one year ago...

…our lives were about the change forever.

Blythe was a kickin and squirmin and I was 37 weeks pregnant. 

Though I loved being pregnant and holding her near and feeling her secret moves, I'm loving life with my nearly one year old Blythe Kathleen. It's crazy how much can change in a year!

life

As March approached we were well aware that our lives were about to change drastically. While we anxiously anticipated the birth of Blythe, we also mourned the dwindling days of "just brentandkels". And then March 23rd happened. Blythe joined us. And I think it is safe to say this has been the longest, craziest, fastest, strangest, most emotional, most painful, most joyful month of my life. Yes, month.

I write to decompress. I write to express what is burning inside of me. And I haven't been doing that lately and it is now time. I have a few moments while she is sleeping right now. I have a million other things I could be doing [like getting OUT OF MY PAJAMAS at 2 in the afternoon!], but this is what I think I NEED to do for me right now.

First, before I dive in too far, let me just say that the Lord has blessed us with a truly wonderful and beautiful daughter. She rarely cries, just fusses. She eats like a champ. She is growing perfectly. She is sleeping for a 4-5 1/2 hour stretch at night now. Did I mention she is beautiful? And, though she is still a tiny little booger, Mom and I were just discussing today how I may not buy another package of newborn diapers the next go round! I think she may just be close to 8 pounds now! [Yes, Kali, I know…yours started out bigger than that :)]. She really is a sweet, sweet little girl, with lots of snuggles and love to give.

That being said, I have had my fair share of struggles this past month. Needless to say, my body has been through a traumatic experience [if you don't understand, YouTube "birthing videos" and you'll have a traumatic experience of your own]. I knew some recovery time from this was to be expected. I was around after Kali had Caroline and I understood that I would be emotional and in pain. But I still didn't really get it.

After we came home from the hospital my mom stayed with us for a week. To say that she was a whirling dervish of efficiency would be an understatement. Seriously I don't know how that woman did what she did that week, and still worked half days. I'm exhausted when I think about it. Brent and I were both unbelievably thankful for the time she was here. We also had a ton of wonderful people bring us meals, and Brent's mom also came over and helped out countless days to get us through that first bit. We will never be able to repay them. [I don't know if they are for hire, but if you're pregnant, you should seriously consider looking into it?!]

That first week came and went rather quickly. I was still uncomfortable, but on pain meds. Thank you, Jesus. And I mean that in a very serious way, not sacrilegious at all. Trust me. I remember the day clearly that I decided to wean myself off of the meds. I was so proud of myself. At this point, feeding her was still taking a lot of patience and was still a learning experience, however, I was pretty positive it was all going to be okay.

And then it just seems like my body decided that I had put it through too much, and that it needed to revolt against me. I don't want to go into too many details, but the next three weeks involved a lot of crying from pain and exhaustion, a lot of prescriptions being called in [creams, ointments, antibiotics…you name it!], an intense fever of almost 104, more frustration and pain with feeding her than I ever though possible, a support group for breastfeeding [in which the lactation consultant looked me over and said she couldn't believe I hadn't give up and had stuck with it for so long because of the state my…err…body was/is in. She said I must be really tough, though I don't feel like that right now], several calls to my doctor, the possibility of an outpatient surgery to deal with one of my "issues", etc etc etc. To say I'm a bit emotional about all of this, and exhausted, and frustrated is an understatement.

I know women have been in my shoes for centuries. I know many of you reading this are nodding your heads, reliving your own horror stories from the weeks post-delivery. And I know many of you right now want to tell me, "Hang in there…it gets better, I promise. Soon you'll forget you ever felt this way and you'll be ready to have more." But right now, while I'm living it every single moment of the day-- while I'm still struggling with feeding her, while I'm still in so much discomfort it hurts to sit sometimes, while my poor husband has to go get me yet another kleenex because I'm crying yet again-- it feels all- consuming and never ending.

And then I look at Blythe. So perfect. So wonderful. So healthy. I AM thankful I am the one struggling with issues and not her. I know I should be grateful my body was capable of having a baby naturally, and grateful to feel these pains that remind me of this…but I'm not quite there yet.

