some reason), in the car, picnicing, travel ... and they are so colorful! She knew I wanted lots of color for the Baby so she went with this beautiful rainbow theme with accenting trim and backing.

She is still working on one for Baby's room - about crib-sized - that will hang on one of his walls. Can't wait to see the finished product! She showed us all the colors she had selected for that and they are perfect.

Square rainbow pattern on the front with musical notes on the back. She said the backing was in honor of Kevin since she knows he loves music:

And a pretty rainbow pinwheel with blue trim and stripes and dots on the back:

I'm very grateful for the friends and 'family' who give their time and energy and love to me and Kevin, and our little man Baby. Even before he is here, I know he is loved and looked forward to by our friends.

 Another friend of mine - whose girls I've babysat since her oldest was just a few months old (she's turning 9 this year!) - is graciously hosting a baby shower for me! I'm so happy to have her do that; she will host a wonderful party.

Here are a few inspiration photos I've gathered for the party ... we're still in planning mode, but soon we'll have everything hammered out and the party will be here before we know it. Can't wait!

Today, I'm 27 weeks 4 days. Baby is about 2 pounds and the size of a cauliflower. And he is moving All. The. Time. Jabbing and punching and headbutting. And stretching and pressing. And squashing.

Sometimes it's really uncomfortable, but I'm reminding myself this is a good thing, and that he won't be able to do this forever. My next appointment is in 3 weeks then my subsequent appointments will be bi-weekly.

This Friday I will be 28 weeks and starting my third trimester! I can't believe I'm almost a third trimester mom-to-be! September will be here before I can blink.