Hudson's Nursery Update

There is so much cuteness available for babies! It is all I can do to keep my wallet shut while shopping. I am working on our new must haves list for babies (if you haven't seen my last list it's here). But I wanted to share a couple updates on Hudson's nursery. First off it is still my favorite room in the house, the two toned paint scheme really floats my boat and with a couple of added touches it's finally done . . . just in time to move. ;).

We didn't change much, well we really change anything, we just added some special touches. First we added different pillows to the chair. It's a long story involving pee, and some pretty amazing poop, long story short the chair was cleaned and we had to get new pillows. They are both from Ikea. I love the black and white one, and the teal one has such a nice velvet texture to it.

We couldn't fit a lamp or a floor lamp in Hudson's room so I was thinking of maybe adding a sconce? But while I was at Ikea buying pillow covers I saw this eye chart sign that lights up! Perfect!! It's kind of graphic and sits flat against the wall.

Next was my absolute favorite purchase for Hudson ever . . . this Danish Mobile. It cost almost as much as his crib but I loved it!!! I can see it hanging inside a tent when he's older, or just in the corner of his room! Heck, I love it so much if he doesn't want it when he's older I might just hang it above my bed! ;)

With Hudson up and trying to walk with the grace of a three legged, sleepy baby deer I figured something soft in his room might be a good idea. I ordered this floor pouf from etsy (here's the link to the store). The shop owner let you pick the fabric and the piping and I should also mention that it is very good construction. The pouf cost just over $50 with stuffing and everything.

We needed a small table beside the chair. We were just placing the bottles on the ground and that led to the great bottle leak of 2013 on the carpet so I found this ceramic OWL side table. I loved the little table and if you can't put a huge ceramic owl with a flat head in a babies room . . . where else are you going to put one?

The owl is from Urban Barn.
The corner of his room is looking about the same, a few more books and toys but generally the same as it did 8 months ago.

Lastly, I had to share the best $7 I have every spent. Sneaking in and out of a babies room has never been easier! I ordered mine off of Etsy, the store is called Latchy Catchy.  It catches the door latch so you just open and close the door. Lee noticed it and asked how much it cost. I thought he was going to say it was silly, I answered $7 and he said it's worth $100!! ;) haha

I hope you like Hudson's room as much as we do. I was a little sad that we had just finished his nursery and now we are moving, but it has given me some ideas on things I definitely want to do again in his new nursery, and some ideas of things I wouldn't do again. More on that in another post! :)

Baby Kit!

The number 1 rule around here seems to be "Don't Wake the Baby!" haha.

It seems like as soon as I mix a bottle, grab the baby, grab the pillow and sit down on the couch . . . I will immediately need something, a pacifier, a burp cloth, the nail clippers (because the only time I can clip his nails is when he's asleep on me). I was tired of having to wake up a sleeping baby to grab any of these things. So I set up a "Baby Kit".

A Baby Kit just contains all the little bits and pieces that come with having a baby in the house.

• First, since I always change Hudson upstairs but there has been an "incident" or two that required an emergency diaper so I keep an extra diaper or two in the kit.
• WIPES, very very important to have easily within reach. 
• Bibs!! He's a bit of a drool machine right now, so having a few bibs in reach is a must have. These bibs are from Ikea, and they are super cute and cozy. 
• Nail Clippers.  
• Sock, extra baby socks are always good to have on hand, because apparently baby feet repel baby socks.  
• Dimpleskin Naturals Boo Boo Goo. Good for any little scratch or rash. 
• Natural teething remedy, some Camilla Drops! I am not convinced they work but they definitely distract him from his gums for a minute or two. 
• A Thermometer. Ours is the Kidz Med scanner. It good because I am a little paranoid about him over heating so this thermometer let's me check him with out waking him up! :)
• A dangly elephant that rattles.
• A wood rattle.
• And a pacimal! A pacifier attached to a stuffed animal. These are perfect for little babies that can't keep the pacifier in their mouth. 

 And of course . . . Aden and Anias Burp Cloths!!!

I keep the kit, in a 3 Sprouts bag, complete with a little mouse! I like these bags because they have pockets on the outside and they are lined on the inside so they are waterproof!