I know it all takes time. I do know that. I guess I just want to know exactly what day, what moment, that will happen.

I don't want this post to be a downer… nor do I post it to garner your sympathies. I simply needed to relax today, and this is how I relax best-- with pen and paper, or a keyboard at my finger tips. Also, I have documented this journey for Blythe from the beginning as honestly as I knew how, and I feel in some way she deserves to know this too; in some way, some day, she may want to read this part of my journey so she can best prepare for her own [and I hope she will see me in those days as I have seen my mom].

But I don't want to leave you simply on that note-- it's only fair I give you a few more pictures! :) Enjoy! And this is the reason it is ALL worth it in the end:

Without this man, these past  four weeks would not have been possible. 

Cousins and tutus! How much fun will these three have over the years? 

She of course had to dress the part for Torri's prom! [Thanks for the dress, Ana!]

blythe's birth story

For those of you that just read the blog title and thought, "Thanks, but I'll pass…" don't worry, I'm not going to be overly detailed. I simply want to document this significant and special time when Blythe came to join our little family of two.

Here is the "baby bump" picture I took Wednesday for my 39th week. Little did I know, in two more days I would get to meet that little bump. 

To start, it's surreal to me to be sitting here, listening to Blythe's little sleeping squeaks, writing my story of labor and delivery of my daughter. I loved being pregnant. And I'm not just saying that so you all think I'm awesome and strong and wonderful. I had an easy pregnancy, and I enjoyed all the milestones-- hearing her heartbeat for the first time, the sonogram [it's a girl!], watching my belly grow, feeling her first kicks, having her hiccup all the time etc etc. Though there were  some discomforts along the way, and having to use the restroom every 20 minutes was not overly convenient, I loved having her close to me at all times. I loved having this growing relationship with her before anyone else did. And there have been times that I do miss it.


But she is here now…and that is even more wonderful. Her little eyes slitting open to peek around. Her slurping sounds while eating. Her half smiles and folded hands. Her soft cheeks and her smell. Sigh. She is wonderful and it's safe to say I'm smitten.


But this is supposed to be the story about getting her here. Well, I really thought I would go past my due date. I said all along I thought she would be an April baby. I had started making sub plans at the end of February. I started with Monday, March 26th and continued them through to the end of the school year. This took quite a bit of time, but when I was finished I placed my hands on my belly and told her and God that anytime after Friday the 23rd would work great for me now that I had these plans ready to go.


Fast forward to the week of her arrival. Monday was the first day I uttered the words, "I'm ready, she can come any time now." I was just feeling a little more…uncomfortable…than I had been up to that point. I emailed Brent that day and told him I just needed a relaxing night at home, since our weekend had been busy. He delivered. He gave me a backrub and let me take a bath, and we went to bed early. It was perfect. Tuesday we ate supper and then spent the evening with the Blythes and watched "Biggest Loser" and spent some time with Paige before she had to head back to college. Every night I kept saying, "Brent, this is our last time we'll do ______ together…" and we'd laugh, but we always knew it was a real possibility. I felt like a ticking time bomb. Wednesday Brent went to youth group like he always does and I headed out to Mom and Dad's where Mom fed me pita crisps and repainted my toenails. And then Thursday I had a doctor's appointment. I thought I would have progressed slightly more from the week before, but my doctor informed me I was still at a 2, and was still about 60-70% effaced. This is what I'd been hearing for about three weeks, so I again was pretty confident that I would have to wait a little longer. After the appointment Brent and I ran several errands: Sam's club to get a new phone, Walmart to make a few exchanges and pick up a few items I still needed, and Kohls because, well, I had Kohl's cash and a coupon :-). I was on my feet A LOT. I was exhausted [and to be honest a little cranky], and when we got home we just crawled in to bed.


That night I woke up with some "crampy pain things." That is how I described them to Brent. Needless to say, I did not sleep very well. I was up and down most of the night, and couldn't find a comfortable position. This was a first for me. I thought about calling in the next day, but when I finally rolled over at 7:20, I knew it was too late to get a sub. "You'll be fine…suck it up," I told myself.


