lassoing the moon: April 2011

About a month ago we had our amazingly talented friend Jenae Weinbrenner of Imijfoto over to our house for a little maternity photo shoot. We wanted something different than what we had done with Luke and she had so many fun ideas. It was an emotional day for me leading up to it- just thinking a lot about little Luke and missing him and aching all over again for how he wasn't going to be there with us to be in these family photos.... but Jenae really helped to take my mind off all that was missing and focus on all that was present....

So here are a just a few images from our photo shoot...freeing, lovely and fun. We cannot wait to meet our little gal in person and are so thankful to have these images to help us remember these days of preparation and belly growth!

So much love...

Thanks Jenae for capturing this precious season in our lives so beautifully....

We finished it! Back in early February we began working on getting the nursery ready for Baby Girl's arrival. This involved rearranging some aspect of literally every room in our house - some more than others- (except for the bathroom) in order to be able to devote an entire room to her. To say this has been a team effort is an understatement! Not only have Joe and I worked hard to get it all finished, but we could not have finished it without the generosity of so many of you helping us to fill her room with treasures, blankets, bedding, decor, toys, diapers, cute stuff, furniture...the list goes on and on. We have had to literally put half of our belongings in storage (i.e. my parent's basement and our friend Dave's basement) and have taken out half of the furniture in our home in effort to make our cozy house feel well...not so cozy.

Here are some 'before' pictures of what is now her room. Before this project, her room was used as our guest room, our home office, my getting ready area, (it is still the room where my closet is located) and just a general "catch all" room for stuff and projects. It was a room we used every single day in a variety of capacities. Here is a glimpse of the before....

As you can see, it held a TON of stuff...and it was mostly stuff we actually used on a regular basis. A few weeks ago, we posted a little glimpse of what part of her room looks like now. In the post we talked about the making of the mural that is pretty much the focal point of her entire room. We have since expanded it a little bit an added a special quote on a third wall in her room.

We spent time picking out our favorite one and then researched different fonts and adapted our own based on elements we liked out of several different font styles. We then used our friend Natalie's overhead projector (thanks Natalie!) to project it onto the wall and chalked it out prior to painting. Since it was located up high, Joe had to do all of the painting alone since my sense of balance is a little bit off these days!

....Joe working on the quote....

...detail work....

And after we finished her walls, it was time to assemble furniture, arrange her things, hang curtains, organize, and dream of the little gal who would soon be calling this room her own. It has taken us a long while (lots longer than we thought!) but we are VERY excited about how it turned out! We hope you like it too!

So here it is! The big reveal of how it looks today- all finished!

....from the doorway looking in...

...another glimpse...

These guys are keeping her bed warm until she gets here. The bear was a special gift to Luke from Joe's sweet cousins. We named him Luke and know he will be a special friend for our little gal. The little sheep is the infamous Sleep Sheep who makes lots of soothing sounds to help our baby girl catch her zzzz's and get lots of beauty rest (fingers crossed)!

Her changing table.

This is her toy corner. We have many amazing friends who have gifted us with some fun activity toys for her to use and grow into! That is also her cute diaper bag there all packed and ready to be used!

This is one of the best parts about her nursery- the glider! It was delivered yesterday and it is DIVINE! Next to it is a little side table with a lamp. We know we (especially Mommy) will be spending lots of time there between feedings, reading time and snuggle time! We LOVE this spot!

This sweet gal is on her changing table. She is sooo cute I just could not resist including a little photo of her. She's a piggy bank and although you can't see it very well here, she is sporting an adorable tutu in addition to her crown! She was a gift from friends and she always brings a smile! In the background are some of the amazing and beautiful blankets people gave us as well as a healthy supply of burp cloths! Hooray!

Here is a glimpse of the shelf in her room- we have some baby supplies up there, her monitor, a cute clock and a little photo frame that will soon contain a photo of her big brother, Luke. (Mama forgot to put it in there before taking these photos!)

We removed the closet doors and softened up the corner a little bit with some fabric instead of doors. You can't really see, but the design on them is made up of little budding flowers.

Not the best photo, but next to the glider, we have a little bin of books just waiting to be read to our sweet girl...we can't wait to see which ones are her favorites.

Another one of our favorite features in her room is her nightlight: this moon! It hangs on her wall near the closet and it has a remote control to brighten or dim it depending on how much light you want. It technically does the phases of the moon but for our intents and purposes, its a night light! Its really fun! After seeing one in the bedroom of Joe's cousin's daughter....we knew we had to get one for Baby Girl! (We found it in the Discovery Store).

Here it is partially lit up so you can get the idea...

This lineup is comprised of lots of lovely items - most of which are from my favorite artist's line (Kelly Rae Roberts) that was given to me at one of our showers! There is also a little sign hanging among the Kelly Rae stuff that was a gift to us when we had Luke. So, so special. We love it all!

...another glimpse of the glider corner...

...another glimpse from the glider looking toward the changing table...

...a final peek into her room from the doorway...

Her special quote...and the overriding theme of her room: hope. Hope for her, hope for her future, hope for her joys, hope for her health, hope for her life. We are so excited to have her here with us living in her room and for the privilege of being her parents and helping her grow and bloom.

Again, we could not have made her room so special without so many of you pouring into our lives with your encouragement, your friendship, your generosity, your thoughtfulness and your kindnesses. We love and thank you with all of our hearts.