Nursery Reveal

The nursery has been done for a while now. Nearly all the decor was made or given to us as gifts so there is a lot of love in there. Enjoy!

Chloe seems pretty pleased with it... I think :)

For the frame above the crib, I used a map from the state of CA (sorry Sarah, I didn't have a NE map!) and cut the letters out of places Luke & I have visited together.

The letters of her name, paper wheels, and bird were all made by my sister-in-law Sarah Ratliff for my baby shower back in October. Brought them home in my carryon and pinned them to her wall!

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Originally Luke & I bought this frame to make a mirror for her room but I decided I wanted something a little more fun. Therefore, I used the leftover fabric and cording from the curtains in order to make a frame to hold her bows. I didn't want the stark contrast of black in the room so I picked up some spray paint and colored it gray!

Little blue chair was donated to the nursery from Bryce & Deb Spycher from a little antique store, vase was chipped so I got it for $2.99 at Marshalls and I made the frame with sticker letters saying:

For this child I have prayed and the Lord gave me the desires of my heart

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The pink chicken wire frame at the top was a birthday gift from Kirk & Jill. It was a white/ivory color when they gave it to me and when I put it with the white furniture, it looked more yellowish. So, Charlotte came over and we went searching for a spray paint color to match. Unable to find a purple that we liked, we went with pink and I couldn't be more happy with how it turned out! 

Beneath that frame are 3 little specialized things I made.

The far left is made from paint samples for her room. I punched hearts out of them then wrote 

YOU ARE LOVED out of gray paper I had on hand.

Middle frame says:

you are FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE

On the right I wanted to make something special in honor of Luke's grandmother. She was a very important part of his life and passed away a few years ago. We chose Chloe's middle name because that was also his grandmother's middle name, Sophia Jane Armstrong. I made the frame with a picture of Luke & I with her at our wedding and Chloe Jane spelled out underneath it so we can someday explain where she got the meaning of her name.

On the left side of the dresser is a bird cage that holds all the binkies... "Floating" up to the bow frame from the cage, we made little paper flowers from muffin liners. I used ink and stickles (colored glitter) to make each one have a little pizazz.

On the right side of the dresser is a jewelry holder for her plethora of headbands, a little purple frame for a picture of mommy & daddy, and her lotion.

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The curtains were made by my mom. My parents, Luke & I spent hours in Joanns searching for just the right fabric. I love how they turned out and I know that lots of love went into them :)

The adorable name blocks were a shower gift from Jill and Jacy and they fit perfectly on her window sill. 

Under the window, 2 bookshelves from Land of Nod. These were the most expensive items at $35 each but they were exactly what I wanted so I splurged!

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Next to the window in the corner is the rocker that my coworkers all joined forces to buy for us. It was such a generous gift and I'm especially grateful at 3 am for a nice cushioned seat!

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And finally, I love her closet so much that I leave the doors open. I divided her clothes and made little dividers for each separate age. Also, I have her little shoes displayed because they are just so darn cute!

TWO WEEKS!

I promise I won't post weekly updates until Chloe turns 18 but right now, life is moving too fast for me to remember all the little details that I'll want to know when she's throwing tantrums in her terrible twos or entering junior high school and I'm not "cool" enough for her or when she goes off to college and I need to remember holding her close when she was so tiny.

Speaking of college, here is the baby daddy humor of the week: I picked Chloe up off the sectional a few days ago and commented how big she was getting. All the sudden her face looked fuller and she felt heavier to me and I made a remark about how quickly she was growing up. Luke gave me a ridiculous face and said, "Honey, it's not like she has a diploma in her hand and is heading off to college. She is like 2 weeks old!!" Obviously he thought I was being slightly dramatic and he made sure I knew it!

My dad has always been a huge inspiration to me. I'm exactly like the guy which caused a few bumps in the road in my youth when I was sure I was smarter than him but let me tell you, now that I myself have grown up and wised up, I know this much: the man is wise.