I informed my kids at the beginning of class that I wasn't feeling awesome. I've learned that if I tell them this up front, it's way more fair than snapping at them later. So they were great to me through the entire day. In one class when I told them I wasn't feeling well, a boy in the front slapped his hands up to his mouth and got huge eyes. I looked at him and he said, "Oh my gosh, are you, like, going to, like, have your baby right now?" I assured him I would wait until the end of his class period, at least. As I dismissed my students that day I said, "Have a great weekend! I don't know if I'll see you on Monday." Things just felt different and my "crampy pains" were kind of not going away. Brent checked on me a couple times throughout the day but I assured him I was fine. Since we had such a busy night before, he promised me another relaxing night in.


I left school and when I got home I plopped on the couch and didn't really feel like moving. Brent came home around 4:30, and I asked him to make us some Mac-n-Cheese because it sounded delicious. As he made it, he told me that his coworkers had given him some cash with the explicit instructions to take me out before the baby came. So we made plans for Saturday. We would go out to eat and then go see a matinee of "The Hunger Games." Sounded great. Pretty soon Mom called to check on me. I had let her know I wasn't feeling the best and she and Dad were getting ready to leave for Sedalia [about three hours away] to watch my cousin in a play. She was wondering if she thought they should stay--i.e. if I thought I was in labor. I told her to go. I really didn't think I was anywhere near labor, and if it turned into something I was sure they would have plenty of time to make it back and be at the hospital with us. And off they went.


And almost as soon as I told them to go I felt like my "crampy pains" were getting a little more intense. I told Brent I was going to start timing them, just in case. When I did, I realized they were between 5 and 7 minutes apart and lasting for about 40 seconds each. Hmmmm. Interesting. That sounded like something I should maybe pay attention to. I called Kali, my older, wise, and birth-experienced sister. "So uh, what do contractions feel like?" I cut right to the chase. I described what  I was feeling and she said, "Yeah, I think you're starting labor, Kels!" She suggested I call my doctor, see when they wanted me to come in, and then maybe go for a walk if I wanted to "speed things up." I wanted to make sure they were really something before I did anything too crazy. I sent Brent to Subway to get us something to eat [a little more substantial than the macaroni] and then I got in the shower and relaxed a little.


I looked down as the water trickled over my very expanded belly. I put my hands around it, and realized that possibly within the next 24 hours I could be holding my daughter.


Brent was back by the time I was done and was literally sprinting through the house and throwing last minute things in our hospital bag. At this point, he was more amped up than I was. I still wanted to make sure these contractions were the real deal because one of my fears was going to the hospital and being sent home. I just thought that would be the worst. Like, "Hey…yeah…you think this is labor? You sissy! Go home!" So we sat down and ate our sandwiches. I wasn't really hungry at this point, but the thought of not eating for hours and hours on end made me want to get a little more in my system. I was still timing my contractions, which were definitely beyond "crampy pain things" at this point and were actually taking my breath away. They were consistently 5-6 minutes apart and lasting for about 45-50 seconds and I had to stop talking when they came. I called and the nurse said I should come on in. We finished getting everything we needed and piled into the car. I laid down a big pad/sheet thing Kali had given me just in case my water were to break on the way.


And then my next contraction wasn't coming. It took 13 minutes. I told Brent I thought we should stay at the house a little longer, but when the next one his in 4 minutes, he made the call and said he really thought we should go. This ended up being a very wise decision. We let our parents know, but told them they didn't need to come until we were admitted, after all, first children labor lasts an average of 14 hours. Regardless, my mom and dad left the play at intermission.


We got to the hospital around 8 that night. Since my water hadn't broken, there seemed to be no rush. We had to wait at the reception desk for about 10 minutes or more, and I had 2 or 3 contractions while we waited. Finally they let us in, but put us in one of those "we'll-wait-and-see-if-you-really-know-what-real-labor-is-before-we-fully-admit-you" rooms and hooked me up to a monitor. Blythe's little heartbeat was going crazy, but the nurse said this was normal. She checked me and…I was at a 2. Nothing had happened since my doctor's appointment the day before. She kept talking like I would most definitely be going home. This was very disappointing.  They had a hard time getting the monitor to read my contractions though, and after an HOUR a new nurse finally came in and hooked me up to a new one. My contractions were happening about a minute apart now and lasting for 45-60 second or a little longer. I looked at Brent and said, "If this isn't labor, and they send us home, how in the heck am I supposed to know when to come to the hospital!?!" It sure felt like the real deal to me. However, I was trying to stay calm and when the nurse asked my pain level I didn't want to be too generous right away, thinking it would get a whole heck of a lot worse before it got better, so I said, "Umm…probably a six?"


