The Start of a Nursery

(Stuffed animals from Gramma Lori & Grampa Gord)

We've started! Preparing a place to bring home Baby Manz is thrilling - and I must say that he or she is kicking up a storm lately... probably can sense mommy's excitement! :) Every little step we take is starting to make it feel more real that there might possibly be changes coming - but good ones... praise-God-kinda-ones! :)

Last week Kurt moved pretty much everything from the "yellow room" into the "blue room" (when we painted last summer we were trying to get pregnant - so the rationale was that we would already have two potential rooms if/when it happened - glad we did that! Much less work at this point in time.) Now the blue/spare room is our office, and the yellow room is going to be the baby's room. Everything is still disorganized... but we're gradually carving a niche out of the chaos to create order. ;)

The floors in both rooms squeaked horribly - so Kurt tightened them down. I only have pictures from last night - but the process was the same: lift the carpet, and insert 2-inch deck-screws into the floor joists to stop the old nails from moving in the wood. It worked great in the blue room - it is practically a cone of silence now.

(Tightening the floor)

The yellow room is more disappointing. The joists that squeak extend out into the hallway - so it still creaks along the wall regardless of of the number of screws put in. We'll probably end up putting the change-table there to reduce foot-traffic on that side of the room... so much for putting the rocking chair there like I'd originally planned! Kurt winces just walking over a squeak - so covering it can probably eliminate some stress on his part. Besides: the yellow room is only over the kitchen downstairs - not a bedroom... so it could be worse. I'll remind him of that - probably lots... chuckle. :)

(Assembling - and the finished project. What a handyman!)

After that was done, he put together the crib loaned to us by Tasha & Derek. Of course, earlier that night, he had been super-gracious in taking me out to pick up the crib accessories at JYSK... not to mention he had needed more screws from Co-op, and I needed to pick up some stuff for my mom at London Drugs - so it worked out nicely. He assembled, and I washed linens. :)

(Doing my part: putting on the sheet, and fastening the bumper pad... the pattern is little teddy-bears riding geese with stars around - cute, huh?)

They're pretty cute, if I do say so myself! :) They're so perfect for such a bright room... and not too feminine or masculine. We both like it... and the pattern gives us lots of other colors to accent the room with. We bought the crib sheet, a baby-quilt, and the bumper pad. We may yet go and get the matching window-panel to go over the blinds... budget-permitting (and it was only 9.99 on sale so that isn't too likely to destroy the fiscal balance!). I love JYSK!

(Ready for Baby? Not quite - but getting closer!)

The final results: the bookshelf behind the bassinet will be uncluttered for pictures, stuffed animals, etc. And, of course, the bassinet will be in our room after Baby comes home. The change table will go on the left of the picture, and the rocking chair will go about where I am standing to take the picture. I'll keep my eyes open for pictures, or other "stuff" that can go on the walls to make it a little more cozy... but it is truly amazing what assembling the crib will do. :)

Kurt wants to put together the change table tonight when he gets home... so more pictures to come later! :)