I hope you like the "Baby Kit" as much as I do. It has really helped control the baby clutter in our living room.  

Baby Must Haves

I am so excited to share my Baby Must Haves with you today!!! Before I share them, I will say that I think all babies are different and what our little Hudson LOVES might not be loved by all babies ;). But I will also add that there are other little babes we know (I'm talking about you Emma) that also love some of these Must Haves.

It seems like almost all of our Must Haves fall under the same few companies, Mamas and Papas, Aden and Anias, Skip Hop and Seventh Generation. 

First, Bed and Bath Products.

Although they hardly need my endorsement after Royal Baby George was seen in their swaddle blanket, I LOVE Aden and Anais products. Hudson's bed sheets, blankets, change pad cover and burp cloths and bibs are all made by Aden and Anais! I can't get enough.
1) Muslin baby Swaddle blankets in the Up, Up and Away pattern. They were perfect for summer, but now they make Cozy Muslin blankets for Winter.  We have 6 of them and they are well used!
2) Cozy Sleep Sacks also made by Aden and Anais. We have two in each size as well as a thinner summer one, I love the Liam the Brave pattern.
3) Baby Bee Diaper Ointment. This stuff WORKS. Hudson has insanely sensitive skin and this cream gets rid of any signs of diaper rash. We went for 3 months without any diaper rash, then he got a touch sick and he got a little bum rash, we were using California Baby diaper cream but it didn't make the rash any better, then 2 days of Baby Bee and it was gone!! 100% natural!!
4) Aden and Anais Burp Cloths. These things are amazing!! They are HUGE so they cover your whole shoulder (very important), they are super absorbent (also very important), and as a bonus they have a little snap and they turn into a bib!! We have 4!!
5) Aden and Anais Bamboo Security Blankets. I noticed Hudson was always grabbing his blankets or his outfit, I mentioned it to my friend Sara, and she said she noticed that as well and bought her baby girl these little security blankets and that she loved them. I pick up a pack for Hudson (they come in a pack of 2) and he LOVES them!
6) Silkberry Sleepers. They are so soft, and so stretchy! They are expensive but worth it, we have 3 of them and Hudson has basically lived in them!
7) Seventh Generation baby shampoo and lotion. Like I mentioned before Hudson has very sensitive skin, and the shampoo and wash doesn't irritate his skin. The lotion has helped us keep his eczema away, any sign of dryness the lotion goes on and so far we've been able to keep any flare ups at bay!

Next, Meals and Wheels baby must haves.

1)  Mamas and Papas Loop high chair. This was a recent purchase for us, but I already regret not getting it sooner. He loves to sit in it and watch me make dinner! It tilts back and it spins, but the main reason we bought it is because the height is easily adjustable so I can feed him standing in the kitchen or sitting at the dining table.
2) My Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag. It turns into a back pack if it gets too heavy . . . enough said! ;)
3) Glass Dr. Brown's Bottles, we didn't want to use plastic bottles and I had heard that Dr.Browns help with colic (Hudson wasn't colic but why risk it) haha. I noticed that he had way fewer toots and burps when using these bottles. They are a PAIN to clean though.
4) We are getting close to solid food time, I am planning on making Hudson's baby food so I needed little jars to store it in. I found and LOVE these little glass Wean Tubs. Again, we didn't want to use plastic so we were willing to spend a little more for the glass tubs.
5) Again my friend Sara found this product, this Skip Hop stroller caddy has saved more than one shopping trip. It's a perfect cup holder and it also has a detachable wallet in the front, and space for all the little bits and bobs that come with leaving the house with a baby. It will fit a bunch of different strollers as well, it fits my Urbo and my friends Britax.
6) Speaking of our stroller. We have a Mamas and Papas Urbo, and we LOVE IT!!!! Couldn't live with out it. It is definitely made for Urban life . . . so no off roading with this guy. It is so light, and so maneuverable, I can hold a door open with one hand and wheel the stroller in easily with the other. The frame is metal so it's super sturdy. The handle telescopes in and out so it fits me at 5'9" or Lee at 6'8". And best of all it fits into the back of my tiny car (Toyota Yaris). We Purchased the Bassinet in addition to the seat it came with, we weren't sure if we should or shouldn't get the bassinet but it was worth every penny!!! We still use that bassinet even though his little legs are starting to hang out the bottom!! I loved that the seat can either face us (for when he's little still) or face out for when he's older (the seat is rated up to 55 lbs).
7) This bottle drying rack is not only cute!! It's also really functional. It fits all 8 of his bottles and all the bits and pieces that come with Dr.Brown's bottles. I would definitely recommend this!!!