After an hour-ish, the nurse came back and checked again. A two. I was so disappointed. However, my contractions were even more intense now, lasting longer, and coming closer together. She asked where we lived and I told her 45 minutes away. She said because we weren't right in town, they would keep me one more hour. I sent Mom a text and filled her in, letting her know they were most likely going to send us home. She responded, "Stay positive. I think this is the real deal." That would be the last she heard from us in awhile.


After that, things started to get crazy rather quickly. There was no more timing my contractions because they were happening all the time. I was still fairly in control. A contraction would come and I would breathe deeply and just say quietly while exhaling, "Okay. Oww. Okay. Ouch…" The meanest thing I said to Brent during this time happened when I got really hot and so he started blowing on my face. My response? "You need gum." He was a gentleman and didn't respond, "SO DO YOU!" though he probably could have.


At this point, around 10:30 or so, I told Brent I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom or push or something. The nurse came in and said I should walk around to try and speed things up before she checked me again [and sent me home]. I stood up as I was having another contraction and felt like I was going to have the baby right then and there. Wowsa. I sat back down. I didn't want the nurse to think I wasn't trying though, so when that contraction passed, I stood up as quickly as I could and started out the door to walk around the nurses' station. I didn't even get halfway and had another one. I had to get back to that bed and lay down! I told the nurse I was at least at an 8 on the pain scale now…holy cow…at LEAST an 8, and asked when they usually gave epidurals. I was under no illusions that I would do this au-naturale. It was 2012, the drugs were good…give them to me whenever, please and thank you. The nurse just smiled and said it depended on the doctor, but they didn't want to give them too soon in case it slowed things down. It was about 10:30 and I'd only been at the hospital an hour and half, but I was pretty sure I didn't care if things "slowed down" a bit. The nurse finally actually stayed in the room while I had my next contraction, and though I wasn't screaming or doing anything hysterical like seen in movies, I think she could tell I was in pain. My back was killing, and Brent was pressing on it while I had contractions to try to relieve some of the pressure. She said, "Well, let me just check you one more time." If she were to say, "You're still at a two" I think I would have yanked the monitor off my belly and whipped it at her.


Instead her response was very…interesting. "Umm…I'm going to go get the doctor. " She apparently couldn't find the doctor and brought in another nurse who checked me and said, "Yep. You're having this baby right now."


What?! Huh?! Right now?! No, I was just at a two, I think a 3,4,5,6 … has to come next somewhere in there. But apparently I had jumped right to a "you're-going-to-have-this-baby." I looked at Brent who looked equally shocked. We had gone from "you're probably going home" to "let's have the baby right now, waddya say?" in a matter of 30 minutes. Talk about no time to process things.


In a matter of moments, they had me unplugged, covered up, and were wheeling me, bed and all, down the hallway. Remember, I wasn't event ADMITTED yet? As we turned a corner I looked to the nurse and asked, "So is it too late for an epidural?" She sort of laughed and said it was, but that the hardest part was the labor and that was almost over. She assured me pushing wouldn't be as painful. I had my doubts.


Within seconds we were in a room--a real delivery room! What we had come for all along! Hallelujah. There was an entire calvary of nurses in there. Things were happening so quickly. A nurse grabbed my right hand and tried to start an iv in it, while another nurse was grabbing my legs, and then in walked the doctor. The nurse missed the vein the first time, and she didn't want to prolong it, because remember "you're having this baby right NOW" was what got me to this room. So another nurse grabbed my left arm and just stuck in the iv and we were in business.


"Okay, with the next contraction you can push." I felt her break my water, which was a great release of pressure, and I was ready to push at this point. I looked at Brent one last time and said something like, "I can't believe I can't get an epidural." He grabbed my arm and told me I was doing great.


