2 months with Baby Jax

Babies sure do take up a lot of time.  But really, I don't mind at all.  I could spend all day staring at my little guy.  So when I'm not staring at Baby Jax, doing laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, cooking, or learning how to be a wife and a mom, I'm finding a little time to write a blog post (but only once a month, it seems).
*update: this post has taken me almost 3 days to write

Baby Jax we love you more and more every day.  You are truly a gift from the Lord.  A small part of me wants you to grow up, because experiencing all your "firsts" is just so fun; but a very big part of me desperately wants your growing up to slow down because I know your sweet baby coos, chunky thighs, and gummy smiles will be gone before I know it.  It is so amazing to watch you grow and learn, and I am trying to savor all of it.

You have certainly been busy during your second month of life outside the womb.  Here is bit of what you have been up to:

• We recently weighed you at home and the scale read close to 11.5 lbs.  You seem to be getting really long too.  We will know for sure how much you have grown at your upcoming 2 month appointment.
• There is no way I can squeeze you into your newborn clothes anymore.  My heart ached just a bit when I put you in a 6 month sleeper and it didn't swallow you whole.
• Your hair seems to be lightening up.  We are wondering if someday soon we might have a blue-eyed blondie.
• You are doing better with sleeping at night, usually waking up every 4 hours to eat.  One night you gave us a 6 hour stretch.  I keep hoping that will become more regular :)
• You now sleep in your own room at night.  Some of your naps are in your crib or in the mamaRoo, which you love.
• Your new favorite toy is your floor gym.  You will happily play there for at nearly 15 minutes at a time.
• Just the other day you laughed when Mama was tickling you.  You have definitely become more interactive this month and love to "chat" and smile with Mama and Daddy while laying on your changing pad.
• Your grandparents have already started spoiling you, and even though you didn't really know what was going on, you received tons of gifts for your very first Christmas.

Baby Jax, we love you and have absolutely loved this second month with you in our lives.

1 month with Baby Jax

People aren't lying when they say how fast time flies with a baby.  I really can't believe an entire month has gone by since Jaxson joined our family.  It has certainly been a life-changing, tiring, and sometimes stressful but overall truly amazing month with our little guy.  We just can't stop staring at him and marveling that he is ours.  He is truly a good gift from the Lord and we fall more in love with him every day.

Here is a little bit of what you have been up to lately, Baby Jax:

• At your two week appointment you weighed 7lbs 13oz.  You have continued to chub up and we think you are closer to 8.5lbs now.
• You have outgrown some of your newborn clothes, but some 0-3 months is still too big.  I'm sure it won't be long before you fill those out!
• You love to eat (a lot!!).
• You have TONS of light brown hair and dark blue eyes.
• As far as sleeping at night goes, you have good days and bad days.  More recently you have started to give us a few 5 hour stretches at night.
• You still sleep in the cradle at night, but have started taking naps during the day in your crib.
• You are very vocal and like to squeak and grunt.
• You enjoy being held.  We can pass you around at family gatherings without ever waking you up.
• Car rides are a guaranteed way to get you to sleep.
• Your first outing was to the doctor, but since then you have been to church, the grocery store, the mall, a couple restaurants, and your grandparents' houses.
• You have certainly had a lot of "firsts" this month, but some of the most memorable might be your First Thanksgiving and your first Christmas tree shopping trip.
• Ever since you were 6 days old you have proved to be super strong, by lifting up your head while laying on Daddy's chest.   You is still a bit wobbly, but definitely getting more control.
• At 3 weeks daddy laid your tummy on the bed, and you rolled over to your back.  You did it 3 times in a row!
• You smile a lot during your sleep.  We like to think you are smiling at us.

We love you Jaxson and are so glad God decided to let us be your parents.  We couldn't imagine life without you!  Happy one month baby boy!

Plumbing pipe curtain rods

When deciding on curtain rods for Jaxson's room, I just couldn't find anything that really caught my eye.  I knew I wanted something different, but also didn't want to spend a fortune.  This is where Pinterest came in handy (yet again!) and I stumbled across how to make curtain rods out of plumbing pipe fittings.  Drew Babe thought my idea was a little crazy, but he said I could give it a try (he always puts up with all my crazy ideas!....best husband ever!).