Next, TOYS!!!

1) Skip Hop Mobile. What's not to love Owls, birds! I thought I could get away with a simple pastel mobile but one look at his friends brightly colored mobile and suddenly we had to get him one too . . . I know I know, get use to it right!!
2) Skip Hop Activity Gym, I love it, he loves it. It is by far the least ugly play mat I could find.
3) Skip Hop wood blocks. I love wood toys! Give me the option and I will choose wood over plastic any day! And what little boy doesn't love building blocks??
4) A wood rattle. He has two versions of these wood rattles, both made by Hape. We have a love affair with Hape toys right now. So so cute!
5) Lastly, Hudson's Favorite toy!!! This crocheted Snake made by Pebble. He can't nap without it. I do find it funny that the snakes head rattles but not his tail . . . but I guess they weren't going for realism (because a blue and teal snake is soooo realistic).

The down and Dirty must haves.

 1) Seventh Generation Diapers. They are great for Hudson's skin, we haven't noticed any diaper rash (except for the week he was sick), and they are Chlorine free!!
2) Seventh Generation Wipes. For the same natural reasons as using the diapers, plus they are thicker than other wipes I've tried. I like the thickest possible barrier between my hand and the contents of diapers (Definitely enough said).
3) Natursutten Pacifiers. Pacifiers made from natural rubber, with no creases or crevices.

And last but not least . . . . .

A SLEEP SHEEP! Hudson LOVES his sleep sheep!

That's my list!! But I am dying to know what's on your baby must have list???

Nursery Reveal

       Hudson's almost 9 weeks old now and we can finally call his room finished. I wanted to keep the main elements timeless and neutral . . . things like the wall color and the trim detail (you can read more about those choices here). I wanted them to be able to grow up with him. The trim and paint also happen to be my favorite part of the room, I would love to paint the entire house those two colors!

       I wanted to add some whimsy (or a lot of whimsy as the case may be) in the form of drapes. I am not much of a "theme" person but somehow his little nursery ended up with a bit of an elephant theme. What I like about the drapes is that while it's obviously elephants up close . . . from far away it almost looks just like a patterned black and white fabric (you can read more about the drapes here).
       I found this curtain rod at Lowes for less than $20. I thought it was perfect for a nursery. I love that it looks like a branch with some little leaves off the end. I even love the antique brass finish . . . a little warmer than nickle or chrome.

       The crib was more than a bit of a dilemma. We originally bought Ikea's Sniglar crib. I really loved the clean lines and how thin and delicate it was, I especially liked the price at $79.99. What I didn't like was that it was natural wood (I was just hoping for something painted). So we bought it anyway . . . and picked up some no voc paint. The plan was that we would paint the crib with a no voc paint, then seal it with a no voc sealer. We knew that we had about a month before he would be sleeping in it . . . so that should be more than enough time for it to cure and all the smell to leave. One month later . . . the paint was still tacky . . . the smell was stronger than ever and in the end I just didn't feel comfortable with him sleeping in his room  . . . with the door closed and that crib inside. So back to the drawing board, or back to Ikea I should say, for their Gulliver crib. It is really similar in its style, very simple clean lines. The four corner pieces are a little thicker than the sniglar crib but generally the same idea. A bonus is that it was already a warm cream color, and it didn't stink. ;)

       We had no debate over what crib mattress to get Hudson . . . we knew we wanted one that had an infant side and a toddler side (although I am pretty sure most of them do). But mostly we wanted to ensure that it was made of organic cotton. I researched tons of different mattresses to find one that was a reasonable price, we ended up with the Simmons "Natures Best" mattress.  We found it on sale at Sears for $159.

