the baby room - a tour!

I've been meaning to post a little tour of Knox's room- and finally I put together some finishing touches and it is ready!

To be honest, I had totally selfish motivations with this room. :) I wanted to make a room Shawn and I enjoyed first and foremost- because I know all that Knox will remember are what he sees in pictures. Second, I wanted something very functional for our family, and third- I wanted to create a modern, colorful, yet peaceful space.

I spent a lot of time "researching" on Flickr groups like this one- there are SO many fun and fantastic ideas out there. 

I thought it would be easiest to number everything out- so here goes!

These acorns were hung at my Lubbock baby shower- too cute! I have creative friends. :)

Willy thinks this room is an excellent place for a nap. 

1. Because we have a small room, I wanted a chair that wouldn't take up much visual space. This is the POÄNG chair from Ikea. It is actually very comfortable- and rocks, too!

2. BÖJA floor lamp- also from Ikea.

3. The fish fabric is from the Patty Young Playdate Collection (called "Goldfish"). I found it from a seller on etsy, and my Mom had it made into a dust ruffle for the crib and a pillow for the chair. She also found an old quilt of my grandmother's which matched perfectly! She had the best quilt squares made into a lightweight baby blanket, which you can see hanging over the chair. There are more quilt squares on the reverse side of the pillow. I love the combination of old and new!

1. My sisters and I all received a "head" from our parents for Christmas- filled with the things we like. Mine contains all things knitting. It may make its way into my office later, but for now it has a home on Knox's shelves. 

2. I purchased this old fan for 1.50 at my favorite thrift store.

3. A couple of my vintage cameras.

4. I actually bought these letters before we knew if we were having a boy or girl! They were .25 at Michael's, and I couldn't pass them up- plus I had a pretty strong inclination it was a boy!

5. These are LACK floating shelves from Ikea which I covered in old maps. One of our prayers for this baby is that he will be a good traveler. I also know we'll be able to use the design as he gets older. 

6. Antique piggy bank we received as a gift.

7. One of my shower invitations requested that friends bring a book for Knox's library- which I loved! We got so many special books- old and new. The hostesses also gave us the cutest book stamp- it features a cute robot and says "From the Library of Truett Knox".

 

1. We found these baskets at TJMaxx. They're made of twisted Chinese magazine paper. 

2. This is the scripture that Shawn and I selected as our prayer for Knox. It's really important to us that he grows up seeing, hearing, and speaking scripture.

3. I found these fun albums from Memories for Life Scrapbooks on etsy. You can custom order any name, and have her decorate them for you or do it yourself! This is about as close to a real scrapbook as I get...and soon it will be filled with pictures!

I recently found a donut knitting pattern and have been creating these rattles for the many friends I have who are also having babies. They are so much fun to make!

The paper crane mobile was a very simple and inexpensive project. Shawn and I fished the branch out of our alley, and after painting it white, we folded some paper cranes out of scrapbook paper.

1. About 4 months into my pregnancy, I decided to make a baby blanket. Whoa. It took FOREVER. But I'm happy with the results.

2. Love this elephant from blablakids. It was a gift purchased at My Cup of Tea here in Lubbock.

3. One of my clients sent this purple Scottie dog after I posted about a pregnancy dream in which I birthed a purple dog! I believe it came from Vintage Chenille. So cute!

My super-talented sister gave us this handmade quilt for Christmas. It's so soft and has little "A"'s hidden in the squiggles. I can't wait to use it! (P.S. Layne, you are also super-talented!)

1. This is a SkipHop diaper bag. I didn't want anything too huge. It's packed and ready for the hospital!

2. This rack was given to us and painted the same color as the crib.

3. Knox has been given so many fun hats, shoes, and other clothing! I would feature my faves here but I'd rather get him in them first!

One of the things I am excited to use is this Svan bouncer. It's very compact and portable, so we can travel with it and move it around the house easily.

A few more things I'm excited to put to use- swaddle blankets from Aden + Anais, a crinkly noise maker for little hands, our Bum Genius diapers (this is one of the new Elemental designs- thanks Aunt Laynie!), cute pacifiers, and a versatile sling from Seven Slings (thanks Kat!). 

I also love our Sprout Shell! I spotted one at the doctor's office one day and went right home and ordered it. It matches our car seat/stroller and how could we not get the one with guitars?!?

