Make way for...

For quite some time we've been clearing a path and making way for a baby.  It is almost like that old rhyme that we used to taunt one another with when we were kids:

You've got a g-i-r-l-friend...
You've got a g-i-r-l-friend...

Then...

First comes love...

Then comes marriage...

Then comes Bryan and Jessica with a baby carriage...

Well, almost like that anyway.  There were a few stops in between.  Like graduations, new jobs, a new house...at any rate, we have been making way for a new baby for several months!

First there was construction...Bryan completed their bonus room to make a space for his 'man things.'  I'm sure you can imagine...mounted deer heads, mounted ducks in flight, mounted fish...  Then, an accent wall was painted in the emptied room.

Next, a baby bed was assembled.  

Then, a dresser was bought, cleaned up, and positioned just so.  

Then, a book case...and some books...and some other decor.  

Since Jessica was on bed-rest for the last days of her pregnancy, I pitched in to help out a little bit.  Jessica and I had been shopping a week or so before the doctor mandated bed-rest, and she selected a sweet navy and white checked fabric.  I added an accent of navy ribbon and some pleats to create the bed skirt for the bed.

Carrying the same concept over to the windows, I stitched up two full curtain panels, trimming them with the same navy grossgrain ribbon accent.  The curtains have enough fullness and are lined with an old a time-softened sheet.  

Bryan added some accents as well.  A (shower gift) pencil sketch of a little cowboy riding a spring horse is framed out in barn wood.  A shelf holds some well-loved toys from when he was a little boy.  More of his and Jessica's old toys and gifts from friends and family are perched on the book case and around the room.  (Jessica and I did notice that most of his old toys are perched on the highest shelves and the books are on the lower ones.  I wonder if Bryan is encouraging a scholarly demeanor or if he is protecting his own treasures...)

The piece which set the tone for the nursery turned out to be a quilt that came from Jessica's grandmother.  

Heirloom Quilt

I love the colors and fabrics in it.  The look is so masculine - like scraps and pieces of men's shirts.  There are rich plaids and strong stripes.  It truly pulls together the browns, reds, and blues of the decor in the room.  

Now, baby has his own space!  I think he is the best addition of all, though, don't you?