And then it was time. There were several nurses around me, and when the one that was watching the monitor would say it was time they all joined in encouraging me and "helping" me push. There was one nurse in particular who was right by my head to my left…I'm not sure if she really existed because I think she may have just been an angel…and she said all of the right things at all the right times. I made it through the first pushing session and felt relatively relaxed before my next contraction. Brent said I was even making jokes/small talk with the nurses. I think I was still in shock that this was happening, I mean after all I thought I was going to be going home shortly.


The next contraction came, I pushed and breathed and pushed. And Blythe was partially in our world. One more contraction and some intense pushing, and then…then…


they laid my daughter on my chest.


Brent cut the cord.

We didn't cry, but just stared incredulously at each other. She was here.  Six and a half pounds of delicious baby to call our own. Blythe Kathleen. She didn't holler or cry after being put on my chest, and I just held her while the doctor…umm..finished up business [which hurt worse than the actual delivery…yowsa!]. Brent and I just kept giddily smiling at each other.

One nurse then took her to the warmer to measure and clean her etc. She told Brent it would be a good time to take pictures. We hadn't even brought in the camera at this point though, since we decided to leave our stuff in the car until we were admitted. He ran out and got the camera and snapped a few pictures while I signed the admittance papers…finally. They got to the consent form for the epidural and decided I probably didn't need to sign that one at this point and set it aside.

I had done it. I had delivered our baby girl, in a hectic and crazy and fast way, without any pain meds. Brent had encouraged me and loved me through it.

We decided we should probably call our family at this point, and both of our moms did not believe us when we said, "She's here!" Their response? "You're kidding right?" When they realized we weren't they were in their cars and on their way in a matter of moments.

Labor is definitely hard work. Even though mine went quickly, it was painful and exhausting. But it was incredible to see and experience first hand the incredible way in which God has created our bodies to endure it. And in the end we were handed this baby-- both a stranger to us, and yet someone we knew and loved intensely. And in that moment love filled up the space of pain and blood and fear.

And that is our story-- wherein Blythe, this beautiful little girl, was handed to us to take care of forever; where her life met ours.We are so glad she is ours.

baby bump: week 40

 dear blythe,


you're here! you're here! it's our last bump picture with you really in it, on the outside. i knew this day was coming and yet it always seemed far away-- i'm so thankful you decided to make your appearance a bit early. i was actually at the end of my 39th week when you decided to show up. and show up you did in a rather speedy fashion. you didn't leave time for your dad or me to even think about what was happening…you just came. it was perfect, and scary, and beautiful, and unbelievable and left me in a little bit of shock. and then i got to hold you. oh blythe, in that moment it scared me a little how much i love you.

i've only cried twice since you were born, which is actually a bit surprising. however, as i'm typing this letter to you and looking at you sleep beside me, i am so overwhelmed at how perfect the end of this journey to YOU is. you are so tiny and so dependent on me for everything, but right now i wouldn't have it any other way. 


sometimes when we're up late at night during a feeding i don't rush right back to bed when you finish-- instead i just hold you and look at you and kiss your lips and thank god again that you are mine. 


so far you have had a pretty mild temperament. you tend to squeak when you're mad/need something instead of all out cry. you love to be swaddled and you love resting your head on daddy's neck while he sings to you. 


you are already so loved and have had many, many visitors. your nana stayed with daddy and me for the first while to make sure we were on our feet. she cooked lots of yummy food and did lots of laundry and made sure that i was resting and taking care of myself so that i would have a fast recovery and could take care of fully. and your dad, well, he has been a rockstar. i asked him what his favorite part of having you around has been so far and he said being up with you in the middle of the night and singing you back to sleep. watching him fall in love with you has been so amazing. 


spring is all around, and every time i see a new flower bloom i think of the new life god has granted us in you. it feels huge and daunting at times to think about the responsibility, but also exciting and wonderful. 


i love all 6 and 1/2 pounds of you, my sweet blythe kathleen, more than i can ever put into words. 


love, 
mom 

Introducing:

Blythe Kathleen 

Born:   March 23rd, 2012 

at 11:12 pm

Weight:    6lbs 5oz

Length: 19 in

Hair brown  

Kelsey is doing great.  Came to the hospital at 8pm and had her by 11:12pm.  Fast delivery.  Wow, was it fast.  She jumped from 2 cm dilated to a 10 really quick and delivered in 10 minutes.

