The Nursery

One of my favorite things about not working for the last two months of my pregnancy is that I had lots of time to finish up Palmer's nursery! Derek helped with all the big stuff--painting the walls and the crib, setting up the rocking chair and changing table, etc. I did a lot of the crafts and organizing while he was at work. Or at 1 in the morning when I couldn't sleep...

Most of the stuff we bought for the nursery was used. We got the crib and mattress for $15 because it was missing some bolts and was a little banged up. But Derek got the bolts for a few bucks and we used some of our brown paint left from last year to make the crib match the room (it was cherry-stained before...did not go great with the blue walls!)

One of the only things we bought new is my glider--it was my Mother's Day present from Derek! Let me tell you...I'm glad we spent the money on it. That thing is unbelievably comfy! I love it.

The matching crib bumper set and window valance came from DI, but I bought the brown room darkening curtains on sale at Walmart for a couple of bucks and then hemmed them to fit the window. It took some time without a sewing machine, but I had nothing better to do!

The green curtain behind the changing table also came from DI, and it's covering up a closet with a bunch of games and coats in it :) The decals are the other thing we spent some money on. They were about $30 on Etsy, and I really think they complete the room. Actually, I'll be honest...I planned the whole room around those decals!

This changing table was given to us for free because it was missing the shelves. What you see now are just the temporary shelves! Derek actually made the top one, we just haven't painted it yet. TJ made the other shelf, and it is painted (black) but I hadn't put it in until after Georgia took these pictures! The siver-y looking thing down there? Yeah, that's a duct-taped piece of cardboard. I'm inventive that way ;) The baskets came from the dollar store--another great find!

Derek and I found these shelves at DI and--you guessed it--painted them to match the room :) Most of the decor either came from the dollar store or was a gift, and then I made the blocks and the plaque with the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote.

One of my favorite presents--although there were TONS that I love--is that giraffe there. It was given to us by my mom's best friend Patti, and it is so awesome! It's a playmat to put the baby on instead of just a blanket on the floor. Not that I'm opposed to blankets on the floor, but this thing is awesome because it's so so soft! Palmer loves it. I'm dreading the day when he inevitably poops all over it...

This was one of my final projects, and one of my favorites :) I got the letters at walmart.com for about two bucks each, then used paper and mod podge to cover them. Derek and I got that stick from...well, don't tell anyone, but he broke it off a tree at a campground nearby ;) I'm so pleased with how well it came out!

Putting together this room for Palmer was one of my favorite ways to prepare for his birth. I know it's just stuff--a lot of it just fun, unnecessary stuff--but it made me think about my little boy constantly and it was so fun to picture him here in his room, someday playing with his toys and touching the animals on the walls. We won't live here long enough for it to really be any other kid's room (we're planning on three years at the most, so if we do have another baby in that time he/she still won't be big enough to enjoy it as much as Palmer will). It's really fun to have this place that is just for Palmer! We dreamed it up, we made it happen, and now we have the perfect baby to fill it with ;)