(UPDATE!!) I've started a new blog called Sycamore and Slate, and no longer update this one. To see pictures of our brand new house, as we're building it, please check out our new website. Thank you for reading! - Elana
As soon as we found out we we're pregnant, one of the very first things I thought about was decorating the nursery. But, of course, I knew that we should wait a bit until we got through the first trimester and (since I wanted the room to be gender-specific) until we were far enough along to find out if the baby was a boy or girl. But that didn't stop me from starting to plan right away! Or from buying a few things that would be okay for either a boy or a girl.
I knew I wanted a forest, nature theme and there were so many adorable things every time we went to Hobby Lobby or Target that I just couldn't leave behind. Chad will attest to that.
It was good actually that we had to wait a bit, because the room had previously been our "spare bedroom" and it was completely packed full with my old bedroom and office furniture from before we were married, mostly all of my crafting supplies, and tons of other odds and ends. Pretty much everything that we didn't have a home for got shoved into that room. So I spent weeks cleaning it out, throwing things away, and packing things up for storage or a yardsale.
We had painted the whole house when Chad bought it just a few years before, a neutral beige color, so I left that alone. It worked well for the forest theme. But I did add white vinyl birch tree decals to one of the walls as a focal point. I made these myself with my Silhouette Studio software and my Silhouette Cameo Electronic Cutting Tool. I couldn't be happier with how it turned out!
It took a while to get all the furniture we needed, and a lot of running all around to every furniture store within 3 hours to find the right things. And also, lots of the good old online-shopping. We got all our furniture, actually, from various online companies (amazon, wayfair, cymax, etc...) without being able to see them in person first. I was nervous that none of the white and ivories and tans and greys would match each other, but I ended up loving it all. Each piece is slightly different from the others and yet they complement each other really well!
There were also a few DIY projects. I helped Chad make these amazing gutter bookshelves. (And by help, I mean I found the idea on Pinterest and then tagged along with him to the hardware store to make sure he got the gutters I wanted).
I waited until all the furniture was in place, before I hung the pictures and wall decor so I could get the placement just right. Again, Chad did most of the actual hanging while I stood back and told him where to put everything. He will readily tell you how much he hated doing that. Leveling all of them and getting the spacing just right was a huge pain (especially if your wife is a perfectionist). But it was so worth it in the end!
Many of the pictures are from Hobby Lobby including: 'Let Your Heart Sing', 'Hello Beautiful Baby Girl', 'And Baby Makes Three', 'Follow That Dream', and 'Children Only Have One Childhood'
This frame and the mini bird clothespins are from Michael's. The quotes are Project Life journaling cards.
The 'E' was a DIY project that I made from sticks from my own back yard and a hot glue gun.
This was another DIY project that literally took maybe 3 minutes.
These gorgeous paintings are by TinyToesDesign, and they go so perfect in these frames I found at Bed Bath & Beyond.
I think it's the little details that finish the room off and make it feel cozy... Like these sheer and shimmery curtains we got from JC Penney, hung from a shiny gold curtain rod from Lowe's.
This super soft lambskin that I have draped over Evie's ottoman. It's so soft to put my feet up on when I rock and read to Evie. This was a gift from Chad's parents to us back when we first were married. I love that it ended up here.
And we had to have some adorable baby toys... This soft hedgehog riding toy. I mean, come on. Too adorable to pass up.
Also, I'm showing my owl love with some accent lamps... a little night light and a gorgeous lamp with a 3 way bulb for soft or bright lighting depending on the need.
And of course the adorable DIY projects that were gifted to Evie from loved ones. A precious knitted lamb from Aunt Jessie and a lovely sign with one of my favorite verses from Aunt Tanya and Uncle Brandon.
How fitting is this in the closet?? I love the reminder when I'm picking out her clothes for the day.
And speaking of the closet... Chad and I got a system from Lowe's and he installed that, too! Even though Evie's closet has doors, I knew that I'd just be leaving them open most of the time because I'd need to get in there a lot for changes of clothes. I wanted something I could make kind of pretty so that it wouldn't just be a jumbled mess in there. Plus I wanted something to allow for two hanging rods because baby clothes are tiny and it seems silly to just have one row across the top of the closet.
I love love love how the room turned out and I love spending time in there with little Evie. The only thing I want to add yet is a mobile above the crib when Evie starts actually sleeping in here... which I think is going to be very soon! :)
Evelyn turned four months old a few weeks ago! So much has been going on with her, changing and growing!
Evie is getting really good at sitting (with assistance). Other than a random week where she kept slouching to one side, she's been doing an awesome job at sitting up straight! She's had her floor seat almost a month now and she loves to be able to sit up by herself and look all around. I love it too because it lets me get more done around the house.
Evie took her first road trip this month, which unfortunately, was very stressful for her. This last month, she was very wary of new people and places. She cries inconsolably when she starts to get overwhelmed from it and then the only thing we can do is put her in her car seat (which feels very safe and familiar to her) and rock her or take her for a walk to calm her down. Poor thing. Towards the end of the month, we did start to see some improvement with her, and it seems like she's starting to tolerate people-who-aren't-mama-or-daddy much better. Here are a few pictures from a short break on the road:
Evie also found her feet this month and spends a lot of time touching her toes! She kicks a lot now (of course, when mama is changing her) and loves to have her legs moved all around.