more pictures and updates to come! Stay tuned. 

baby bump: week 38

dear baby,

i feel like i've been saying this for awhile now, but we are so very close. my doctor said it really could be any day, and i do kind of feel like a ticking time bomb! your due date is next week, so we'll see if you are timely or a little late like your mama always tends to be :). 

this week i was thinking about your heritage. because the weather has been nicer, i finally got to wear a more "summery" top that your aunt kali passed down to me. when i was wearing it i remembered a picture i have of her in the very same shirt when she was pregnant with caroline: your great grandma sch. is reaching over and feeling your cousin kick. caroline was one of the last great grandchildren that she got to meet. so i started thinking about the generations you are descending from. and every where i look i realize how blessed you are. all of your grandparents and great grandparents love jesus, and have raised their families and fed their marriages in beautiful ways. i can't wait for you to get to know the ones that are still living, and hear stories about your two great grandpa's and your great grandma that have passed away. 

speaking of heritage, your dad has been amazing lately. he is so, so excited to meet you. once you get to know him this won't be surprising to you, but he has been so good to your mama while you have been growing in me. he is always willing to help out, or rub my back, or do the dishes, or...anything he thinks may make your life and my life a little better. you will be so lucky to call him dad. 

and i guess it's time you should know, but your dad and i decided that i am going to stay home with you when you get here! we looked at several different options, and talked and prayed a lot of things over, but nothing else felt right in my heart. i can't wait to spend my days getting to know you, to play with you, and to teach you. 

i love you, little one, and very soon i will get to tell you that while looking in your eyes.

love, mom

baby bump: week 37

dear baby,
we are so very close to meeting. i have all of your clothes washed and ready, your stroller and carseat are set up, your bedding is fresh and clean, and your diapers have been stacked with care. now all i'm missing is a little someone that goes with all of that stuff! everyone is so ready to meet you. though i'm ready, i know you'll come when YOU are ready and that is what is most important so just do your thing, girl.

we had two more showers this week. your aunts and grandma i threw a wonderful shower on sunday and once again we were abundantly blessed. then my coworkers threw us another shower, and let me tell ya, i work with some awesome people [who are also very excited to meet you]. i hope when you grow up you get to experience working at a job that you love with people that support you like i have been able to do. 

the weather here has been awesome. this has been a very strange "winter" because we haven't really had winter. i hope that this hangs on so that when you come we can sit on the front porch and rock, and so we can fit in a lot of nice walks together. 

are you going to miss being in there, little one? because i'm going to miss being connected to you. even though i've had some aches and pains along this journey, i have truly loved being the place for you to grow...from the very beginning...i have loved it.

we'll see each other soon. 

love, mom

LaLa's nursery

Sidenote: My dad has begun calling the baby "LaLa" since we aren't sharing the name. It has kind of stuck around these parts, but please do not worry, that will appear no where on her birth certificate.

Also, if you haven't noticed, there is a WATERMELON on the fruit-ticker up there!! And 18 days!! When did that happen? I got all my sub plans completed and ready to go for March 26 on, but I don't know if LaLa is going to be patient and wait it out that long. My doctor said she thinks the baby is about 7 pounds [how she can tell just by grabbing around on my belly, I have no idea]. If that is the case, she is welcome to come at any time. I'm anxious to meet her and hold her and begin getting to know her personality, but I'm also totally okay with whatever is God's timing at this point. March 19th, March 28th, April 5th…whatever! As long as she is healthy, I can be patient.

And now…to her nursery.

This is what the room looked like when we purchased the home. Duck border [Sorry, Kelly, it was a little outdated], green carpet, wood trim.

This was the room after we had lived here for the summer. Yep. It was bedroom #3 and became my storage room.

And then I got my tail in gear. I painted the room last summer, knowing it would soon be a nursery for either a boy or girl and I chose a dark gray color [which my mom did NOT approve of at first…but I think she has come around].

