Gabe's Nursery: Part 1

Hands-down, one of my favorite parts of being pregnant was dreaming about and creating the nursery. I have a huge respect for parents who have everything ready and tied up with a bow before the baby arrives, but that definitely wasn't us. Here we are six months after Gabe's 1st birthday, and I finally have his room the way I want it, though I feel like it will always be a work in progress. I'll share photos of his finished room tomorrow—today I'll be talking about the process it took to get us there!

While I was pregnant, a lot of people asked about the theme I was planning for the nursery. It was hard for me to answer that question, since Kyle and I aren't really theme type people. My plan from the beginning was to find crib bedding I loved, and use that as a jumping-off point for inspiration for the rest of the nursery. Once we knew we were having a boy, I found the perfect blue buffalo check bedding, which lent itself to adventure/outdoorsy decor for the rest of the room. It couldn't have been more perfect for Kyle and me, since we both grew up loving to spend time outside (and still do!). 

In order to get things going in the nursery, we actually had a long list of things to do before we could even clear out the room. At the time, we were using the nursery as a guest bedroom, so we had a bedroom suite and a large bookshelf in there. We decided to move everything to the guest bedroom upstairs, but that room had become the catch-all space when we first moved in and the floor was covered with unpacked boxes. Having Gabe forced us to finally go through all the boxes, have a yard sale, and haul the leftovers off to be donated. I loved getting that done! After Kyle put a fresh coat of paint in the room upstairs, we were finally able to clear out Gabe's room and have the blank space we needed.
        

The first project we (and by we, I mean Kyle) tackled was to install board and batten on the walls. This Pinterest board is full of inspiration and tutorials if you're interested in doing board and batten as well (our favorite was this one from Shanty2Chic).   

Next up was paint. Kyle spent an entire Saturday painting the board and batten white to match the trim color, and the upper half of the wall navy blue. He went a solid week convinced he hated the blue color, while I loved it, and then it slowly grew on him and he eventually loved it too. The color we ultimately decided on was Benjamin Moore Van Deusen Blue.   

We were fortunate to have the crib, dresser, and rocker all delivered within a few days of each other, so Kyle was able to tackle putting those together in one afternoon. I don't know why, but having the crib assembled made everything so much more real to me. That was such a fun day! 

The last projects on our list were the shelves and side table for the nursing/reading nook. For the shelves Kyle simply stained two pieces of 2x4 and used industrial piping hardware from Hobby Lobby for the brackets. For the side table, Kyle used this tutorial that included a bottom shelf so I could have a place for a basket next to the rocker.

Last but not least, the gallery wall! We pretty much kept Hobby Lobby in business last year as 99% of the artwork in Gabe's nursery came from there. I love their selection for nursery decor, especially since they have so many pieces with Scripture on it. I wanted a strong reminder of God’s word so we could see it and speak it over Gabe as he grows, and I just love how the gallery wall over his crib turned out. 

   To see photos of the finished nursery, be sure to come back tomorrow!  

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Toddler Favorites at 18 Months

Gabe is a toddler on the move these days, practically running everywhere he goes. This is such a fun age, and we can't get enough of our adventurous little bud! These are a few of the items helping us keep up with him at 18 months!

(1) Cozy Coupe - Gabe got this as a birthday gift from my parents, and it has been a huge hit ever since. He loves climbing in it, pushing it around, putting random toys in the cupholders, and going for rides in it all over the house!

(2) Re-Play Utensils - We love these forks and spoons. They're made from recycled milk jugs, are dishwasher safe, and the 8-packs are less than $3 at Target. Win-win-win!

(3) Klean Kanteen Sippy Cup - Gabe still isn't the best water drinker, but we can get him to drink the most water out of this sippy cup. The great thing about Klean Kanteen is their caps are all interchangeable, so you can keep using the water bottle as your kids transition out of using sippy cups. Hooray for reusability!

(4) Anywhere Chair - This was Gabe's gift from us this past Christmas, and it didn't take long for him to curl up in it with a snack and a book (or figure out it was another climbing apparatus—Lord help us).

(5) Halo Sleepsack - Not only does this keep Gabe warm at night, it signals to him it's time to sleep and he immediately wants to snuggle once we put it on. Another plus is that it keeps him from being able to lift his legs and climb out of the crib, which gives this mama some much-needed peace of mind!

(6) Booster Seat - We laugh because Gabe has always been convinced he's not a baby, since he flat out refused to take a paci, hated purees, and by the time his first birthday rolled around, was 100% over the high chair. He loves sitting at the table with us in this booster seat, and we love it too since it's so much easier to clean than a high chair!

(7) Resinol diaper rash cream - I feel like we've tried almost every diaper rash cream under the sun, but so far Resinol is the only one that does the trick when Gabe's bum gets irritated.

(8) Name Bubbles Labels - I found out about this company through an Instagram ad, and it was perfect timing since I was looking for some name labels for Gabe's sippy cups and snack cups. Since he goes to nursery at church every Sunday and a private home daycare while I'm at work, we needed to keep his things labeled. These are dishwasher, microwave, and freezer safe, and so far they've held up really well!   

(9) Ball Set - Hands down, Gabe's favorite thing to do is be outside and throw these balls around with us. He's even starting to catch on that he's supposed to kick the soccer ball!

(10) Soopsori Fishing Set - I absolutely adore all of Soopsori's wooden toys! Gabe got this fishing set in his stocking for Christmas, and it's a great toy for developing fine motor skills.

(11) Lovey blanket - My sister-in-law gifted this Bunnies by the Bay security blanket to us while I was still pregnant, and it has been so cute to see how much Gabe loves it. He snuggles it, chews on it, and now sleeps with it at night and during naptime.

(12) God Gave Us You - This is one of the favorite books in the rotation right now, in addition to Pout Pout Fish, Go to Sleep Little Farm, and any lift-the-flap or touch-and-feel book.

Mamas, would love to hear a few of your favorites for this age!