       Attached to the crib is a Cloud B sleep sheep. Hudson loves it, he loves it so much we ended up buying the travel sized sleep sheep that we can take with us in the car and on trips. The sheep has 4 white noises, rain and ocean are Hudson's favorite. We use Rain for bedtime and we use Ocean for nap times. It's awesome . . . as soon as he hears the rain sound you can actually see him getting sleepy.

       In the crib we chose a Muslin crib sheet made by Aden and Anais, it's their Up, Up and Away pattern. I have more than a small crush on Aden and Anais products right now, we have the swaddle blankets, the sleep sacks, the burp cloths and the bibs. They are beautiful and breathable, even Lee likes them and he is pretty much immune to baby stuff. He said he doesn't understand why I think baby shoes are so cute because "They are just like adult shoes but small". haha

       Beside the crib is our old craft cabinet. We were given so many adorable baby gifts and so many books, we wanted somewhere to keep all the cute baby gear. The drawer at the bottom is especially useful to store extra diapers and wipes.

       I found the sign above the cabinet at Homesense. I went in for pillows (more on the pillows in a second) and I saw the sign . . . I knew we had to have it for Hudson's room. I am sure he will get to be a certain age and not want that up in his room any more but for now it's perfect!

       The mobile above his bed was a bit of a struggle for me. I couldn't find a mobile that I loved. I could find ones that I liked . . . but even those ones were well over $50. So I set out to make my own, errr . . . kind of. I found the wire mobile harness on Amazon for less than $10. Then I found these little monkeys at the dollar store for a dollar ;). I just clipped them on the bum (ouch). Hudson loves it. When I find little elephants I will swap out the little monkeys but for now the colors are perfect and if Hudson is happy with it, then I'm happy.

       On the other side of his room is his dresser (aka. Change table) and a chair. The mirror is a huge hit with Hudson. The change pad is the Naturepedic Organic Change pad (while Hudson doesn't spend a lot of time on his change pad . . . we still chose to go organic because we didn't want it off gassing in his room). We covered it in the matching Muslin Aden and Anais cover! We keep his diapers and wipes in the top drawer of the dresser, that way we didn't need to try and squeeze in a BIG, long dresser or change table.

       You might recognize the chair, it's our old living room chair (originally our library chair). We are planning on adding a glider mechanism to the bottom but for right now it's as is. The pillows are from Homesense and they were the inspiration for the whole room.

       Lastly, above the chair we attached a picture ledge (an old one from Ikea) to the wall and hung a very calming piece of black and white art work (originally from Ikea as well).

I also keep his little elephant rattle and diaper cream up there, because I give him the rattle when I change him and if I need the diaper cream it's within easy reach.

We also added a ceiling fan where the old light fixture was before. Having a fan in the room reduces the risk of SIDS so it was the first thing we installed when we knew Hudson was coming home.

Whew, that was a long post . . . and I hope you like his little nursery as much as we do. It's my favorite room in the house now. Like hands down, no contest, my favorite room! It makes me want to install trim and do a two toned paint scheme for the whole house!

Make sure to pop back tomorrow, I have been using our crock pot a ton since Hudson's arrival and I made the BEST and Easiest chicken dish, recipe up on the blog tomorrow morning!

I Heart Organizing: Baby Closet

Hi,
I am over on I Heart Organizing today talking about Hudson's new closet. Organizing a baby closet was a bit different than organizing a grown up closet I found out. For one . . . the clothes are much tinier. I worked out a very simple system for our little man's clothes.
If you have a second check it out on I heart Organizing!!

Elephant Curtains in the Nursery

I ran a bit wild with the elephant theme in Hudson's nursery. What started as a onesie quickly spiralled into crib sheets which snowballed into a theme.

Hudson is at the stage where anything high contrast is super interesting to him, so I thought I would try to find something high contrast for him too look at in his bedroom. I wasn't sure if I would choose a piece of art or maybe a mobile but I ended up finding this fabric on www.fabric.com for an amazing $7.98 a yard and just like that the curtains became my high contrast piece.

