Ridley Claire's room

I had a few more items to pick up to put the finishing details on Ridley's room.  My mom and I ran out for the last few items while she was in town visiting.  It was really nice to spend this time preparing for my little girl with a little "girl time" with my mom.

I love the finished room.  It is feminine without being too overdone, and I am really liking the pink.  As I put the last few things together and washed the clothes and blankets, I could only think about being a mom for the third time and the ways my life has been changed by motherhood.  It is the greatest blessing and largest responsibility that brings me so much joy.  

Mess

What a beautiful nursery?  More like, what a mess!  Since we are completely re-doing the master closet, the nursery is the temporary storage area.  I quickly realized that I have way too many clothes, and I have been holding on to some older items that I need to give away.  Today I decided to doing a little purging, and I had two little blonde helpers that were in the middle of all the action.  Can you find them?

 

Pink! Pink! Pink!

 

I am starting to think pink.  I have spent a little bit of time looking at nursery bedding, and I am in the decorating zone for the nursery now.  I ordered the bedding and curtains today, and I found the chair and artwork this past weekend.  I love the bedding, and I can't wait to see it in person.  We are using the dark brown crib again, so it will look a little different than the photo.  I picked a different sheet, so we will not have the grey color thrown in the mix.  I am getting excited!

Completed nursery

The nursery is complete! We moved the glider rocker and ottoman downstairs tonight and put the finishing touches on the room. I sat down in the chair and had a moment of realization. We will be bringing a baby home very soon. I think it was the fact that the room was complete and all the clothes and blankets are in place. How soon our lives will change.
The motorcycle prints set the theme for the room. I had a challenge finding exactly what I had in mind, but I knew that these would be perfect.

The replica antique motorcycles were a gift from Nana, and they are the perfect accents for the room. We are really excited to have the room complete and can't wait to bring our new baby boy home.

Caulking is fun!

We spent the day caulking the nursery. The crown moulding, door casing, and baseboard is all complete and just needed some MAJOR caulking. Ryland had to get in on the fun, so John Chris gave him some caulk to help. Ryland had been watching intently and had a pretty good idea of what to do. The caulk got a little messy, but it was fun.

Nursery progress

John Chris and I worked on the nursery today in hopes of finishing sometime this week. The biggest issue we are having is the trim. We can't find the exact door casing or crown molding to finish off the added walls. The ceiling has been painted, the baseboard has been added and caulked, the electrical has been changed out, the old dark walls have been primed, the fan has been installed, and the furniture has been moved to the room.

House projects

The new kitchen back splash is installed and just needs to be grouted. We love it, and it looks great with the off white cabinets and granite.
This is the other side of the kitchen with a little more back splash. The tiles are rectangular pieces of travertine, marble, and colored glass. What a difference! New stainless hood and gas cooktop coming soon.
The other project that kicked off today is the nursery framing. The wall and closet are framed, and the room is really starting to take shape. Only sheetrock, trim, and paint to go.

Furniture is here!

The crib and dresser arrived today, and we were so excited to get it in the nursery. It only took 17 weeks! John Chris and I really enjoyed putting the crib together and unpacking the dresser. We are very happy with the finish and overall size. The rocker/glider chair and ottoman still haven't arrived, so we are using a chair from the office for the time being. The letters are striped and polka dotted, and they look great with the bedding.
We put all of Ryland's clothes, socks, blankets, diapers, and other necessities in the drawers. The changing pad is now attached to the dresser, and the cover is so very soft. One of my favorite things in the nursery is the airplane picture. It is dramatic, and the colors are perfect.

This shot is from the nursery door. We can't wait to bring our little man home. We sit in his room at night and talk about our family's future. It is nice to dream and try to vision what our lives will soon be like. The nursery feels cozy and inviting. We love it!

Great news about the furniture

We were told by the manufacturer that our furniture has shipped! Hooray! The trucking company says it will be delivered on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. It is the crib and dresser, and they will make such a huge difference in the nursery. We will be able to put his clothes in the dresser drawers, and we will be able to put out all of his crib bedding. We are thrilled beyond words with this good news.

We purchased the curtain rod, hooks, new drawer hardware, baskets, and a lamp. We are ready to put this nursery together. I have charged the video camera battery, and I am ready to capture the moment.

