Lydia's Room

Shane and I finally finished Lydia's room this weekend. We thought remolding her bedroom into a special "big girl" room would be nice, especially when there will be so much attention surrounding the new baby. A little place of respite, just for her. I wanted it to have a "handmade feel." I love how it turned out.

Before (photo taken 10/2007)

After.


The wooden "Lydia" was handmade by a women from my hometown. The cute purse hanging on the mirror is from Lazy Bee. The sock monkey is from Mostly Monkeys. I still need to get new curtains for the windows. I want them to be double paneled. I can't decide on a color. Thoughts?

The quilt was made by my sister Abby as a shower gift. She used fabric leftover from my Dad's sisters dresses when they were little girls. In the basket are some of the baby things that I didn't have the heart to take down yet. Days before Lydia was born, Shane bought the baby doll. He said it resembled what he imagined his little girl would look like. Sweet.

I made the mobile by mod-podging craft birds and glittering them up.

Shane's Dad made Lydia the mirror. He collects heart shaped rocks that he finds on walks or when he is fishing. He decorated the frame with some of his favorites. The rocking chair was Shane's as a little boy. It was made by his grandfather. The blanket was knit (crocheted? I don't know the difference) by a dear friend for Lydia. And the Hello Kitty is the newest addition to Lydia's toy box. She got it for finally pooping in the potty!!!! Big week for her. She is all of the sudden rocking the potty training thing. I could cry for joy.

The inspiration for the room are these dolls that my sister Emily made for Lydia for her 3rd birthday.

My mom sent me three valances for the room, but we only have two windows. Shane thought framing the fabric from the extra valance would pull the room together. I love how it looks. The dolls are leaning again a pillow that I made out of the leftover fabric. I am very proud of it since I don't sew. I don't even have a sewing machine. I did it all by hand. Of course, I am in bed a lot lately. It was nice to have something new to do. I made the tiny pillows out of a personalized bib and burp cloth.


Lydia loves her new room. She is totally faking in this shot. She is quite the drama queen. Now off to finish Collin's nursery! At least sit in a chair and tell Shane what to do....

21 PEOPLE HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY:

Angela said...

Wow I love it!! The little pillows from the bib and burp cloth were genius! And yeah for hubs thinking about framing the extra valance ~ I love it! He must watch decorating shows too! Beautiful room! I especially love that a lot of the items have actual meaning to your family!

MAY 4, 2009 2:17 AM 

Misty said...

I love it! When can you come to my house?

MAY 4, 2009 9:25 AM 

Chris said...

It is absolutely adorable. However, isn't it sad to see how much they've grown by the looks of their bedroom? Awww... She's so cute!

MAY 4, 2009 9:33 AM 

pink~leopard~print said...

Oh my goodness the room turned out beautiful! I love the glittered birdys!!

MAY 4, 2009 9:46 AM 

Hannah said...

Oh. My. Goodness. What an absolutely precious room! The mobile is awesome - I love it!

MAY 4, 2009 9:56 AM 

The Pyper Fam said...

That is the cutest room! Could I hire you and Shane to come to my house to make over my little guys room from nursery to big-boy room? :) I love all of the personal touches! Very very cute!

MAY 4, 2009 11:35 AM 

Kathleen W. said...

So beautiful! I love the handmade things, and what a talented family you come from. Thanks so much for sharing the photos. Lydia has such great parents (including a dad who has great decorating advice with those framed fabrics).

MAY 4, 2009 11:54 AM 

Amy said...

Love it! So sweet and fun!

MAY 4, 2009 12:56 PM 

Natalie said...

I love the new room ... we are in the middle of creating a "big boy" room for our son before our new baby, so I know the feeling! About the post before this ... the mood is totally different at our house ... hopefully after we have these babies everything will fall into place. Have strengh!!

MAY 4, 2009 1:37 PM 

Bowmans said...

Very very cute! Im sure she loves having you as a mom. And Im happy to hear all is well with you and your baby.

MAY 4, 2009 2:43 PM 

Madeline and Family said...

So cute! You are so talented. Have you ever thought about interior Designing? Keep up with your awesome skills.

MAY 4, 2009 4:03 PM 

Are You Serious! said...

♥ It's great! You guys did a fabulous job! Great idea with the left over sham... Love the pillow great job by hand... hand sewing is not my favorite thing to do! I love her bedspread too! So cute! ;)

MAY 4, 2009 4:29 PM 

Brittany said...

I love it! Seriously is there anything you can't do? You are totally multi-talented! Love it! Can't wait to see Collins room!:)

MAY 4, 2009 5:21 PM 

Heather said...

Beautiful room! A lot of meaningful pieces in it. Where did you get those super cute dresses hanging on the mirror? Isn't it great when the potty training finally starts to hit home? We hardly have any accidents any more!

MAY 5, 2009 9:20 AM 

Sharla said...

Wow, I want that room! Talk about every girls dream.... Maybe I'll have a girl someday so I can decorate her room.

MAY 5, 2009 11:18 AM 

Kandi said...

