Brady finally has a room!

It took longer than I thought but it was worth the wait.  We finished his room just before he turned 6 months old a couple of weeks ago. 

I decided to make his room blue sailboats because Noah's nursery was blue sailboats and the layette that Nate is buried in is also blue sailboats.  It just seemed right to make Brady's room blue sailboats. 

I found his bedding on ebay and got a great deal on a brand new set from BabyGap (that was discontinued).   We sold our old cribs at a garage sale so we had to buy a new one for Brady.  This one is new and safe.  It was hard to find "natural" wood to match the old furniture that we had but it all worked out in the end.

I love that most of the items in his room are being re-used from the other kids.  The dressers and rocking chair were purchased 13 years ago for Shayna and all of the kids used them.  I bought new fabric and had a local mom recover the rocker (they were pink from the twins).  The curtain hardware was from Noah's nursery and I made the window valance (I think it came out awesome). 

The kids and I bought the sailboat just for Brady.  The 3 teddy bears were from the twins nursery, Noah's nursery and Nate's hospital stay (a special bear for heart patients).  Shayna made the whale for him in her home arts class this year.  She was so proud of herself and I think that it turned out awesome!  The frames were used in the nursery of both Noah's and the twins' and I put in special pictues of me & Brady. 

Here's a close-up of the special whale that Shayna made and one of my favorite newborn pics of Brady.

Sweet Jodi made Brady an awesome birth announcement pic like this one.  I framed it by my computer & made this one to fit into the wall frame that was from Noah's nursery.  I love, love, love this idea.  Thank you Jodi!

This armoire was used by all the other kids as well.  I'm glad that we saved it for Brady.  It's not the nicest furniture but it's so special that all of the kids got to use the same set.  The "beachy" decorations were given to Brady from Noah.  His room is "beachy" but he has lots of trophies on his dresser now so he was happy to share his decorations with Brady.  I especially love the blue butterfly...a gift from Christy.  It reminds me of Nate every single day.

Brady was hanging out in his crib while I took these photos.  He hasn't slept or taken a nap in there yet.  Mama is still too anxious and doesn't let him out of her sight.  But someday, he will sleep in this room.  For now, he loves getting diaper changes and being rocked in his rocker in there. 

So grateful that we were able to turn a very sad room into a happy room.  Even more grateful to have a nursery once again.  Savoring every moment since this is the last...

perfect for Nate's treasures

I had no idea what I wanted...until I saw this:

I had searched...and searched...and searched some more. Store after store. Website after website. Month after month.  Then one day, a spur of the moment "quick run" into this store (which I might add that I have visited many times before with no success) ended my search.

It was perfect. Just perfect. Everything is perfect. I love the blue bird. I love that it fits perfectly into the little nook just outside our room. I love that it's the perfect size to hold Nate's treasures. I love the price (not cheap but reasonable). Love. Love. Love.

We hung 3 collage frames above it with 2 photos of each of our 6 kids.  Including Nate's pictures in stuff like that makes him feel like part of our normal family. 

We also moved Nate's special memory album (it used to be downstairs).  It looks perfect on top and the kids look through it all of the time.

The stuffed animals and blankets that we received during our stay at Children's hospital haven't been looked at for years. Now they are perfectly displayed. The "keepsakes" box is full of the sympathy cards that we received after his death and a few birthday cards that we receive each year.

The top drawer holds the teddy bear that we bought him in the hospital gift shop and gave to him for Easter. It also holds a blankie that Shayna made for him, the white hat that he wore in the hospital and the layette that we bought for him...but he never got to wear :(

One final treasure that speaks for itself...

summer's comin'

Do you have any idea how happy this makes me?  I love Summer.  Love.  Love.  Love.  I am so ready for the crazy mornings, hectic bedtimes, lame homework (not a fan) and overall craziness to go bye bye. 

This Summer will be by FAR busier than any Summer that I have ever known with 4 kids doing competitive sports 7 days a week.  Yes...we lucked out and have one sport or another every single day until August - ugh!  But, at least there will be no homework and no crazy bedtimes or rushed mornings.  YAY!

My 13 year old made this pennant flag in the photo.  She's just finishing middle school where she learned how to sew.  She wanted to make some extra money so we put our heads together and came up with this idea.  Why?  Because I love 4th of July.  Cute?  I love it and I was her 1st customer.  So sad that she is getting older but it sure is fun!

As for me...I am finally finishing up Brady's room (ordered a crib last week).  I found the perfect solution for Nate's stuff and as soon as I get it all finished I will post pics.