Joseph's Travel and Transportation Bedroom

Since Joseph will be 3 in May, the husband and I have been talking about finally converting his crib into a bed (although I'm not sure he wants that based on some comments he's made) and it's been brought to my attention that I never blogged about his room.  This is a little sad because it is probably my favorite room in the whole house (decor wise, at least), so I don't know how I've neglected to document it for so long.

When we were planning what to do with his room, Sam and I both agreed we didn't want to do a baby-ish nursery because we wanted it to be something he could use for a while.  Since we weren't willing to do ANY work on it before he has born, we spent many evenings and weekends gathering pieces and sanding and painting away.  We had some awesome neighbors at the time (they're still awesome, they just aren't neighbors anymore) that even watched him for a bit one weekend so we could paint the walls. 

So, without further ado, I present to you Joseph's bedroom.  Please ignore the fact that I had a crazy hard time getting my lighting to be consistent throughout the room as I was taking pictures.  Oh, and the fact that both kids were suddenly interested in being in pictures since I wasn't trying to take any of them.

We decided on a travel/transportation theme with orange, light blue, and light green as our colors.   

Here's the view as you walk in.

I always loved the design of this three drawer piece Sam had when I met him, so he painted it to put next to the chair for me as a table. 

On top is a globe from a long time ago (the base says the 1930s, but the map is more recent than that, so we're not sure when it was recovered) from my grandpa's days as a teacher.  The picture is the first one we took as a family, I had texted it to a friend who framed it and had it on the mantle when we came home with him. 

This chair holds a special place in my heart.  One time my sister and I were visiting our great-grandma in her assisted living home.  As we were sitting in her room talking to her, rocking in these chairs, she randomly commented that she didn't know what would happen to the rest of her stuff when she passed.  "Like those chairs" she said "who would want those chairs?"  Mindy and I looked at each other then told her we would lovingly give them a home.  Neither of us had babies on the radar at the time, but we both knew that every time we visited her and rocked in those chairs we almost fell asleep because they were that comfortable. 

When the time came for her to move to a nursing home, she made sure my sister and I received the chairs, this happened to be just in time for us to get Mindy's chair in shape for Bryar's arrival and store mine for a few months until Joseph came along.  Sam sanded and painted it for me and I recovered all the cushions. 

Behind the chair I made use of the crib bumper I had but was always too scared to use and created a reading knook.  I can't tell you the number of times I've been missing a kid and have found him or her in one of the reading knooks (there is one in Sarah's room, too).

 

On one wall above the chair are these prints a friend had made for Joseph.

On the other wall are these.  Remember the great-grandma that I mentioned the chairs came from?  Well, she loved to travel (in fact, love might be an understatement).  She traveled all over the US and beyond on bus trips and everywhere she went she bought a magnet.  The fridge at her house was COVERED in them.  When she was moving to the assisted living center and the decision was made to go ahead and sell her house, many of us asked what we were going to do with her magnets.  My great-uncle (her son-in-law) had the wonderful idea of creating shadow boxes with them.  These two shadow boxes hung in her room at the assisted living center (Shadow boxes were also made for each of her daughters as well as all of her grandkids and great-grandkids, she had a lot of magnets!  My original one is still in my hallway).  The fact that my great-uncle (who was very much like another grandpa to me taking us to the lake in the summer and stuff) made these makes them even more special as he passed away suddenly a few years ago. 

Under the window is the toy box that Sam designed and built for Joseph (Sarah has one, too) to help hide the mess a toddler can create.

On top are a cushion I made so it can be used as a bench (I've since added a Velcro closure to keep the fabric tight) as well as a few of Joseph's favorite animals. 

Next we have the wall with Joseph's bed.  This crib was actually purchased over two years before Joseph was born as it was supposed to be Aubrey's.  When we pulled it out to put it together, I was glad it was a design I still liked :).

For the name above his bed, I covered letters from Hobby Lobby with maps from various states.

I tried to place them so you could see large or important cities and interesting geographical features (like Colorado on the 'E').

Inside the bed is nothing too special; I found these sheets in the correct theme and color scheme at Target (I also made some using fabric in the correct colors), my grandma made Joseph that blanket (he has a couple of other similar ones he loves also), and the dino-light is a favorite thing right now.

Moving on, you see a another dresser that Sam sanded and painted.  We were having a hard time deciding on handle pulls when he came up with the great idea of cutting down a stairway railing and using that.  I think it looks great!

Above the dresser are a series of shelves and a dive bombing plane.  The shelves were supposed to be floating vintage suitcases, my grandma even gave me a matching set she received in high school as well as her father's briefcase, but we were a.) hesitant to cut them and b.) unsure how to hang them.  I'm still trying to think of something super awesome to do with them. 

The first shelf holds one of Joseph's newborn pictures, a cigar box I found at a thrift shop, and a little bus that is actually a perfume bottle Sam found when we were cleaning out my great-grandma's house.

The second shelf contains a couple of picture frames I love but have never put pictures in (oops!), Joseph's piggy bank, and a fuel tank that was on the mantle with Joseph's family picture and the truck from the third shelf when we came home from the hospital (my friend that decorated it for us knew that I like to decorate my mantle for various holidays and the theme we were planning for Joseph's room).