 Hudson LOVES his new curtains!!! We picked up a set of black out blinds from Target to block the light . . . a must have in a nursery and we just hung them behind the elephant curtains. Black out blinds are a bit pricey so we bought short ones and hung the less expensive elephant curtains in front.

I can't wait to share the rest of the nursery with you guys. I am trying to put the finishing touches on it this week. It feels a bit weird to be tackling Hudson's nursery this far after he was born but we only had 9 days to prepare for what most couples have 9 months to do. :) haha.

Baby Shower

Thank you so much for your patience over the last few weeks while I've been away ( a bit of a maternity leave, if you will). We have been figuring out our new lives as parents. It's been amazing and crazy all at the same time.
Now that Hudson is 6 weeks old he is starting to fall into a pattern. We are so lucky he never had his days and nights mixed up and he's always been a solid eater and sleeper, but we are finally getting those 6 hour stretches we've been promised for the last 5 weeks! ;) What everyone failed to mention is that it's only one 6 hour stretch . . . the rest are 2 hour stretches. But I am so grateful for any amount of sleep over 30 minutes.

We've moved into a cluster feeding schedule . . . about 4pm until 630 or 7pm I am on the couch feeding the baby! If only I could blog and feed Hudson at the same time. . . I would have endless posts for you!

But our update is that we are all doing well. We are sleeping, some days more than others. But we are over the moon in love with our little man!

On Saturday our very sweet and so creative friends threw us a beautiful shower!! Here are some of the pictures and really special touches they added. It was one of the most heartwarming days of my life. To share Hudson with our friends and family was amazing and only brought me to tears twice that day.

This banner welcomed us to the party (p.s. I am going to have to house crash these friends and share their home with you . . . beautiful doesn't even begin to describe it!).

We received some incredibly thoughtful and touching gifts. Hudson's library is now stocked full of beautiful and classic books, like Love you forever (a favorite of mine).

The diaper cake was fabulous and made up of organic, natural diapers . . . and what does every mother need in her diaper cake???? A bottle of Red Wine!!! haha I guess that's a perk reserved for adopting, non-breastfeeding mothers.

Ok, this is one of my favorite party banners of all time. I LOVE the Pattern!!  (I will have to share their fabulous fireplace made from old barn board one day!)

We were so spoiled by family and friends. Hudson is one very loved and now . . . very spoiled little guy.

We received a very special card from one of our honorary nieces . . . welcoming Hudson. And a very pretty picture of me and Hudson.

It was a beautiful day and one that I will remember for the rest of my life. Friends came in from all over, my mom came in to town for the weekend and even friends who couldn't make it sent gifts and Love!
We are so blessed.

We are almost finished Hudson's (***spoiler alert***) Elephant themed Nursery ;)  I will have some photos ready for tomorrow!! :)

We've adopted a baby . . .

 With big joyful tears in our eyes and a sweet baby boy in our arms, we wanted to let all of you know we have adopted a bouncing baby boy.  In 5 months we will make it official in our province's supreme court but for now we are so excited to have him home!!!

We are so blessed . . . we didn't have to wait very long. In fact 2 weeks after our profile was added to our agency we received the call that we had been chosen . . .  9 Days later we were holding our son.

We are sure that there are many questions you might have . . . we will write something a little more in depth soon . . . but for now we are snuggled in with our little guy.

Thank you to everyone who offered us LOVE, support and prayers. We have felt every well wish you have sent us. Thank you so much!

We are thrilled to introduce you to our son Hudson!!!!!

"We have waited so long for this special day, to hug you, to kiss you to hold you and say.  You're wanted and loved more than you know, a lifetime of memories as we watch you grow. You're someone to cherish, someone to love, a wonderful blessing from heaven above."

Nursery Update

Because we could get "the call" anytime . . . we wanted to make sure that we were prepared with the basics for a baby. I realize that a mirror and a wagon aren't really baby basics but we wanted the room to be generally ready! ;)
I found this mirror at Homesense about 6 months ago. I had no idea what I wanted to do with it . . . but it was on clearance and I knew that I loved it. I am so glad that I did pick it up because it inspired the perfect color palette for our nursery.

 We hung it over our little dresser . . . that is now doubling as a change table with the addition of an organic change pad (that just barely fit on the dresser top).

