My mom and dad have just left today to go home and their visit was nothing short of an awesome time! Luckily they agreed to help Dan and I start converting our guest bedroom into a nursery for Sophie. I had no idea how much work it would be. We got to work the day after they got here and didn't stop until the moment they left! The crew was lucky and got one day off, Christmas Day. But, just ONE day =)
We started by painting the walls a beautiful lavender/grey color that turned out just as I had imagined. I had also wanted to put up a decal that I found on-line, but was worried how it would turn out with our textured walls. Dan to the rescue. We took the image (sorry on-line decal dealers) and projected it on the wall to outline and paint in ourselves. Dan and Dad spent some time getting the details just right on the image, painting with tiny brushes and the finished product is perfect!
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| Painting in progress: A view the color and the mural before it was finished |
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| The finished design and Sophie's crib! |
The next task for the guys was putting together the furniture. I had a feeling it would be a daunting task for them. The reviews I read about the dresser/changing table all complained that it took 3+ hours to put it together, I didn't share this with them before they started. Wisely, my mom and I left the house to do some shopping while they figured the furniture out! By the time we got home, both men were still on speaking terms (yay), they had fed themselves (yay) and we had a beautifully put together dresser (2.5 hours, beat that grumpy reviewers!). After the dresser, they put the crib together in record time. Both pieces are perfect!
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| Working on the crib. Lucy was on quality control! |
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| The dresser/changing table |
But it doesn't stop there! My mom and I had a few projects of our own. We had another dresser in the guest room that was already painted white, but had been sanded down for that antique/distressed look. The drawer pulls were also in need of a change, so I put my mom to work on that. She repainted the dresser pure white to match the other furniture and changed out the drawer pulls.
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| Mom painting |
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| New paint, new drawer pulls! |
We also saved a hanging lamp by covering it up with some material to match the accents that will soon be a part of the nursery. The existing colors and design just didn't match our design. My mom sewed a cover to slip over it, and it turned out really well.
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| Before... |
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| After! |
One final project that remains a work in progress is the mobile to hang over the crib. Again I found some inspiration on-line (sorry to the lady that sells these for $85!!). I cut some sweet little birds and an owl out of felt and had my mom sew them up with some stuffing inside. Now I'll just have to complete the "sticks" to hang them from and we should have some cute little birdies for Sophie to stare at as she drifts off to sleep.
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| Birds and owls and clouds! |
Despite all this painting and sewing and putting-together of furniture, we managed to have a wonderful Christmas right in the middle of it all. We drove to Inverness on Christmas Eve to get Grandma so she could celebrate the holiday with us. We brought along a nice gift for her, a new flat screen TV! The guys set it up and mom and I managed to teach Grandma how to work the new remote. That evening, back in Orlando, we enjoyed the annual Kobe Japanese Steakhouse outting with our friends and their LARGE family. We had three hibachi grills to ourselves and enjoyed the entertaining grill masters as they flipped shrimps into their hats and filled our bellies with delicious food.
Christmas day was wonderful, but it passed by way too fast! We enjoyed a breakfast pizza baked up by mom and opened our stockings and presents. Sophie even managed to snag a few presents of her own (already!?) thanks to Grandma, Grandpa and Margie! Everyone pitched in to create an amazing lunch of steak, lobster tails, mashed potatoes, corn bake and brussel sprouts. Of course we topped it all off with a peanut butter pie (Dan's favorite) and a chocolate pie. We all settled on the couch in a food coma to watch "A Christmas Story" over and over and over again (thanks TBS, it is our favorite movie of the season!).
In closing, we are 27 weeks pregnant today! I can't believe how time is flying by at this point. Sophie kicks me and tumbles around all the time. The other day I'm pretty sure she had the hiccups! So sweet.
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| 26 weeks 1 day |
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| Dan and I on Christmas Eve. Not Dan's usual attire, but it is entertaining to our friends... |
Hope the holidays were wonderful for all!
With Love
Dan, Jess, Lucy and Sophie
