{Baby} Girly Fairy Tale Nursery

 Welcome to our baby girl's little nursery! It has a bit of a fairy tale/nursery rhyme theme to it, but not too much, because I like to keep things not so "cutesy" as this is a space I want our little one to grow into. Mostly, the inspiration came from the beautiful bedding which you will see down below later in this post. So, let's take a tour, shall we?

For starters, I LOVE this canvas print. It was the very first thing I purchased for the nursery, as I'd been looking at it for over a year at this website. The company had a booth at Swiss Days back in 2012, and I fell in love with every single print they had. I knew I wanted this cute little girl to be on the wall in my future daughter's nursery. So, when they were having a liquidation sale of their old inventory back in the fall, I went and bought all sorts of cute canvas prints I'd been eyeing for a long time. It's such a special and unique little part of the nursery and makes me happy everytime I look at it!

Here's the dresser that Michael's sister Tina gave us, that she used for her girls and I believe was once used for Michael's older brother. Needless to say, it's been in the family for quite some time and just needed a new coat of paint to spruce it right up for a changing table/place to store diapers, wipes, burp cloths, receiving blankets, etc. And now that I look at this picture I see that it is off center from the canvas print. I think I'll have to get Michael to move it over for me, because I'm anal like that!

 Oh, our beautiful crib bedding! I can't even begin to describe how much I am in love with it. My mother was kind enough to purchase this as her contribution for baby girl, and I was so happy to finally be able to put it on the crib which was also given to us by Michael's sister, Tina. The crib also got a new coat of paint and I think the bedding just pops against the bright and clean white.

 Here's a detail shot of the fabric pattern. Nursery Rhyme Toile. I've always loved toile and I grew up loving nursery rhymes and reading, so I fell in love with this bedding at first sight. I hope our little girl will learn to love great literature as she's surrounded by Mary Quite Contrary, Humpty Dumpty, The Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe, and other characters.

Now, as I was already in the "story" mode, I figured I wanted to add some fairy tales into the decor. I went on a search for prints of fairy tales that I could frame, but found nothing  on the internet within a range that I wanted to pay for. So, I searched the D.I. (Deseret Industries) and other thrift stores, and eventually found a book at Savers. Actually, my friend Natalie found the book as we were scouring the shelves one day. Thank you Natalie! The book itself had gorgeous illustrations and was only about $1.00!!! Perfect! So, I cut out my favorites and put them in some IKEA frames and now they hang beautifully above the crib. Pretty sure they are my favorite part of the nursery!

 Left to right: Rapunzel, Thumbelina, The Frog Prince, Red Riding Hood, and Rumpelstiltskin.

Now the cute closet where all our dear girl's clothes are held, along with a few other special items. I like keeping it open because it's so cute to just look at all the clothes and accessories! We purchased the 2X2 Expedit shelf and baskets from IKEA, and they house onesies, sleepers, socks and shoes, and some toys. The hanging clothes are just a few of the many we've been handed down or gifted. I've only put up to 3 months in the closet right now, and have all the other "older" clothes washed and in storage bins in our basement, just waiting for baby girl to grow into them!

 And I'm in love with all the girly accessories that I get to put on baby girl. Bows, headbands, beanies, SUNGLASSES! Aren't they just the cutest things you've ever seen? If you can't tell, I'm trying out the new DSLR Michael got me for Christmas. I love the quality of the photos when I can get the manual settings just where I want them. It's a learning curve, but so much fun. I foresee getting lots of practice on a cute and snuggly little girl very soon!

I think every nursery and child's room should have a picture of Christ in it. He is the focus and reason we are here on this Earth. Also, I love keeping that spiritual aspect of things in our home, especially in a space where our baby (who just came from His and Heavenly Father's presence) is going to spend so much time.

 Lastly, I introduce you to where all the magic is going to happen in the nursery, the reading bookcase area and rocking chair. Baby girl and I will spend lots of time there...snuggling, nursing, singing, and reading wonderful books together. The banner is from one of my baby showers and will hold that spot until we decide what our sweet girl's name is and I have time to create a plaque or something to display her name in its place. Or at least that's the plan I have right now!