A friend who just potty trained her last baby, sent a diaper genie type contraption our way so we poped that beside the change table (makes sense).
Other additions would be our very first baby gift from some amazing people in our lives, I am in love with this 3 sprouts laundry bag!!! The bassinet is also from the same friends, we figured we would need a bassinet if we get a quick match . . . but we wouldn't need a crib for a few weeks after that.

Lastly, I was at an antique store in Lyden, Washington a few weeks ago, and I spotted this Radio Flyer wagon. I couldn't resist . . . all kids need a little red wagon of their own.

I hope you enjoyed the little touches to our nursery.

Rock me gently, Rock me slowly . . .

Take it easy, 

Don't you know.
That I have never been loved like this before . . . 

Baby Baby!

I hope this song reference doesn't go over some of our younger readers heads. It's totally not the point of this post . . . but I love that song! 

We found a rocker at The Salvation Army thrift store for $20! Every mother I spoke to said you NEED a rocking chair, and I refuse to buy a glider . . . I know they are great but there is nothing you can tell me to make me buy a glider. BUT we are going to buy a metal rocking base for one of our chairs in the living room so we will have a chair that glides! (of course we will blog about it when it happens)

Since we don't know if we are going to be chosen to adopt a boy or a girl . . . or even if we will be chosen . . . or when (have I mentioned waiting is hard??) haha We've decided to do a really natural nursery. Natural wood tones . . . solid wood furniture . . . things like that. So when I saw this solid wood rocker on sale for $20 I picked it up. 

Check out the construction: 

We still need to add a cushion to the seat and the back but we are really excited to have this part of the nursery done.

So excited we thought we should practice baby rocking with Max.

In other news . . .  Max does not enjoy rocking. :(

First Baby Room Update with Para Paint

First off we both wanted to say how touched we were by the comments and well wishes from you. We've spent 6 years, more than half of our relationship, unsure what direction we were headed in regarding children, it feels so great to have a direction. Being able to share it with all of you was amazing!

We have no idea how long it will take until we are matched, it could be 1 month, it could be 1 year, it could be 10 years, but just in case it's 1 month we wanted to be prepared with the basics (my own form of "if you build it, they will come").
Step one, paint the room.
Because it's a babies room we were very conscious of paint fumes so we chose Para Paints Essence brand because it has NO VOC's. 

Since we have no idea when a baby is coming our way, let alone whether that baby will be a boy or girl we decided on a neutral nursery. We chose White Chocolate (PF27) for the bottom color, and a beautiful pale grey for the upper section, Papineau Tint 1 (P2076-01).

But first things first we had to add some chair rail. It's a 12 foot by 12 foot room, and the chair rail for the whole room was under $50.

We ran into two problems with the chair rail:
1) The chair rail was thicker than the window casing (meaning it stuck out farther than the window molding). We decided the best was was too cut it on a bit of an angle. Lee just measured the depth, and cut it on a 45 degree angle in (using a miter box).

2) Problem two was a very weird little bump out in the corner that took a little extra finessing, but Lee did an amazing job patching and filling it so it looked perfect!! 

We ran into a secret problem number 3 that resulted in some tears (yes I cried over paint). I cut in the trim for the pale grey and stepped back, it looked PURPLE! Like lilac, meets lavender, meets grape soda purple. Lee convinced me that it was only paint and we should just finish the color then decide. Two coats later and it was the perfect shade of pale Grey! I will blame the tears on Pre-adoption hormones ;). haha

So if you paint it on and it looks purple, keep going!!!! When it dries it's awesome. I am actually fighting the urge to paint the entire house Papineau Tint 1.

 I am also really excited to have a place for my nesting tables again. You might remember they use to live in the living room, but now they are going to live in the babies room (they were from Homesense a few years ago).
Here's the Before and After:

Thank you again for all of the adoption LOVE! We are so blessed already! I just realized we get to create a new label on the blog  "NURSERY"  :).  A few more tears . . . these ones are happy . . . darn these adoption hormones. ;)

Next:
-Blinds for the window (black out blinds for sure)
-A crib
-A dresser/ change table
-Rocking chair