The room turned out great. It makes it so special when you have all the personal and meaningful pieces! For sure the second one brings about a whole new mood. I found that it goes by so much quicker. So make sure you capture those moments. When I look at my 9m old I think where did the time go?? It seems like just yesterday she was born. And don't be surprised if your daughter regress' a bit with her potty training after the baby arrives, it is normal.

MAY 6, 2009 1:35 PM 

Nama said...

I love Lydia's room! It's so precious! I think my favorite is the framed fabric. It's just so simple and fabulous. I think trying curtains in a lime green color might work. I think it'll bring out the green that's already in the room. Of course, I just love green, so I could be bias. :)

MAY 6, 2009 1:54 PM 

xcdenke said...

First, where do you find the time? B. It looks amazing and 4thly, Liddy is too cute for words! She fake sleeps just like you! Seriously, love the room. Miss you.

MAY 7, 2009 7:00 PM 

Whimsical Creations said...

Absolutely fabulous!! I want her room! =D

MAY 7, 2009 7:01 PM 

Jessica [Mommy to a 3 yr old drama queen] said...

Wow her room is sooo beautiful!! I wish i had the same luck of potty training as you! She is 3 and wont have it at all!

MAY 7, 2009 7:08 PM 

Ginny said...

This is gorgeous!

MAY 10, 2009 12:20 PM 

Seriously not ready.

The other night I was lying in bed with Shane, both of us silently watching the baby kick my stomach. As we watched I started thinking about how we did this same thing when I was pregnant with Lydia. However, when we watched Lydia, we would laugh and talk about how excited we were for her to be born. With this baby, the mood is very different. I would describe it as scared with a dash of denial.

Of course we are excited also. A new baby! It is just that life with Lydia for the first 18 months was not fun. Pretty much it was horrible. I wrote a post entirely on this subject, if you want to hear a little more of the experience. Though, after rereading that post I can see that I was putting it gently. I didn't sleep for more than a few hours a night for 18 months. I hardly left the house for over a year. Where can you go when your baby doesn't stop screaming? Some things you can get used to, but exhaustion is not one of them. Neither is hearing your child scream for 90% of the day. That time of my life was a plunging black hole, and sometimes I still feel the effects.

Lydia is easier now, but she is still a difficult child. To be fair, she is wonderful much of the time. I love so much about being her mother. She is smart, sweet and imaginative and has brought more joy into our lives than we ever thought possible. But she is- unquestionably- really, really hard.

So this is what I am scared of (terrified beyond belief actually): How can I survive having another baby like Lydia? Sure I did it once, but I barely made it through with my sanity intact, and I didn't have a difficult toddler to deal with at the same time. I know it may not be like that. He may be a perfect angel, and that is what I hope for. I think about holding him close, smelling that baby smell. I have been holding his new little onsies and socks and telling myself that everything will be okay. However, no one could go through what Shane and I did with Lydia and not be afraid.

My Baby Shower

When my friend Kristi told me that she wanted to throw me a baby shower I thought, "fun! A shower for my second baby. Maybe a little low key event." No. Not low key. This shower was amazing. And it was for ME! Oh, and for baby Collin. Did I mention that is what we are naming the baby?


The food was lovely and delicious. It was a "mini" theme, using several (what else) Barefoot Contessa recipes. Look at these hanging decorations! My friend Elizabeth made them. I am thinking of using them in the nursery.


My very own diaper cake. I don't know how I will have the heart to take it apart. If you are wondering, yes, I am wearing the cardigan from my "yellow" post. I thought I would get myself a shower gift too.


Thank you mom for the "shower shoes" They were just the right complement to my outfit.


The hosts! Wendy, Jessica, (me) and Kristi. I guess Wendy didn't get the memo to wear yellow and turquoise. No, it wasn't planned.




There was a table out for designing onsies. Whichever one I liked the best received a prize.


It was a tough choice....

But this was the winner. (We are X-files fans remember)


Look at all the booty! And I was worried I wouldn't have enough clothes....

Back for seconds.

Look at these cute favor boxes. Inside each one were two hand-dipped chocolate cupcake bon bons.

The desserts were inspired by my two pregnancy cravings. Citrus and chocolate. The mini chocolate cupcakes with fudge filling were absolutely decadent. However, the vanilla cupcakes with key lime filling were confectionery perfection. I had about 4. (or 7. whatever.)

Click on the above photo for a few more shots. I am thinking of using the pictured garland in Collin's nursery too.

A few of my girlfriends went in together to buy me...that's right...a yellow Coach bag with matching wallet. I'm a little embarrassed to say, I almost started crying. I think I was just a little overwhelmed. This last month has been a hard one. I am not sleeping, I am uncomfortable all the time. I am nervous about having a another baby and Lydia has not been making things any easier. Basically I have been a little down. Then I come to this shower that is just so....me. From the flowers to the music, I could not have planned it more to my liking. Every gift was so thoughtful. Everyone put so much time and love into this one night. I feel very blessed to have such wonderful friends.

All the ladies, minus Wendy, who took the photo. Thank you all so very much!