Elliot at Two

Our baby girl turned two last month. She is definitely learning to assert her independence, but overall, she is a sweet, smart, funny, social, precious little girl. We love her to pieces! At two years old...

She says countless words, speaks in 3-5 word sentences, and repeats everything she hears. She wants to know "what's sat?" and "who's sat?" I do my best to provide a satisfactory answer.

She loves her train set, her kitchen, her baby dolls, her doctor set, and her Little People dollhouse. She likes to read and do puzzles.

She knows how to count to around 13 and can nearly say the alphabet (or at least sing along some). She knows lots of colors, animal noises, a couple of shapes, and the names of everyone she sees on a regular basis. But, these skills are for her enjoyment, only, and if you ask to see them you will probably be disappointed (there's that independent streak).

She eats taco soup, chili, jambalaya, Thai food, Indian food, and Chinese food, but not peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or macaroni and cheese.

She gives kisses and hugs and makes us laugh every day! We love being her parents.

Planning

Somebody (actually, two somebodies - Elliot was born on her Daddy's birthday) has a birthday coming up! My mind and spare time are consumed with all things fun and girly. Here is what is inspiring me ...





Photos: Cake, Cake, Once Wed, Jones Design Company, Style Me Pretty.

Merry, Merry!

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace
Hail the Son of Righteousness


Light and life to all he brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings


Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die


Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth


Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King!

Beautiful Messes

Some days, the bed doesn't get made until the middle of the day.


The sewing projects pile up in the dining room.


This stinker gets two baths (she is more interested in feeding herself than being fed - it is fun but messy!).


The colorful plastic toys take over my once calm living room.


The kitchen counter is lost under a pile of dishes (the dishwasher is broken ...).


But it will probably get worse because someone is dying to be on the move!

Mothers' Day Wishes

Last year on Mother's Day we surprised our moms with cards from "Baby Bonds to-be." It was a joyful and exciting occasion, as they were both eagerly awaiting the day they would become grandmothers.


I know this Sunday will be so much sweeter because of this blue-eyed baby girl. Elliot brings so much joy and life to our family, and she gives my days purpose and meaning. I am honored to be her momma. To every mother, and mother-to-be, I hope you are blessed this day.

Around Here ...

We have a 2-month-old who has discovered her hands.


My days are filled with morning-naptime coffee-drinking and blog checking ...


... followed closely by frantic naptime house-cleaning.


There is lots of smiley play time.


For me, playtime is late in the day in the kitchen.


Or outside, watching Spring's welcome approach.

Thinking Ahead

I'm still working on a few small projects for Elliot's nursery, but I'm already finding myself thinking ahead to what her room will look like as she grows. I'd like to add some feminine florals and small prints, and - now this is really thinking outside my usual box - piling on colors.


These two rooms, by Christy Ford, featured in the November 2010 issue of Southern Living, are great. Christy owns a fabulous shop, but lets her daughters - aged 4 and 6 - contribute to their rooms. I think they are both precious!

Photos by William Waldron

Elliot's Blue and Green Nursery (so far)

Elliot is almost five weeks old (so hard to believe!) and her room isn't quite finished. But, we're getting there (it's not like she sleeps in there anyway). The room used to be the guest bedroom, and we didn't repaint the walls (they are Blue Shamrock by Olympic). We didn't know she was going to be a she, so the goal was to create a simple, serene space that would work for a boy or a girl for under $1,000. We accomplished this by using things we already owned, and not buying an expensive set of brand-new furniture.


I knew I wanted a big piece of art over the crib so I've attempted to start painting it myself. I have the painting skills of a second grader, so please don't judge :) I suppose looking childish is fine in a baby's room, right?


I bought the sconces at an antique shop when little Elliot was just a dream. They were meant to be hardwired, but Wes added the cords so we could plug them in. Only one of them works at the moment, but I'll tell you about that later. We replaced the plastic sleeves, and I still want to do Lauren's trick to make them look like more expensive wax sleeves.