The lonely nightstand

Yes, this is the only piece of furniture in the nursery! So sad, but so exciting. Since we have been unsuccessful in getting our other furniture, I can not begin to describe what an exciting moment this was. I picked up the nightstand and the letters today, and I could hardly wait to get them in the nursery.

Furniture drama

The nursery furniture ordeal is absolutely ridiculous. John Chris and I were so excited about all of the furniture we had selected and ordered. Even though we ordered everything months in advance, we still have not received anything. I would not recommend Ooh Baby at Stacy's to anyone! We have been getting the run a round for months now. After many calls to the owner and her not calling us back, we contacted the manufacturers directly.

Come to find out, the crib and dresser that we ordered back in October were not actually ordered with the manufacturer until the second week in January. We were told by the store that they had shipped, but that was not the case. We are now checking with the manufacturer every other day to get the shipping updates.

The chair and ottoman that were ordered back in December are not even in production. The store tells us that they have shipped, but the manufacturer says that they have not even been made yet. What is even better is that the chair and ottoman will not be made because the store has not paid their bill. NICE!

We had hoped that everything would be in by now, so we could finish the nursery and have some special moments putting it all together. We were hoping to spend time talking and dreaming about what it will be like when we bring him home in his nursery. We still do spend time in his nursery talking, but it is very disappointing. We hope we have furniture by the time he arrives. Cross your fingers.

The nursery gets painted

John Chris's mom came this week to help us get the nursery prepped. We painted the nursery in Sauteed Mushroom, which is a warm light brown. Liz is a great painter and can really "cut in" well. After painting the nursery, we attacked some much needed cleaning projects. Carpet upstairs, wood floor downstairs, rugs, wood blinds, and ceiling fans are all clean and shinny. It is a great feeling of accomplishment, and we can't wait to get the nursery furniture.

Cooper went home with Liz to play with Doodle for a couple of days. We miss our little pup, but I have really been able to get some projects done without his help.

Nursery artwork

We found an awesome photo for the nursery. For those of you who didn't know, we have this very cool model airplane that we are going to hang from the ceiling. It is a Sopwith Camel airplane, like one flown by Eddie Rickenbacker. He was an American fighter ace in World War I and Medal of Honor recipient. He was also a race car driver and automotive designer. (Yes, I researched the plane. I am a dork.)

Third trimester!

I can't believe we have made it this far along already. I went to the doctor this week and everything is progressing right on schedule. I am now entering my third and final trimester. I can't stop thinking about how quick it has gone by, and how we will soon have a precious little boy. It is starting to hit me that I am not prepared, and I sometimes get a little panic attitude. The furniture is not here, the nursery isn't painted, we haven't packed for the hospital, we haven't decided on a name, and on and on. John Chris is really great about stopping my worries and reminding me that everything will come together.

We are so very fortunate that we have not had any health issues or problems come up along the way. We are excited to meet Baby Allison!

Paint

Paint, the decision continues.....

Which paint color to choose? We keep buying different shades and just looking at them. It is funny, during the day we like one color and in the evening we like another color.

Farewell guest bedroom

We took the last picture of one of our guest bedrooms. This room is being converted into the new nursery and is now getting a complete new look. We are going from pink to blue for our little boy, and I can't wait to see the finished room.

Nursery bedding and chair

All of the nursery bedding has arrived. We ordered the bedding from Restoration Hardware Baby and Child. They have the cutest things for little ones. I love all of the blankets, pillows, and mats. TOO CUTE! I am really pleased with the quality, and I can't wait to put it on the bed. The crib is expected to arrive mid January, so until then I will just visualize.
We had a little issue with the first chair we ordered. OK, I had an issue. You all know how I am about furniture.
We re-ordered the chair and ottoman from Ooh Baby in an adorable chocolate and blue fabric. The chair is very comfortable, and I can't wait to get it in the room.

Nursery furniture

We ordered the crib and dresser/changing station for the nursery. We found a nice solid,sturdy set at Ooh Baby. It is dark expresso brown, and we think it will look great with the bedding we have picked out. It takes 8-12 weeks to come in, so we are not converting the extra bedroom just yet.
We hear that little ones like to chew on their furniture when they are teething. Ummmm. NO!

Quad screen

I went to the doctor last week for my quad screen blood test. The test looks for signs of Down Syndrome, Trisomy 18, and other defects. The nurse called to inform me that the results were negative! John Chris and I were very pleased, and we celebrated by ordering nursery furniture.