I somewhat followed this tutorial with a few modifications.  Everything, except the floor flanges were found in the plumbing section at Home Depot.

Here are the supplies I used:

• 4- 1/2" floor flanges (I ordered these on Ebay for just over $3 a piece.  This was tons better than paying $9.95 per piece at Home Depot or Lowe's.)
• 4- 1/2" x 3 1/2" nipples
• 4- 1/2" 90 degree elbows
• 1- 1/2" 10 ft long galvanized pipe (Home Depot cut it in half for me for free.)
• 4 packs of curtain ring clips

This is definitely a two person job, because after all the pieces are together, the curtain rod is quite heavy.  

We put the entire rod together, along with the curtain ring clips, and then mounted it on the wall.  Because Drew is much more of a perfectionist than I am, he did all the measuring and leveling.  I think Drew used anchors with the screws, just to make sure there wasn't any chance of the rod falling out of the wall.

We like to hang our curtains and blinds "high and wide."  It definitely gives the illusion of a much larger window and taller ceilings.

The last time we went on our annual Ikea trip, we purchased these simple white curtains for the nursery.  After the rod was installed, we simply had to clip on the curtains.

This was definitely one of the easier projects (thank goodness!...if only every DIY home project could go exactly as planned) in the nursery, and we love the modern-industrial look of the curtain rod.

DIY chalk paint

I first heard of chalk paint while visiting my extended family in Memphis, TN, where it has become a very popular design trend.  After learning more about this new-to-me painting technique, I learned it was perfect for me (a somewhat lazy DIY-er, who doesn't like to spend a long time on projects).  The whole concept behind chalk paint is, it's easy to work with, requires minimal prep work, and looks amazing when you are finished.

As we were putting together the nursery, we decided the rocking chair needed a little side table.  We debated buying a brand new table, but just didn't want to spend more money.  My mom recently got a beautiful new bedroom furniture suite, and I thought one of her old nightstands might be just the thing for our side table.

Of course, the 80's Queen Anne style didn't quite fit into our fresh and somewhat-modern nursery.

I decided to give chalk paint a try.  Instead of buying the more expensive Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, I simply researched Pinterest and the internet for recipes on how to make my own.  We already had the paint from the stripes on Jaxson's wall.

Here is the recipe I used from this blog:
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup plaster of paris (I just used some that I found in the craft section at Walmart- $4/box)
Mix together until dissolved.
Add 1 cup of paint

I know it doesn't seem like a lot, but the chalk paint covers so well it goes a LONG way.

No stripping.  No sanding.  Pretty much no prep work.  I just got right to work, and here is what it looked like after one coat.

The first coat looked very streaky, but the second coat filled everything in.

I ended up doing 4 coats, just to be sure everything was well covered.  After the piece dried for a couple hours, I started sanding off the grit and distressing the edges a bit.  If I wanted some of the dark wood to show through, I simply sanded a little bit more in that area.  This is where you can really make the piece your own by deciding on how much distressing you want to do.

To cure everything, I applied one layer of Minwax Paste Finishing Wax.  I put a very small amount on a soft, lint-free cloth and buffed it over the entire piece.

Once I finished the table, we picked out some new hardware to replace the old, flashy, brass drawer pulls.

We went with a brushed nickel pull.  Because of the size and spacing of the holes on the drawer, there were only a few pulls to choose from at Home Depot.  Thankfully we really liked the hardware that would fit the original holes.

Both of us love how the nightstand turned out, and I can't wait to mix up another batch of chalk paint to try on something else!  I really love when things can completely transform in just a few hours of work.

Jaxson's Nursery

Today is your lucky day.

Since I have been lazy about posting regular nursery updates, I am simply going to jump ahead to the grand reveal.  When If I get around to it, I will post more details about the specific projects that went into our little guy's room.

So without further ado, Jaxson's nursery, aka, my new favorite room in our house.

