Making Room For Baby!

I've been beyond fortunate to have the better part of the last month without any substantial obligations to focus most of my time on preparing our home for our newest arrival.  I made lists and lists and lists, we had a very successful yard sale, I've re-organized every baby/toddler bin in the house, scoured yard sales and ebay for the few things we've needed and successfully swapped rooms so we had room for both kiddos (and all their "things") in one room! We gave the kids the big room and John and I moved into the smaller bedroom (which we surprisingly like better).

And now with 4 weeks to go, I finally feel like I can slow down a bit as mostly everything is in its place...

So here is a little taste of what baby girl has to come home to...

In a way I gave Gunnar a "spirit animal" (owl) so I decided it was only fair to give my daughter one too (we chose fox, owls and foxes are often depicted together for wisdom and cleverness) I designed/made Gunnar an owl mobile, so reusing the same mobile parts I made little fox creatures for baby girl's mobile!

Love this tree rug I found on Zulily for $12!!

So much love and heritage went into this wall. The owl needle point at the top was done by John's grandmother in the 70's. The sketches on the lower shelf are of "The Little Engine that Could" and Winnie the Pooh all three were done by my very talented Aunt Julie for me when I was a little girl. The fox picture on the left and was a gift from my mother and sister.  I made the pennant banner and the "What does the fox say" hoop. 

Baby girl's side of the room is kiddie corner from big brother Gunnar.  The dresser still holds Gunnar's clothes (because his clothes are bigger and require more space) but the shelf next to the dresser holds all the changing table needs (diapers, first aid, etc) 

This is my clever placement of these two fox items.  The hoop frame will be available in my etsy shop later this month and the adorable fox on bike is actually a greeting card I found on etsy by SkippingFox, LOVE it!

This fox hoop and the fox mobile will also be available in my etsy shop later this month.  Take note of the sweet foxes we found! One from Ikea, Gunnar gave his "Fox in Sox" from grandma to baby sister, the small fox and the fox lovey are also from Grandma as is the beautiful fox quilt which she made!!

here's a close up of some of the darling fabrics on this quilt!

Here's a close up of the fox hoop I made...available in my shop!

And now to the other side of the room...here is my favorite corner in the house..."The book nook"!  The light and shelves are all from Ikea (though we got the bigger shelves at a yard sale for $5!) The alphabet bookshelf we bought 2 years ago at a yard sale, but it wasn't completely usable until we added a lazy-susan on the bottom (borrowed from an old CD organizer we found out in the alley)...now it spins all the way around which is soo convenient!  Owl painting was done by a friend of my mother-in-law's for G before he was born. 

Gunnar loves sitting on his little red rocking chair which my mother-in-law found at a yard sale for $5! This was a great idea to add to the book nook as it gives big brother a place to sit while I nurse or read to both kiddos! Also this shelf which is backed up to G's bed is also from Ikea with bins I customized for G...may need to change a letter when baby girl arrives... (the M is for Miles, Gunnar's middle name...bottom bin has a G on it).  The sweet sock monkey quilt on top of the shelf was a gift to G from his Great Aunt Lisa when he was a newborn.

Here is Gunnar's side of the room!  Alphabet Quilt made by my talented mother-in-law again... Love the framed vintage alphabet paper poster we found at a yard sale! Underneath is a pottery barn basket (also found at a yard sale) which holds ALL of G's famous caps) On the side wall hangs a beautiful Noah's Ark cross stitch made for Gunnar by friend Lisa! The sweater name banner is currently available in my etsy shop. 

Under Gunnar's bed are these FABULOUS storage boxes from Ikea (we only bought one and regretted instantly when we got home and realized we had room for two...by luck we found another one at a yard sale for  50cents!!) In one we store Gunnar's shoes and the other is a toy bin with bags made by my mother-in-law for organizing! They are AMAZING!

The "Dinosaur bag"! We also have bags for vehicles,  character toys, Mr, Potato Head and accessories, etc

Gunnar's favorite part of the room...the closet/kitchen/market.  We got the tall skinny dresser at a yard sale for $10!!! I have baby girl's current season/size clothes organized in there by category.  (FYI: I hate hanging baby clothes...so almost everything goes in dressers. The only things hanging are special occasion suit coats.)

We stapled $1 store baskets to the wall to create a "market" for shopping and organizing all the food. 

Bins from Ikea go on the shelf in the closet. I hot glued chalkboard plates on the front so that they can change easily as baby grows. These bins hold the clothes for the upcoming age/seasons. I saved one bin for G as well but we more gradually grow in and out of his clothes. 

And here is a shot of the room from the door...I still have to add the pottery barn black out shades I bought on ebay but the valance and three of the owls were made by Kathy and two of the other owls were gifts from my mom and sister. 

So there you have it...our new "Nursery"! Gunnar LOVES it and can't wait for baby sister to join him. He's been practicing holding and burping with his baby doll and even asked to bring his baby doll along to story time at the library. He's going to be a great big brother!