Nora's Big Girl Room!: Part Two

It's done! ;)

Well, mostly. I still have some things to hang on the walls, but the room is 98 percent done! FINALLY! It took a lot of effort on our part, but we were able to get this done in 6 days with almost no issues. My mom and mother-in-law were a HUGE help in getting this done - trying to paint and drill into the walls with two kids around is tricky. But it's done now and it turned out awesome!

Anyway, here are the photos:

The official "big girl bed", complete with the bedding that Nora chose herself. We also used one of the ledges we had originally built for Gray's room above her bed - and I LOVE it! Above her head it says: "she leaves a little sparkle wherever she goes". So, so true for Nora!

This is the nightstand. I got this for ten bucks on a swap site, and I painted it and added new handles. It turned out fantastically! Plus - lots of storage. ;)

Nora's short dresser, with her own little mirror. She's a bit short for it now, but I am sure will be able to easily see herself in it much too soon. Also a little shout out to Fish Is Fish, who is happy to be out of Gray's room. ;)

Here's where I ended up putting Nora's magnet board. I really wanted her to be able to reach it so she could hang things on it, and so here's where it ended up. Also, a ton of her books are stored in the bin below.

A view back towards her right wall. This wall will look a little different as I hang her "gallery" here. It also houses her book rack, which she can now reach - even though it doesn't hold nearly close to all of her books! One thing she begged me for in her room was a tent - she had even specifically picked one out. It wasn't possible to get the tent she wanted in her room, so I was racking my brain trying to come up with another idea. My first thought was "bed canopy", but I couldn't find one that wasn't completely tacky. I saw this tent on clearance at Michael's for 40% off, and I picked it up!! This tent was 12 dollars, and it's Nora's new favorite thing - I call it her "Reading Tent", she calls it her "Camp-Out". Whatever you want to call it, it's awesome because it can be easily taken down if needed. WOOT!

A close-up of some of the items that will end up in her gallery.

Toy storage. The labels on the bins are dry-erase and are from Target. I think I may need a wet-erase marker to make sure they don't get rubbed off so easily! I am also entertaining the idea of using vinyl, so we'll see what works best as we go along.

A view of her tall dresser, with her new hook board on the wall. I still need to remove the Command Hooks from her closet door.

The view back towards the closet. You can see the growth chart Great-Grandma Pat made.

The view when you walk in.

Another view of her bed.

So that's it! Stay tuned for the next blog entry: Nora's reaction to her new room. :)

Nora's Big Girl Room!: Part One

Can I tell you a secret? Nora is turning FOUR this year. Seriously. She's practically in college already. *SOB*

Nora's room is still pretty "nursery-like". The rocking chair, changing pad/table, and diaper pail are gone, but the decor is still "baby". When I decorated this room, I had no idea who the little person was that it was being decorated for - or even if it would be a boy or girl! Now that we have had four years to get to know this beautiful, smart, creative, and exhausting child - it's time for a change. ;)

Before I dismantle the room, I thought it would be a great idea to show how Nora's room has "morphed" over the past four years. It still is nursery-like, but we made changes as necessary of course! I did a post on Nora's newborn nursery that you can see here. But this is what it looks like now!:

Nora's toddler bed, and the makeshift "house" I made her one day out of a sheet and a curtain rod that for some reason never went away. You can also see her train table.

The view walking in the door. You can see the book sling I made her long ago, that she has wayyyyy too many books for!

Her old changing table, that now houses "Fish Is Fish" (her fish). Also her not-very-old toy bookcase, that never looks like this! ;)

Another view of her old changing table. Here you can see her Pottery Barn magazine rack, that I intend to utilize much more in her new room design.

The view looking back. You can see her new magnet board and the wall hanging that has been there since she was born. *SNIFF.*

Another view of the magnet board and the growth chart that her Great-Grandma Pat made her.

Another view of the wall hanging.

I must admit: as I snapped these photos, I got a little teary. This room represents who Nora was as a baby very well - but she's just not that baby anymore! She's grown so much, and changed into this beautiful wonderful little girl. Her new room WILL represent that! Change is good of course, but I'm sad that this room has to change already. Didn't I just bring her home from the hospital yesterday??!! No? . . . Hmmmmm.

Nora's birthday wish this year is a "blue room and a big girl bed". That's where we will begin!

Until next time . . .

Gray's 7 Month Update

We have a seven month old! Here's Gray's update for his seventh month.

Developmentally he's growing by leaps and bounds. Right after he turned 6 months old he started sitting up unsupported . . .