Drew is planning to build a custom wood frame around a mirror to go above the dresser, but that project might have to wait until after Jaxson is born.

I am planning to do a complete source list for everything in his nursery.

Pottery Barn Kids glider wannabe

When we first started planning the nursery, I knew I wanted to get a fully upholstered glider that we could one day use in another room of our house.  Unfortunately, the only place I found that had what I was looking for was Pottery Barn Kids.  Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love all things Pottery Barn, but I simply couldn't convince Drew Babe that nearly $1000 for a nursery chair was definitely in our budget.

Thankfully Pinterest and Ikea came to my rescue.  We saw other people had turned Ikea chairs into a rocker/glider and thought we would give it a try.

If we had an unlimited supply of funds, I simply would have purchased this chair from PB.

source

But we don't, so we picked up this chair during one of our yearly Ikea visits.  (I know a lot of people have used the Jennylund chair for a project like this, but we liked how the Ektorp felt more roomy and comfortable.)

source

Some of you may be thinking white is a risky color for a piece of furniture, but the fantastic thing is I can always wash it or simply buy a new one if it starts looking dingy.  I also used Scotchguard on the entire slipcover to hopefully somewhat protect it from spills, spit-up, blow-outs, etc.

I tried to show Drew Babe some of my pins on how people turned their Ikea chair into a rocker/glider.  His wheels immediately started turning, and he figured out how he was going to do this project without following a tutorial.

We purchased the rocker mechanism off Amazon.  I believe the only other things Drew needed for this project was a piece of plywood, some 2x4s, and a few screws.  We kept the legs off of the chair, and Drew screwed in a piece of plywood for the rocking mechanism to rest on.

Because we wanted it to be a tad higher and not have the slipcover skirt dragging on the floor, Drew added 2x4s.  The rocker mechanism was then installed.

Now, for a fraction of the cost, we have our own fully upholstered nursery glider.

Here is just a little comparison for you:

Pottery Barn glider:
$849 (on sale)
+$80 delivery surcharge
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Total $929

Our Ikea chair turned glider:
$249 chair and slipcover
+$49.99 rocker mechanism
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Total $298.99

(Drew already had the wood and hardware in the garage, so that wasn't an extra expense for this project)

Our nursery chair has already gotten lots of use, and is very comfy and sturdy.  The nursery is definitely coming along.

• re-paint all trim
• paint the stripes
• paint bedroom door and closet doors
• install new outlets and covers
• put together furniture (we will have the crib complete tomorrow)
• install blinds
• install curtain rods and hang curtains
• add some artwork to the walls
• re-do the entire closet
• decorate and organize

Another check in the box

I hope by the time we are finished with "project nursery" you will not be completely bored of it.  There have just been a lot of little steps to complete and we are steadily working at each one.  This week Drew completed all of the electrical work in the room.  This included replacing all of the yellowish outlets and outlet covers with crisp white ones, and installing a new light fixture for our little boy.

I had been looking for a ceiling light fixture for a while and, of course, everything I liked was over $100 - way more than we wanted to spend.  During one random trip into Lowe's, I decided to check out the light section and spotted this guy on clearance for $35! (marked down from $90).

I love it, and I think Jaxson will too.  Drew says the circles on the side look like baseballs, so that makes it perfect for a little boy's room.  I went with a semi-flushmount light.  It hangs down a bit from the ceiling, but we won't have to worry about hitting our head on it every time we go in the room.

Drew Babe also replaced all the outlets and outlet cover.

Much more crisp and clean, as opposed to the dingy bisque colored ones.

After a bit of cleaning, the room now looks like this.

Our next steps are the blinds and curtains rods.  I discovered a very unique curtain rod idea on Pinterest, so I am very eager to see how it turns out. Putting together the furniture might even happen this weekend too.

• re-paint all trim
• paint the stripes
• paint bedroom door and closet doors
• install new outlets and covers
• put together the furniture
• install blinds
• install curtain rods and hang curtains
• add some artwork to the walls
• re-do entire closet
• decorate and organize