I painted a new white Jenny Lind crib (bought at a local shop) Pumpkin Seed by Martha Stewart at Home Depot. I love the result but it was a major pain. I borrowed a paint sprayer that I think was a little too strong for this project and ended up doing a lot of touching up drips and painting in the nooks and crannies with a small sponge roller. Next time I will leave it to a professional!


The bumper is off-white linen with a small ruffle on top by Pom Pom at Home bought locally at Three Sheets. It's very soft, washable, and is neutral enough for future babies and nurseries (which was the point). The striped crib sheet is by Boppy.


I made the crib skirt out of linen fabric from King Cotton inspired by these two by John and Sherry and Erika. I wanted it to hit the floor now while the mattress is high and later when we lower it. The vintage kindergarten chair came from a local thrift store, and we speculate that it may have from the kindergarten that my mom attended! PS, this is a good photo of the crib and wall colors.


The chest was our first purchase for the room, back when I was just a few weeks pregnant. I knew I wanted to use one in place of a changing table, and we happened upon this one while browsing an antique store in my hometown when we went up to tell my dad he was going to be a grandfather. The turned wood lamp was a clearance purchase at Target a while ago. I swapped a dark shade for a white one and I like it so much better now. The white frames are also from Target and I used fabric leftover from the crib skirt to cover the mats. Elliot's newborn photos will go in them. (Wipe warmer and diaper pail are not attractive, but necessary!)


The chest was wood and the finish was scratched and uneven, so we painted it Pumpkin Seed, too. I knew the details would paint really nicely, and I distressed it just a touch before adding a matte wipe-on poly finish.


The chair was a thrift store purchase (it used to be pink!) that was in great shape. I had it recovered in the same linen I used on the crib skirt and frames. I originally wanted a waterfall skirt, but didn't purchase enough fabric. My upholsterer was extremely affordable but also extremely slow, so when I found this out a week after Elliot was born, I no longer cared and settled for a regular skirt.

The blue and green blanket was a gift from Wes' mom, the pillow came from HomeGoods and the vine floor lamp came from a local consignment shop. We already had the garden stool, and I believe it came from HG was well.

I think that's about it. I'll keep you updated on how things go as we finish up and will post more photos then.

For those curious about how much it cost to bring it all together, here's the breakdown of what we bought.

Jenny Lind crib: gift
Chest: $230
Paint (one gallon for both): $25
Bird hook and hamper: already owned
Crib bumper: $170
Sheet: gift.
Fabric (six yards for the chair and one for the skirt and frames): $27/yard, $189
Chair: $27
Upholstery: $125
Sconces: already owned
Supplies for sconces: approximately $14
Canvas above crib: $12
Kindergarten chair: $5
Rug: already owned
Curtains: $20
Curtain trim: approximately $15
Pillow in chair: $13
Blanket: gift
Vine lamp: $40
Garden stool: already owned
2 white lampshades: $23
3 white frames: $43
White shelf (not pictured): $35
Total: $986 (just under budget!)

Peek at the Nursery

I hoped to be able to post photos of the nursery this week, but the weather has not been good for photo-taking. We should get some sunshine in the morning (before it gets nasty again) so I've got a date with my camera planned ...

Happy Weekend!

Little Bird

We started calling Elliot our "little bird" just few days after she was born. When she is hungry, she lets us know by opening her mouth, flapping her arms, and chirping like a, well, like a baby bird. It's very entertaining (to us, at least!). It's kind of funny now, because we had several things with birds on them for her before she was born.


Sweet little gown.


Pillow for the chair (look closely for the birds in the corners).


Okay, so I just bought this one. But I didn't think about it being a bird until I got home.


Bird hook holding a gown and hat that were mine when I was a baby.

More on the nursery (what we've done so far) coming this week, I promise!

Elliot Claire's Birthday

Elliot's birth day (which she shares with her Daddy, by the way) was the most special and precious day of our lives to date. We worked hard to bring her into the world in the way we felt was best: as naturally as possible. For those interested, here is our story from the perspective of our wonderful doula, Melissa (pictured here). It's not an especially gory version, but it is about natural birth, so there is your warning.



We were (and still are!) completely shocked it was a girl!









I would do it again every day for a look into those bright blue eyes!