Liam's Nursery Reveal!
It's been a process... Liam's Room is for all intensive purposes complete and we are ready to share it with the world!
We like to think it's a space for Paul and I to be able to share time together with our little man, so it's definitely a room we can enjoy as "adults" with touches of baby here and there! It was also super important to us that it would be a room he can grow into! We were going for a more modern car/sign feel! And I definitely feel like there is room for more personal touches like pictures of our little man and maybe even more fun car stuff!
So we start with the process with... PAINTING! The room was previously a milk chocolate color and we decided to go with some neutral yet cool colors!
We purchased the paint at Sherwin Williams, and it turned out awesome! I love the Light French Gray and White Stripes!! We also updated the ceiling fan to a more modern clean feel of stainless steel! Perks of the new fan!? Multiple speeds on a remote and a DIMMER too! YAY!!!
So now for the big reveal!!!
Now here's the low-down!
Crib: Babyletto Mercer Crib
Dresser/Changing Table: Childcraft by Sauder Shoal Creek Double Dresser - Matte White from Target.com
Ceiling Fan: Don't know brand - bought at Home Depot
Closet System: allen + roth 8-ft White Wood Closet Kit at Lowes (FYI - "white" is off white - kind of a bummer, but that's what doors are for!)
Closet Doors: KVARTAL - Triple curtain rail, aluminum color from IKEA. We bought three panels the Grey Twill Color and the stop and bottom metal pieces too! (all pieces sold separate! including the wall mounts!)
Sofa: Was my grandmother's and we had it re-covered. It's a sofa bed! Great for guests!
Rocking Chair: Paul's family's and that was re-covered as well!
White Side Tables/Storage-Toy boxes: Paul made those! With a bit of help from Kevin! (email us if you want to know more about that!)
And of course the accessories and decor!
LIAM and ROUTE 66 Sign: Purchased the Route 66 Sign on eBay and had the same vendor do the custom Liam sign! www.theelectricmoon.com
Glass Shelves: LINJAL - Glass shelf, clear glass - from IKEA
Curtains: Eclipse™ Fairfax Thermaweave Window Panel from Target
COOL Car Walker: Combi All In One Activity Walker - Black GT on Amazon
Dachshund Light: MyPetLamp Dachshund Accent Lamp (online)
Quilt: Made by me! Email me for details about fabric - here is the tutorial!
Sofa Pillows: Made by me!
Mobile: Wimmer-Ferguson Infant Stim-Mobile (FYI - the arm didn't fit our crib so I had to buy an alternate mobile arm!
License Plate Map: All Metal U.S. Map with License plate design - on eBay
Jingle Jugs: Compliments of Paul's friend Shane White! Paul got these a couple Christmas' ago from Shane and is now insisting they stay in Liam's room... we'll see how long that lasts! But he did get them in the pictures!
Sock Monkey-Dachshund: In honor of Chunk Master we had to get Liam a "Sock Chunky!" from SockMonkeyFarm on Etsy!
If there's anything else you're curious about don't hesitate to ask!
And finally, to set the mood - check it out in the evening lounge style all lit up!
Stay tuned as Liam will be arriving very soon!
Our Mustache Bash Baby Shower!
I can't believe it's been an entire month since I've posted a blog, but I guess that is par for the course when you are preparing for a baby on the way! And we couldn't be more grateful as we had an awesome baby shower! It was a mustache bash for our little man Liam!
We had such a great turn-out I was super overwhelmed with everything our little man will have to make life that much easier! We couldn't be more excited and thankful for everything everyone gave us! We had some fun games like word scramble, baby bingo, guess the m&m's in the bottle and my favorite "Guess that Stash". Paul designed the invitations as well as the games, and it was a lot of fun! Then it was onto opening gifts! It was mostly the ladies for the event, but the men came back toward the end and Paul got to help me open a couple of the last presents.
I want to thank everyone that came out (from near and far ;)) and were so gracious to give all these wonderful gifts and I of course want to thank my mother-in-law (Marty) and sister-in-law (Elizabeth) who did an awesome job hosting and pulling things together, my friends Kristin (Storey) and Yarden for helping to set-up, clean-up, and MC... not to mention paint mustaches on mugs with me! And of course I also want to thank Elaine for taking all these awesome pictures!
If you'd like to seem more fun pics from the shower, click here! It won't be long before Liam will be here so stay tuned!
A Georgian Terrace Maternity Shoot to Remember!
Paul had his first Maternity Shoot yesterday with a previous client. He had worked with Paige for her vow renewal (wedding ceremony) in Peachtree City at the Wyndham Peachtree Conference Center, and she loved those pics so much she called him up for her maternity shoot!
Paul met Paige at the Georgian Terrace Hotel downtown Atlanta, just in front of the Fox Theater, and the had an amazing shoot! Paige will surely be even more impressed this time around.
Check out some of these gorgeous images, this is just the tip of the iceberg!
You should definitely get in touch with my Paul Paul for our next shoot! He does it all and he does an awesome job!
Check him out... paulperdue.com
Babies, Babies and more Babies!
So Paul and I have a hand full of friends and family that are pregnant! Congrats to all of you! I think we are at that age where we have moved on from the constant weddings and now we are in constant Baby Showers! I definitely think it is much more fun to buy baby gifts than wedding gifts, that's for sure! Of course it's way to easy to get carried away...
Anyway, I'm a morning show listener (The Bert Show), and they have a producer that recently had a baby so Bert came across this advise on the Huffington Post, and I wanted to pass it on to all those soon to be mother's I know. I'm not a mom, or mom-to-be myself (yet), but it seems like very good advice!
See what you think! Click Here for the FULL ARTICLE.
The Best Parenting Advice I Never Got
If I could go back and give myself some more practical advice it would look something like this:
1. When they nap, you nap. Don't send emails, don't catch up on work. Nap.
2. Travel with your children when they are very young. At six months old it's just as easy to keep them entertained in Cozumel as it is in Cleveland. You might as well get a tan out of the deal.
3. Buy a rechargeable, cordless hand vacuum. Your floors and cars will thank you.
4. It's perfectly acceptable to make an entire dinner in the microwave.
5. In every parent-child relationship someone has to be the grown up. Try to make sure that someone is you. A two-year-old has the right to act like a child, you do not.
6. Take everyone who volunteers to babysit up on the offer. Repeatedly.
7. Buy everything you can second-hand.
8. Make time for the other relationships in your life -- seeing you in the role of good friend or devoted spouse teaches your kids way more than a Baby Einstein marathon.
9. There's no such thing as using too many wipes.
10. There will be times when you're sure you are a terrible parent and, secretly, wonder why you ever had kids in the first place. This is normal. Forgive yourself these occasional moments of self-doubt and, from time to time, let yourself mourn your life pre-parenthood. Then have a healthy glass of wine, get some sleep and get back to work. After all, as you've no doubt heard, it's a tough job, but it's all worth it.
Oh, and go see a movie while you still can.
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I love movies! You should definitely do that last one... and let me know when you do as I'm totally game!
Definitely READ THE FULL ARTICLE! It's very entertaining!!!