When you first walk in:

So here we go to today...There are still a few small things I need to get done in here, but for the most part here is a tour of her room:

To the left when you walk in:

I'm so proud of Kali, who got her crafting on and made the awesome pendant banner you see here. This crib was Kali's, and mine, and some of my cousins eventually. My Grandpa stripped it and refinished it and I love it. [Yes, it has drop sides!!! Don't worry, I think she'll be alright.] Above the crib to the left of the door will eventually be a canvas with her name on it, painted by the ever talented Micah [who has recently been busy doing other things like getting married].

Here are some close ups of the FABULOUS work my grandma did on the bedding. All I had to do was pick out fabric, give her a few "this-is-what-I'm-thinking" ideas, and viola! Out came this! She does awesome work, and I love the way the colors turned out together.

She had some extra fabric so she whipped up this cute pillow too, which will probably eventually migrate to the floor or chair area :). The bumper pad is also reversible.

One of my favorite things in the room are these paper lanterns. I think they add a lot of fun!

For those of you that don't know what "Pinterest" is, that's okay. I'm a little wishy-washy with my feelings about it; however, I did find this great idea on there. I modified it a little bit [the original ones I saw were made with scrap booking paper]. I took some of the extra fabric and modge-podged [Brent calls it "hodge-podge"] it onto the outlets in the room.

I'm quite pleased with the way they turned out and they actually add quite a bit to the room. I even covered the switch for the old baseboard heater in the room, which we thankfully don't have to use because we installed central heating now. But really, how cute?

Grandma also made these curtains, which are the reverse of the skirt on the crib. Super fun.

I love the polka dot cording detail at the top of them :)

I guess we can refer to this as the "play area" in the room? These shelves were originally black, which I thought would be okay, but then I got them into the space I just didn't like them. So Brent was a trooper and refinished them for me and now I like them…and Brent…so much better :)

These are vintage cards that my sister-in-law Beth gave me for Christmas. I just love the unique animals and drawings and wanted to do something with them. I strung them from twine and viola.

The final wall in the room. Again, Kali's creativity is displayed here with the pendant flags and I just love what they add to the room. Also there are a couple of fabric patterns she chose to incorporate that have a little pink in them, and I'm kind of glad there will be a little pink in this little lady's room. Brent and I put this dresser together which was quite the task, but I love how it turned out and it has a TON of drawer space [especially when the clothes I am filling it with are teeny tiny!] I will add the changing pad to the top soon. Grandma also is letting us use that super awesome, vintage lamp. Love it. Now moving on to a few of the other details...

This is the story of this chair: In college my roommate and I went garage sale-ing. We found two matching orange velvet chairs. We fell in love. They were super comfy and ten dollars a piece. They were also both in great shape. For the next three years the two orange chairs lived in harmony in our dorm, and later our apartment. And then we both go married and one chair went to Chicago, the other to Louisville. [Pictured in the far left is the orange chair in our sweet little one bedroom apartment in Louisville. Sigh. That was a good place].

We both knew we would never depart with the orange chair…seriously, best chair ever. Four years later, her chair is now in Wisconsin, mine is in Missouri. But the problem was, it was still orange. So my fabulous Aunt CeAnn who recovered a love seat for me also recovered my beloved orange chair [she too fell in love with it's comfort while working on it though and now says she misses having it around :)…I'm telling you…best chair ever]. And now it is like new, is washable, and I will get to rock my sweet baby girl here for years to come. [Fun fact: my roommate's chair is also rocking babies. And we have both sworn that if we ever are considering getting rid of the chair we will let the other know.]

I wanted something to fill the space above the chair, but didn't want anything too "nursery". So I had Brent go to the attic and find my bag of old mismatched frames I'd collected over the years. I painted them, hung up the flower hooks, and framed some pieces of fabric.

You may have noticed the giant space above the dresser/changing table. Don't worry. I made something to display her name that hangs there, but since we aren't revealing that until her debut, it is hidden for now.

I also painted these small canvases to go around where her name will be displayed. These are the FOUR TRAITS we have been praying for her. I used stickers and simply painted over the letters, then let the paint dry and peeled them off. I really like the way they turned out, and I'm glad I mismatched the upper and lower case together.

That is all for now. I think it will look much better in a few weeks when there is a baby in there. What do ya think?