As of now, the baby’s nursery is still being used mostly as a place to rock him to sleep in the dark before we bring him into our bedroom. Once the baby is mobile and needs to be contained for my sanity safety the nursery will end up being our primary place space. I planned for that with lots of book shelves and toy storage but didn’t do much on the interactive/educational side. But since we moved the changing table downstairs* I had a big blank wall to fill. Maybe I just read too much Odeedoh but I couldn’t resist trying out some chalkboard paint.

Before:

After:

My art skills are a little lacking but I thought it fit nicely with our Wild Things theme. Plus that’s the magic of chalkboard paint, I can erase it and start over! I outlined the painted are with some molding spray painted green so it looks like a frame.

*Is my child the only one who is no longer interested in letting me use the changing table? His table-top acrobatics are getting out of hand. Am I doomed to change him on the floor for the next three years?

I love my father. I really do. He’s kind and caring and always tells me he’s proud of me. But DEAR GOD that man needs medication. He is so OCD about details I thought we would never get our porch finished. Dear Dad firmly believes there is a “right” way to do everything from painting a wall to putting on a belt. In his mind, “right” is the same as “morally correct and therefor not to be challenged even if it means painting every damn piece of wood for this porch THREE TIMES and buying four different kinds of molding”. Perfectionism, thy name is Biff.* But thanks to his planning and knowledge – and his awesome air-powered framing nailer – we have a new front porch. E did an amazing job of both tolerating my father and working his butt off to get everything done even though the weather was crap and he had his actual job to do during the day. And he was out of beer. I totally thought about teaching Baby Evan to play the world’s tiniest violin for him.

But now the project is DONE (Ok beside a little tiny bit of touch-up painting I am totally planning to do as soon as I get a free afternoon when the baby is sleeping and I’m not exhausted. Soooooo…….2024, give or take a few months)  and we have a fantastic new porch on which to enjoy lovely New England evenings. There are two rugs for baby play time on the floor, balustrades to keep tiny children and dogs from falling through the screen, throw pillows for lounging on, a cafe table for morning coffee, patio furniture for games and wine and a swing to rock Baby Evan to sleep at night. Check it out from old to new and be TOTALLY JEALOUS.

*Ok, William, but even his business cards say Biff.

I decided my nursery could not be complete without a rocking chair, so I told E I was buying myself one. We’re calling it my birthday present, although my real birthday present will be NOT BEING PREGNANT. Mom and I went over to Babies R Us to pick up the glider I had registered for, but apparently they’re in the process of changing their stock so they didn’t even have a floor model left. I was very annoyed. So we went to Target and bought almost exactly the same chair, including the ottoman, for $100 less. Plus Mom works at Target and let me use her employee discount – Thanks Mom!

Here’s the final pictures of everything all put together, including the lamps and the rocker. The absolutely adorable Wild Things dolls are from my sister and I luuuurve them. She also painted the little table next to the rocker. I’m really really pleased with the way the whole room turned out.

And this is my final notice to my bebeh:

Besides the second bookcase – which will be here the first weekend of March – and a more appropriate lamp, I think we’re done! I found a few things in the guest bedroom that work in here now, even if they’re not really baby-oriented.

And an almost 34 weeks belly picture. Let this serve as a warning to anyone who things “gee, being pregnant isn’t so bad! I’m already 28 weeks and not so huge!” THE HUGE IS COMING. Please excuse my pants, these are my painting clothes. I woke up with intentions to work on the guest bedroom but so far all I’ve managed to do is carry the supplies upstairs.

How cute is all this stuff? I mean, it’s not Odeedoh hip and modern but with the really blue walls and the awesome shiny floors I think I can get away with cheap Babies R Us and Target decor.

I need to move the baby swing and carrier downstairs, but since I don’t need them in my living room right now I’m using the baby room as storage.

This bedding set is even cuter in the room than it was online. I love that I can buy stuff that “matches” but isn’t meant as nursery decor.

Next up: one more bookcase, lighting, curtain rods and a box to cover the radiator.