Whew! That was quite a bit! We have been given so many wonderful things, and these are just the tip of the iceberg. I expect to be sharing many more of them when this child is actually here! Hope you enjoyed my tour!

finally...some time!

I've been telling myself I needed to sit down and write a personal post- not just to update you guys on what I've been up to (weddings, anyone? :)), but for myself. I look back at my old blog posts every now and then, and it's so awesome to see how God has responded to every one of my concerns and exceeded my expectations with so many things- this little business, our finances, my spiritual walk. 

So, I can't believe this summer is almost OVER! I have loved, loved, loved getting to spend every Saturday with my clients- they are all so special and unique, and getting to see their stories unfold is something I never take for granted. I also love getting to hang out with my second shooters- Shanna and Lauren- they have been my backbone during those moments I thought I might have a pregnancy-induced emotional breakdown, haha. 

Weddings are winding down, though not completely finished for 2010- get excited for what's to come- I know I am! I have had many people email me to ask if I will be shooting into the fall and winter, and the answer is YES! I will be focusing more on seniors this month and in October-November it will be all about families with my usual Mini-Sessions.

I will be 20 weeks pregnant (halfway) in three days. Getting out of that first trimester was like moving to a much happier, hungrier place! I have gained my energy back and am starting to see a bit of a belly. We are DYING to find out what the gender of this little one will be- and we'll know after August 27 when we have a Gender Reveal Party. (Haven't heard of this? I love a good party- and see almost any reason as a good excuse to have one. We have the gender of our baby sealed in an envelope that our ultrasound technician gave us. I'll take it to a bakery and have them bake a cake with either pink or blue icing in the middle of two layers. Then, at the party, along with our families- we'll cut the cake and find out if it's a girl or boy!) 

Here are some notes on this pregnancy so far:

1. I love a good pity party. Ask Shawn. He has been SUPER incredible at dealing with my "moments", and I can't wait to see him as Daddy.

2. I think I am feeling this baby move! Everyone has described it as a "fluttering" feeling...and lo and behold, I believe I've got a flutter.

3. DON'T buy this. I knew in my gut it was a cheap piece of technology when we purchased it. It truly is, folks. Don't waste your time.

4. I am a bit ashamed to say that one of the things I am looking forward to most is using these diapers. I have done probably too much research on the subject of cloth diapers, but I just love the concept and I know this kiddo is going to have one happy bum!

5. I wish Etsy had a registry feature. There are SO many cool baby items over there. 

6. I'm already amazed at the generosity of others. A friend sent me a huge box of maternity clothes one day, and I just cried when I opened it! I hope I will be able to give like that when it's my turn.

7. I did splurge on one maternity item- Isabella Oliver was having a major sale so I picked up one of their wrap shirts. It is cute and comfortable and makes me feel pretty, even. 

8. At my last doctor's appointment, I was told I needed to gain more weight. (WHAT? I have NEVER been told this in my LIFE!!!) Four weeks later, I am still technically underweight, and though I feel like I have been stuffing my face with food constantly, I am getting a little concerned. Of course, I want to have a healthy baby- so this has been a matter of prayer (and many visits to the grocery store.)

In other news, WE'RE DEBT FREEEEEEEEEE! I am SO excited about this. We've been working on our "debt snowball" for exactly a year this month and it's crazy to see how God's timing is absolutely perfect. The biggest hurdle has been trying to sell a motorcycle we purchased (on a whim = without using our brains) a few years ago. We started with an asking price of 5700.00 and eventually brought the price down (as we paid it off in chunks) to 4800.00, which is what we recently sold it for. I called yesterday for the payoff amount- and it was 4840.00. Really, God?!?! How did you do that?!?

I've learned so many things in this process. I know that money will never be in charge of us again. We CAN and WILL live within our means, and now we get to GIVE like no one else. Freedom from debt is so much more than not having a credit card bill. It means that we have more opportunities to use the things that God's given us in a generous way. 

I am so thankful for my business partner, Shawn. Without his help, we would not be here. He's put up with all my coupon clipping and crazy budget adjustments. Most of all, I have loved getting to dream with him- one of the best parts of this process has been setting goals for ourselves, and knowing we will achieve them if we just stick to it!

Hope I didn't bore you all! I am off to Dallas to shoot a fantastic bridal session and spend some much needed time off with good company. Have a great week!