Just before hitting the 4 month mark, she also started to try to put things in her mouth. She's liked to hold onto things for a while now, but this is the first that she's sucked on them. Of course, the very first thing she showed interest in chewing on was mama's cell phone. The picture below is her gripping my phone and trying to bring it to her mouth.... We ended up with a selfie instead :)
I feel like a lot is happening very quickly with Evie. It's so fun to watch her light up as she suddenly understands that she can make a toy jingle by kicking it, or see her huge smile when mama or dada walks into the room. I love how she's growing and changing everyday. Much love to this little cutie.
So I'm getting this 3 month update posted a little late (but not as late as last time- yay!) and I thought I'd go ahead and post it today because it's Evie's 100th Day of Life (ah! I'm one day late for that now, too! darn! anyway...) How cool is that! And how can that be?? One hundred mornings waking up with her in my life, and one hundred days of smiles and tears and naps and feedings (and how many hundreds of diapers must there have been now??), and one hundred evenings lulling her off to sleep, and one hundred nights of listening to little baby snores (yes, my baby is Darth Vader), and one hundred days of pure blessings (even on the days I feel like I'm going crazy and have wild daydreams of getting all the laundry folded and put away in one go; drinking a full cup of coffee without it going cold because someone else needs my attention; taking a shower that lasts longer than 5 minutes - or, and now this is really crazy talk - a nice, hot, long soak in the bathtub. (Yes, I can hear all you seasoned moms laughing through the internet at my preposterous ideas). (I just used parentheses inside parentheses, so now I've created a sort of inception situation here and I have to end with double parentheses...) )
Can you tell I'm tired?
I'm so happy, though, that Evie is getting bigger. And I know later I'll probably wish I could make her little again, but she's been little for so long, I'm eager to see her grow! My friends keeps having babies that are bigger than she is at 3 months! A lady at the grocery store questioned me repeatedly about her age and weight. She started out in the 5th percentile for weight and then dropped down to the 4th and then at her two month check-up she had dropped into 3rd and last I calculated she was even lower than that... so as a mom with a baby who's been dropping off the charts, I can say wholeheartedly, GROW! Get big! Eat, eat, eat!
Right at 3 months, we sort of graduated into 0-3 and 3 month clothes... they are too big on her. But the smaller of the newborn outfits were starting to get a little snug in the length department! She is at least on the charts in regards to height. She's still in newborn for dresses, though, by a long shot. Sunday, I put her in 3 month dresses for church and they all looked ridiculous so we had to stick with newborn for now.
Anyway, onto what Evie has learned this month:
*She is so good at grasping things now... anything that fits in her little hands that is... She reaches for toys held in front of her, and smiles at the ones that make noise. She has deep conversations with the toys that hang from her play gym.
*She just started on a growling phase... she's been "talking" a lot for a while now, but lately she really likes to make guttural noises more than anything. I honestly don't like it. Lol... I just feel like it's strange. I think she probably just figured out she can make that noise and soon enough it's newness will wear off and she'll go back to her normal talking... at least that's what I'm hoping. Little baby coos are so much cuter than little baby growls.
*She LOVES to sit up, and is quite good at keeping herself pretty steady... of course she still needs constant support, though. She gets upset when she's laying down unless she's sleeping or eating. When she's leaning back at all, she does these cute little crunches trying to get herself in a straight up sitting position. I have a floor seat and a jumperoo on order from Amazon that should be here tomorrow and I can't wait because she constantly wants to be held in a sitting position.
*She is just starting to get a little separation anxiety. It's worse when she's tired. Sometimes it doesn't seem so bad and sometimes when anyone other than mama is holding her, she is crying. Sometimes if someone even looks at her too long she starts crying. It's like she's thinking, "Oh no, they are going to take me!" Poor girl... We are trying to get her out and with other people as much as possible to help her her used to people... And also daddy is spending as much time with her as he can when he's home. Any other suggestions from moms of a baby with this issue?? I read that 3 months is pretty young to start this but that it does happen... I don't want her to be so upset when I can't be with her!
*She is still gets so gassy and has reflux issues... Sometimes it seems like it's getting better and then it's like she goes through a bad phase of it again... Also it seems like she kind of struggles with constipation issues too which probably has to do with the gassyness.
*She loves to smile and laughs when she hears people laughing. It's so cute to watch. Peak-a-boo is becoming a favorite game and always gets a laugh or two out of her.
*She constantly tries to stick her whole hand in her mouth. Sometimes both hands. Even when she's eating. I try to tell her she can't do both at the same time, but she doesn't quite get it yet. Just in the last day or two, though, she's been seeming more interested in just her thumb... so maybe we're getting there. lol!
Happy 100 Days, Evie!! (Well, 101 now)!! And here's to 3 months of blessings!
Many of the pictures are from Hobby Lobby including: 'Let Your Heart Sing', 'Hello Beautiful Baby Girl', 'And Baby Makes Three', 'Follow That Dream', and 'Children Only Have One Childhood'