. . . which led to his first shiner a week later when he dived headfirst into Nora's train table. Really, that was his only serious fall though - every other time he fell he would do a sit-up AS he was falling and avoid hitting his head! The kid is strong and learns fast. :) He's already improved so much - I can now sit him down on the floor with no worries. As long as Nora doesn't come along and try to tickle him. ;)

He only started rolling from back-to-front recently. Most of month 6 his rolling looked like the above photo - SOOOOO close! You remember he rolled from front to back when he was ten weeks old, so it's amazing to me that it has taken him so long to figure out the other way. But he just hasn't been interested until recently. Mostly, he enjoys being on his side. When he is on his belly, he scoots just a little bit (mostly backwards!)

Eating-wise he's doing great! He's eating what I would call "stage two" foods - Cheerios, puffs, soft bananas and pears, thicker and chunkier purees, crackers, etc. He doesn't love drinking water from a cup, but occasionally he will practice for awhile and he does well for a first-timer. His pincher-grasp has really developed quickly! But it's great because he can "sort of" feed himself now. When he gets ahold of food and tries to make it in his mouth, he succeeds about 50 percent of the time. Go Gray go! (He loves it when I cheer him on.) ;)

I stopped giving him his blue blanky this month because of the above photo. He would pull it over his head and give me a heart attack when I walked into his room everyday. Sometimes at night I wait until he's sleeping and then go in and cover him with it so he stays warm. He sleeps great still: 10-12 hours per night, and three naps daily - although I think he's about ready to give up his third nap already. Maybe not, but I am willing to bet that his eight month update includes that the third nap is dropped.

He still likes to stick his tongue out all the time!

Seriously. ;)

Here's Gray playing with his cousin Benny, who is three months older. They are starting to get closer in ability and size as they get older, so that's neat. I love that they get to grow up together. ;)

This past month we had family pictures taken, and I went ahead and got Gray's 6 month photos done as well. Here are some of my favorites:





My cousin Heidi of Heidi Clark Photography took these. Aren't they awesome!!

Until next time . . .

Grayson's 6 Month Update

Here is our 6 month old boy! :)

I must admit, I cried and cried the night before Grayson turned 6 months old. How is it that my baby boy is not really a newborn anymore??!! It's absolutely cruel how fast this all happens - even when you are expecting it!

Grayson continues to grow beautifully. His personality is wonderful - he's so laid back and go-with-the-flow, but also a CUTE-LITTLE-STINKERBUG-FLIRTY-PANTS! ;) Anyway, he smiles a LOT, although sometimes he will just look at someone and burst into (real) tears - which is really cute and funny because it's SO heartbreaking-ly adorable. He's impossible not to love, really. I have the easy job!

Developmentally Grayson is doing well. At his 6 month checkup he weighed in at 19.5 pounds, and is 27.25 inches long. Both of these are in the 80th percentile for his age group. He isn't rolling from back to front yet, but the doctor said that larger babies can have trouble with that. He's pretty close, as seen in the above photo. :) (Side note: I love that picture. It just sums up Gray's personality so well!) He plays for long stretches on his belly or back on the floor, and also loves his Exersaucer. He's recently learned to jump, and that is his FAVORITE activity!! :) He can also sit pretty well for his age. I have just recently started putting him on the floor with a boppy around him - but I stay close because he loves to dive headfirst into the ground chasing after his toys! He also has his tongue out all. the. time. Just like his daddy!

As far as eating goes, well Grayson loves it! :) We are in the process of weaning off of breastfeeding, which has been harder on me than him. He's also eating baby food of all kinds, rice cereal, oatmeal, puffs, cheerios, and bananas. This month he really started to enjoy food and open his mouth to expect the spoon. His first time eating a banana he did great! Hardly any choking. When he ate puffs for the first time, he did well but did choke a few times. It didn't take him very long to get the hang of things though - he hardly chokes anymore. This morning for breakfast we nursed, and then he had 2 Tbsp. of rice cereal with fruit, a quarter of a banana, and about 15 Cheerios. So he's a good eater!

Grayson spent a LOT of time outside this month! He likes to go for walks in the stroller and I took him on his first trailer ride on the bike. He also played outside on a blanket, in the grass, and in his pop-a-tot. Occasionally I will carry him around in the Moby wrap. He likes to feel grass on his feet and hardly ever wears shoes or socks. He kicks them off!! He spends a lot of time when he's outside watching his sister and the other kids - you can tell he wants to run around with them! We also spent a little time swinging on the swings, and I put Nora's old Jenny-Jump-Up on our swing set for Gray to jump in. He will probably like it a lot when he figures it out. ;)

This month we are having some work done on our basement, which required us to put everything down there into the guest room or the center of the basement. It was great for the kids because it created this "track" for them to play on indoors! On rainy days Grayson is learning to use his walker down there while Nora learns to ride her big girl bike. It's been a lot of fun!!

That's about it for now. Gray remains a joy to have in our lives! Until next time . . .

Spring - Lots of Firsts!

