Decorating for the little one

Since I found out last Monday that my new addition will be another little girl, I have been looking for decorating ideas for the nursery.

This is no easy task with my itty-bitty budget. My greatest resource is eBay. I love that I can find new complete Pottery Barn Kid set for a fraction of the price. Sometimes they are used, but from experience with Livy's set, they last and look great after several years! (Of course, you must be willing to take care of it!)

What do I want in my baby's nursery? Not anything will do for my babies. I like good quality pieces that will last, non-baby styles that can be used for several years, and most importantly a room that I can feel happy to put together.

I'm not huge on themes, but finding colors that coordinate or pieces that help the room flow are vital. For example, when I did Livy's nursery the colors were bright pink, yellow and blue. The bedding had butterflies on it so I played that up with artwork and netted hanging butterflies from the ceiling.

Olivia's nursery. I love the dark cherry wood with the bedding. Above the changing table is the custom artwork that I made for her using butterfly stamps from all over the world. I wasn't able to paint her room, if I had it would have been something completely different.

Close up of the artwork.

Her "used" Pottery Barn bedding that is still in near perfect condition. What kind of deal did I get for her set you may ask. I purchased a quilt, duvet, 3 sheets, bed skirt, valance, 2 decorative pillows, 2 small pillowcases with insert for about $100 including shipping! One thing that was important to me was that these pieces could be used when Livy moved to a toddler bed. So in other words, bedding must last at least 4 years!

Livy's current room. It's not finished yet, after one more large project I can start to hangup artwork.

Butterflies suspended above her bed.

So now I'm off to find something unique for my new baby. In this first photo, I love the chandelier in the room. What an elegant and whimsical touch! I also love the border painted on this wall. I want something unique for my baby and also something different from Livy.

I love the silhouette pictures on the wall.

So what am I truly considering for my baby? What about purple and blue. I found this Pottery Barn set new on eBay (crib size of course) and simply love it! I plan on ordering it this week and then let the painting and true decorating begin!

Cows on the camping trip!

This past weekend we headed with our ward (church) for a camp out. This was Livy's first camping trip and was super excited to sleep in a tent. Thanks to Signing Time, she learned a lot about the outdoors and animals before we headed up.

(Sometimes I forget that google is messed up and put the pictures in the wrong order, so we are working from the end to start. Sorry, I'm too lazy just now to switch them all around.)

On our second day, we headed to Payson Lakes by our group campsite. The lake was surprisingly beautiful and very cold from spring run-off. Livy was determined to swim until she felt how frigid the water was. I was a little disappointed that she wouldn't be able to play in the water, something that she loves. Fortunately some friends brought a canoe up that she loved just as much.

Livy on the canoe with her dad and friends.

I'm not much on playing in the water. I preferred to sit back and enjoy the beautiful scenery or take a walk around the lake.

At our campsite there was plenty of activities (read as leisure) for us to enjoy. Play time with dad, bubbles with friends, hammock time for me (very relaxing while pregnant!) and good friends to chat with.

Eduardo and Livy playing at our site.

A few pictures from around our campsite.

We all slept, except for me, surprisingly well. I have an issue with sleeping while I camp. I don't try to stay up all night, but my mind gets the better of me. I think or worry about being cold all night or if Livy is warm enough; even down to crazy thoughts of bears in the camp or Livy getting up and wandering off. I usually fall asleep about 4 in the morning and up a few hours later. I need to remember to take some benedryl with me so I can sleep. Livy and Eduardo stayed warm and happy to report no bears. I shouldn't worry so much!

Our little campsite.

Something that I think Livy will remember will be the cows. Yes, cows on our camping trip. The local farmers were herding the cattle from the lower pasture to a higher one. We had the pleasure of being behind this noisy group on our drive up the canyon. Livy found it exciting and honestly I thought the same thing. It was nice to see something that you wouldn't normally see. It was a fun way to start our weekend.

The color of our baby!

I've always liked blue! In fact it is my favorite color. As a child I had many blue things and now as an adult, I get to welcome something else that is blue.

It's a Girl!

The Grand Canyon days 3 & 4

I know, I know I'm just now getting around to finish the details from our trip back in April. Click here if you would like to read about days 1 (Snowy Bryce Canyon) and day 2 (Zion's National Park).

On Day 3 we were suppose to pack up and head home. But instead we thought we would drive across the desert and the Navajo Indian Reservation to see The Grand Canyon. I hadn't seen the Grand Canyon and was excited to see this magnificent park that so many people have visited or know about.

The drive was looooong and tiring, especially for the newly pregnant me that turns into a zombie during the first trimester.

Once we arrived, we stopped at various look-out points to see this beautiful natural wonder. It was breath taking!

My mom and I

Ed and the Grand Canyon

Some wildlife outside of the park

Since this was the spontaneous part of our trip, the next step was to find lodging. Let me just say that the town outside of the Grand Canyon is way too expensive. The restaurants (we ended up at our least favorite McDonald's) brag that they are one of the most expensive in the world. If I remember correctly that Kids Happy Meal was at least $7!

We decided not to stay there and headed further south (farther from home which meant longer drive the following day) and ended up at Williams, Arizona. Williams is one area where the old Route 66 ran through and you can still drive and walk down it. What a fun evening! I loved thinking about how it would have been to drive cross country on Route 66, staying at little roadside motels and eating at retro diners.

Livy, myself and my mom posing in front of a Route 66 sign. (Sorry it's blurry! That's what I get for taking pictures at night!)

Ed and the infamous sign

Day 4 was the day for us to drive home. I never do well on the last day of a trip. I know that the majority of the sightseeing is done and I am anxious to be home.

To mix it up a bit, we took a different route home which took us to the Hoover Dam! It certainly was a fun experience and I wish we had the time to tour it. The outside was fascinating and inspiring.

After the Hoover Dam it was a very focused drive to get home. We arrived after 10:00pm absolutely exhausted.

Don't forget to vote on the poll what you think Monday's ultrasound will say!

What will the baby be?

Why is it that once you think you got a handle on things, life throws you a curve ball!? That has been life for the past few weeks. Busy beyond all reason and thought provoking. I won't go into much detail, except we experienced yet another death. One that was heart-breaking and still is whenever I think of it. Our dear friends lost their sweet girl, Alice age 18 months. I feel for them! I can't imagine how it would be to loose a child and hope to never experience that. It make me grateful to have the gospel in my life. What a blessing it is to know that someday Alice will be reunited with her famiy!

My thoughts have turned a lot to my own blessing, Olivia, and how I can be a better mother to her. I want to know that I do everything I can, everyday for her. I don't want to think at the end of the day that I should have read one more story or sang one more song. I don't want to think that I was rushed and couldn't be bothered to rock her, play with her, kiss her boo-boos, or to snuggle a little longer. With that, I haven't been on the computer much lately. Olivia (and future baby) will ALWAYS be my top priority.

With that said.....

Next Monday is the big day when we get to find out what our baby #2 is. Trust me that I have been sending lots of vibes and pep talks to this little one telling it to cooperate. I know some people love the thrill of waiting until the birth of their child to find out the gender, but one thing you must know about me is that I am not a spontaneous person. I like to plan and try to be as prepared as possible. Plus, I want to start decorating the nursery.

What do you think our baby is going to be? You may be curious to know that this will be my mother's 8th grandchild. So far she only has granddaughters. Everyone says that this will be a boy, but my dreams are always of a little girl. Eduardo's dreams have been of a boy. So what do you think? Please leave a comment or vote on my poll.