The process is well underway, and Baby K’s nursery is, if I may say so, looking cheery and fresh after a day’s work. I promised progress updates, so tonight will mostly be photos of the space from start to, well…as far as we got in 8ish hours. The painting is all done, but the trim will wait for this coming week. After that, we’ll add the wall design (more on this soon) and carpet. Then it’s all fun from there (I loooooove to get creative and can’t wait to decorate:).

Before the photos, there’s just one shiny light bulb moment from today that I don’t want to forget. Earlier this week, I was agonizing over paint colors and frustrated with the process of decision-making–even though Jason and I originally picked the nursery colors weeks ago. I gave up at some point, decided we’d just go with our initial instincts and we bought the paint. When we started this morning, I was still unsure about our choice. But as I painstakingly cut/edged the walls to baby’s lovely little nook with a paintbrush this afternoon, I realized something. The only reason I cared so much to spend over an hour getting lines just right, and the only reason I worried about the paint colors being perfect, is that I love this baby with everything I have in me. Of course I want things to be perfect. And I know that he or she will actually never care about the paint. It means a lot, though, to know that every ounce of energy we put into planning and prepping for baby is filled with good intention. It’s so brilliant, really, that we can have this much love and put so much importance on someone we haven’t actually met yet. The notion is miraculous to me!

I’ll probably never sit and rock our little one in the nook without thinking about what I realized while painting today. Needless to say, every brush stroke was worth it. Special thanks to my dad for coming from Chicago to help us this weekend, and special recognition to Jason, who has dealt with my less-than-stellar decision-making abilities as of late, and who has graciously loved me through the process anyway.

Now, without further ado…our wages for a day’s work:

not the baby's room, but a good reason to paint today, and not in the Springtime when the sun is shining 🙂

before. east facing windows, pre-sanding.

before. nook and part of the attic door, which will soon be magnetic (and a chalkboard!)

before. view from the nook.

before. west wall and nook.

jason prepping paint for us to begin (note dad's great sanding job on the baseboard).

kruger. not so enthralled to be kicked out of the room with his favorite view. we're sorry kruger, but wait til you meet this kid. it'll all be worth it!

during. nook meets primer.

during. baby and i tell dad (grandpa) just how much we love to paint 🙂

teamwork. dad holds the paint tray so i don't have to go up and down the step stool or bend over too far. baby is thankful.

after trimming the yellow detail, i'm excited to be almost done with the nook.

even closer! so cheery!

jason shows off his yellow painting skills.

j and dad, wrapping things up for the day. ahh. feels so good to be this much closer!

And that’s all there is to it! I forgot to mention that the light fixtures are both going (I know, it’s terribly hard to say goodbye to the chandelier in this room), and that they’ll be replaced as part of the transformation. We’ll re-purpose the chandelier, but it’s not worth a big red bump on dad’s head every time he checks on baby for a midnight feeding 🙂

After a very productive day, this pregnant chica is ready for bed. The rest of the household seems to be, too!

sweet dreams,

mm