(Papa came to visit for 4 days!!)

One of the big things I'm trying to grasp these days was his love for his kids growing up. While us kids were growing up, he always told us that he didn't focus on missing the infant stage of our lives or wishing we were back in elementary yet he always choose to love the phase we were currently in. Right now, he's embracing his role as a grandparent to our children instead of wishing that we were younger. I always thought that was a cool thing but now that I'm a parent, I've got to hold onto that concept for dear life. You see, this morning Chloe peed while we were diaper changing so I had to change her outfit. (Side note: that is probably one of the things I was MOST unprepared for. I never knew that girls peed when their diapers were off. It's always a joke about boys doing it but never, ever, ever did I consider that girls did too!! Learned that real quick :] ) Anyway, I've been dressing her with a onesie under her pajamas to keep her a little warmer so once the wet clothes were off, I went on with the onesie then on with her shirt. Dressing a newborn is still a bit of a challenge for me because I'm so worried about breaking one of her limbs but this morning, I was struggling more than normal. Once I finally snapped the shirt at the bottom, my eyes filled with tears. Baby Girl has officially outgrown her first shirt. The little onesie was showing about 1/2" above the hem of the shirt and the fabric all the way down her tummy was pulled tight. Bad mommy alert: I put my hands under the shirt, stretched it out, and left it on her because I wasn't ready to put it away yet. As I crawled back in bed, my dad's wisdom settled into my mind and I started whispering a prayer about embracing my daughter's life -- no matter what stage she is in -- and looking forward to what she will get to learn and experience next. Not sure I finished the prayer but the Lord knows my heart and I have a feeling I'll be repeating that prayer quite a few times over the next few weeks, months, and even years of her life.

On to a much lighter note, here are a few things about our Chloe Bug:

**She doesn't mind bath time for the most part. First getting in, she loves it but the longer we take to finish the task, the more unhappy she gets. Her favorite part is the snuggles she gets at the end...

**She is a rockstar sleeper and eater. During the day, she is very good about her 3hour schedule and will usually start making little squawk noises when her 3 hours is about up to give us time to prepare the bottle before she starts crying. At night, she will go 4-5 hours between feedings and will usually eat and go right back to sleep. We are thankful for the sleep we are getting now as it could change at any time!!

**Our evenings are the tough time right now. Usually between 6-9ish, she is cranky. There is usually a fight between her falling asleep with her pacifier in, spitting it out, waking herself up, making noise so we try to put it back in, making a face and spitting it out, then starting to cry a few seconds later only to be comforted by again sticking the pacifier in. So, for about 10 minutes she is calm, even falls asleep only to have the cycle repeat. Sometimes all the little girl needs is some extra lovin' and she'll be out.

**Her belly button fell off at 15 days old.

**At her 2 week check up, she had gained 10 oz (now weighing 7lb, 7oz), hasn't grown in length but her head is .5" larger at 14 inches now!

*Consistently drinking 2.5-3oz per feeding which averages 7 times a day.

Our little family.

TWO WEEKS:

Can't get enough of this face. Love you, little girl!

Photo shoot

This is your fair warning: If you don't want to be smothered with baby pictures, this post is not for you!! This post contains 21 photos of my baby girl and please know, I had about 50 selected and downsized for your viewing pleasure. This is the first of many of these posts, I'm sure, but here you go!

FOUR HOURS OLD

(as glamourous as a girl can get in a hospital blanket!)

ONE DAY OLD

  

FOUR DAYS OLD

ONE WEEK!!!

This last picture may be my favorite. I didn't even put her hand like that and she just covered herself up so daintily. Love this sweet girl!

Kirk & Jill got me an awesome camera for Christmas this year but I haven't had a chance to learn about all the features yet. So, these pictures were taken in my living room using my mom's camera.

Hope you enjoyed!

Until next time,

Crystal & Chloe