Yikes!! Spring sure is flying by. A lot has been going on here - let's see if I can remember it all:

This is our kids at the local Easter Egg Hunt with the bunny. Gray didn't participate in the hunt of course, but Nora had a good time. The poor girl always hunts eggs and ends up with almost nothing but chocolate (which she doesn't like). But she still had a ton of fun and ate all the Tootsie Rolls in her eggs. ;)

Nora and I took Gray swimming for the first time a few weeks ago. This rec center that we were at is great for first timers: it has a zero-entry pool that is a good temperature. We took Gray on his fifth-month "birthday". Nora hated baths, and the first time I took her to this pool she cried and cried. Grayson loves his baths, and the first time he went to the pool he had a GREAT time. I thought he was going to cry at first, but he ended up liking it. Yay!!

Nora had some weird sickness last week that left her with a low-grade fever and a nauseated belly. This is her "feeling better" face. ;)

Even though she didn't feel one-hundred-percent just yet, she still wanted to go to her first soccer game. The above photo is her pre-tears. :) She ended up crying about "not getting a turn to kick the ball" but after one of the coaches set her up to score a goal, and she got her after-game popsicle, all was well. ;) The poor kid - we tell her to share all the time, so she doesn't really get that in soccer you can go take the ball away from other kids!

The weather around here has been great for the past few days, so we have been spending a lot of time outside. Grayson loves to be outside and put his feet in the grass. Nora has been playing with new spring toys - the above photo is of her doing her ring toss. ;) We also took our first family bike ride yesterday - a super short one, just to try it out and see how everyone would do. It has been gorgeous lately!!

And then of course today is opening day! We all have our Cardinals gear on. Nora gets to go to a game this weekend, so that will be fun for her. It's only her second game ever!

So that's what we have been up to lately. Until next time . . .

Gray's 5 Month Update

Gray is 5 months old! Hooray!

I had to show you a photo of his hair. It's falling out in odd places, and it's so funny and cute! If he's anything like his sister, that will change by the time he's 9 months or so, but for now it's the first thing everyone comments on. ;)

Gray is doing very well. He's still growing like a weed and this past month most of his 6 month clothes became too small. He now wears only some of his 6-9 month clothes, all of his 9 month clothes, and size 3 diapers. What a growing boy! I have no idea how much he weighs since we didn't go to the doctor this month, but I am guessing 18-19 pounds at least.

This month his PERSONALITY is showing through! He loves to talk and SMILE all. the. time!! He chews constantly on his toys and hands (but no teeth yet). I think he chews often to get a feel for textures that he likes. He's a really go-with-the-flow kind of kid who rarely gets riled. This past month he started to have a little stranger anxiety, but it seems to have mostly gone away already. He does like to smile and talk at people and then bury his face into mommy and act shy.

He consistently is taking three naps per day. Usually the first is really short, followed by a long 3-hour nap around lunch, and another short one at the end of the day. It's odd, but it works for him! ;) He also sleeps about 11 hours each night, straight through. He truly is an excellent night-sleeper. I haven't had to get up with him at all this month at night (*knock on wood*). Sometimes his nap schedule gets messed up, and he just goes with it - he's not one I have to worry about being RIGHT on schedule every day. That's been REALLY nice!

He continues to explore baby food this month. He is not a fan of vegetables, just like his sister. He loves pears, apples, and bananas - just like his sister! In fact, so far they both hate peaches and carrots too. *sigh* What is it like to not live with picky eaters?? Anyway, he eats a lot and will at least try anything once. He eats three times per day already, and nurses 4-5 times per day (usually just 4). He takes 6-8 ounces every time he has a bottle!! WHOA! He's also eating much faster. This next month we are going to start weaning him from the breast . . . I think. ;) I go back and forth about it. I'm not entirely ready to give it up since Grayson loves to breastfeed and I am not in a hurry to stop. So we'll see. I may wait until May. Who knows!! Right now he's so darn flexible and will take a bottle of formula or a bottle of breastmilk or breastfeed with no issues. He truly is an easy-peasy child to get along with. ;)

He loves to play on the floor and has been spending more time on his belly. He rolls easily from front to back, but isn't really interested in rolling from back to front (although he has almost done it several times.) He likes to be on his side, and moves himself at 90 degree angles on both his front and back. He's such an easy-going kid - he will play by himself on the floor for a half hour, or sit in his exersaucer and talk to me while I make dinner. He also still likes his baby rockers, so I put him in there at least once per day. When we play together he likes to lay on his side and I will lay on my side and we will "talk" to each other, or I will hold him while he practices sitting up. He recently launched a toy halfway across my living room, not for the last time I am sure! He can do baby push-ups, and is learning raspberries too. He is ticklish EVERYWHERE and it's sooo very cute - he loves to be tickled! Also he loves to kick his socks off, and he spends a great deal of his time everyday making sure they are both off. ;)

That's about it I think! He's just getting so big. Why do kids grow so darn fast?? ;)

Until next time . . .