 Thank you Natalie Jolley for being my best friend and lover of classic literature (specifically Jane Eyre) and for this special book to start little girl off right in her adventures in reading!

I saved one of my favorite and most special parts of the nursery for last. This teddy bear's name is Shortcake and she has been my teddy bear since I was 2 months old. You can tell she's been very loved over the years. She used to be a nice light pink color, but that has faded as I used to carry her around everywhere with me as a child. Also, if you look closely, you can see that her right ear is larger than her left, and that's because that was the ear I would carry her around by. It just kind of stretched over time. This bear was my best buddy for years and the first thing I ever smiled at. She was named Shortcake, because that was a nickname I was called all throughout my childhood years; so it only made sense for me to call her that also! I love having this little part of my childhood in my daughter's nursery.

So, there you have it. Baby Girl Black's nursery. I love all the unique and special touches that are in it. Those are the little things that make this a space that I hope our darling daughter can enjoy and feel safe and at home in. Everything has been put together with love, and we are just excited to meet her now. Hopefully soon she will make her entrance and then we can have her in our arms!

{Baby} 37 Weeks!

We made it! We are officially "full term" according to our Ob-Gyn. Baby girl can come and meet us anytime and she should be perfectly healthy and developed well. Although, it's fine if she stays in there a bit longer to grow even more and get even chubbier. We wouldn't mind some nice little fat rolls on her legs, arms, and back to nibble on!

Things are definitely changing inside, as I'm having more and more contractions (still of the "practice" type). I'm starting to feel more pelvic pressure and a bit of soreness in that area. Dr. Hebert said that baby girl is head down and spoke to my belly the other day, saying, "don't flip around!" We've also had a few other signs that our little one is preparing to make her arrival. Dr. Hebert said I'm 1 cm dilated and 60% effaced, and since it's my first pregnancy, who knows when she'll come! It's exciting, but also a bit scary at the same time. We are really going to be parents in just a few weeks, or less! At moments it feels like the time has dragged, but then there are other moments where I think, "didn't we just find out we were pregnant?" Needless to say, our lives are about to change drastically...for good. And forever.

I'm in full out nesting mode, getting last minute things completed before she comes. I just have a couple more things left to do in the nursery before it's complete. Basically just hanging pictures and putting up curtains...yay! And I've also been doing my fair share of cleaning/organizing around the house. We're still living in a construction zone, so I'm doing my best to keep the rest of the house together (and sheet rock/sawdust free) for her arrival.

Michael's mother and sister organized and threw me a baby shower open house last Saturday and it was SO nice! I have to say that I love the open house concept and if I ever throw a baby shower or bridal shower for someone, I'm going to strongly suggest an open house. It was so nice and such a casual atmosphere as people could come and go as they pleased, without feeling obligated to stay for the full 2 hours because of playing some games or something. Also, I was able to talk to every single person and have a real conversation with them as I opened their gifts. It was so nice to be able to interact with each person that attended and not just have "all eyes on me" as everyone sat in a circle while I opened each gift in succession. Also, the food was amazing. Marlene (Michael's mom) made yummy soups and fresh bread, along with her amazing cinnamon rolls. Her cinnamon rolls are my favorite, as she puts chocolate chips and coconut in them. I had never had cinnamon rolls with such ingredients before I joined the Black family, and I have to tell you, I wouldn't want them any other way now that I know how yummy they are!

We have one more baby shower tomorrow, and I'm excited to see what other great gifts we get. People were very kind and generous last weekend, so I'm guessing this weekend will be the same. Baby girl definitely does not have a shortage of cute clothes, that's for sure!

My belly has continued to grow,  but I can tell that she's starting to get cramped in there. Her movements are much more pronounced and really make my belly dance. I think she'll be happy to come out so she can stretch her cute little legs and arms. Mostly, we're just ready for all the snuggles that are going to take place. And I'm ready to not be carrying her around with me on my body frame 24/7. At least I will be able to set her down here and there and my hips will be grateful for the relief too! I'm officially a waddler. It's hilarious.

Well, our next post might very well be the "welcome to the world little baby girl" post! We'll keep you updated as things progress. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!