The final shelf simply contains the truck that was on the mantle and a gas tank perfume bottle also found at my great-grandma's house.  The funny thing about the perfume bottles is that I had them long, long before we ever thought about a transportation themed room.  I actually put them in a closet and forgot about them.  Then, when Joseph was almost a year old, I happened upon them and decided it was destiny they be placed in his room.  I have their boxes too, but I think they look better out of the box. 

For Joseph's bookshelf, we painted a white bookshelf with the same blue paint we used on other items in the room.  We also covered the back part of it with a piece of the fabric I used on his chair cushions.

On top of the bookshelf are a few more sentimental items as well as another old globe.  The little tractor is a Piggies and Paws print made using Joseph's footprint from when he was just a couple of months old.  The little white blob is a turtle thing Joseph made at Octoberfest and decided needed to live on top of the bookshelf.

The little frame contains a charm that was ordered for Joseph as soon as he was born by a friend.  In case you can't see it, it has a large A in the middle and says little brother around that.  To help it be a little more visually pleasing, I covered the back of the frame with a little piece of fabric.  Billy the Bison was purchased by Sam for Joseph while we were still in the hospital.  Sam wanted him to have something to symbolize where he was born and found this guy in the hospital gift shop (near Lawton is a large wildlife refuge that contains many animals including bison).

This sweet bear was given to Joseph by his birth mom at the hospital.  It had a balloon with it that is now tucked away safely in his closet. 

On the next wall, is a large map.  We went the cheap route with this one and bought a map from the back to school section one August.  We just adhered it to a thin board with mod podge and Sam made a frame for it.  Since I wanted a very large map and all the ones were very expensive online, I was psyched when a friend called with this suggestion. At $8 it was worth a try.

The short dresser was used as a changing table when Joseph was a baby, but we've since removed the changing pad.  You can't see it in this picture, but the guitar is actually his most recent Piggies and Paws print (I let him choose the design this time).  I also have a small globe and an old wooden car that he occasionally plays with up there.  I knew that both of the dressers we were painting for Joseph's room were given to us by family members over the years, but they were never in the same room and it didn't occur to me that they might be a matching set.  When Sam started sanding them, we realized they are a pair.  Pretty cool (although they still would have both been in there had they not been a matching set).     

The light switch plate is the first "craft" project I did for this room.  I wasn't sure if Sam would like it or not, but decided to go for it since light switch plates can be replaced inexpensively.  Sam liked it and it ended up being my inspiration for the letters above the bed.

Behind each kid's bedroom door I've placed two hooks at their level.  One is for his coat, the other for his back pack.  It's their responsibility to get their coats and backpacks when we leave the house and return them to their hooks when we get back.  I love that they have a spot and it's not something I have to look at all the time.  Yes, I know Joseph's name shouldn't be on his backpack, but it's not something he wears around, it really just stays in the car in case I need his extra clothes.

In case you're wondering if the reading knooks really get used, this is what I found when I turned around after finishing taking pictures.

And because I like to keep it real here, no matter how organized you are, by the time your child is a toddler, you will end up with unsightly plastic toys in at least a couple of spots in your house (and cushions will get thrown off of stools).

Well, there you have it, Joseph's bedroom.  I LOVE how it turned out and the fact that we used lots of old items in there (either in their previous state or after a little TLC), so it didn't cost a fortune.  So what if I'm posting it three years after a normal person would write a blog post about their child's nursery. 

Ringing in the New Year

After we celebrated Christmas with all of my family, Joseph stayed at my sister's house for a few days.  December 30, I met my mom after work to let Sarah go home with her for a couple of days (my mom and sister live just a couple of miles away from each other).  December 31, I woke up and did what any stay-at-home mom who finds herself with an entire kid free day would do...

I ate donuts for breakfast,

got my hair did,

and went shopping.

I had no choice but to go shopping because I needed something to wear that night.  You see, I had been trying to get Sam to make plans for new year's eve (since we would be kid free and all), and he kept being vague about what he wanted to do.  Then he started mentioning going to Oklahoma City for the evening which was fine with me since we would be an hour closer to our babies the next morning.  Finally, he told me that he had purchased tickets for us to go see the musical The Book of Mormon. 

I was a little hesitant since I knew it was somewhat controversial, but had also heard it was hilarious, so I decided to give it a try.  Turns out, there were a couple scenes that did make me feel pretty uncomfortable, but all in all I laughed a lot. 

Did I mention that I had a handsome date?

Somehow this is the only couple picture we managed from the night.  Oh well, at least you can kind of see my gold dress and Sam's matching tie. 

 

Oh, and in case you're curious what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has to say about the musical (because I was), you can read it here.  

Christmas, Christmas Time is Here

Our Christmas actually started Christmas Eve morning with the awesome news that Daddy was going to be home from work all day (I knew this ahead of time, the kids didn't).  We enjoyed a lazy, just hang out in pajamas, watch movies, and play kind of day.

That evening, the kids put on the vest and dress Great Grandma Margie made them and we went to our church's candle light Christmas Eve service.  But first, I attempted some pictures of them.  Sarah was not thrilled about Joseph holding her hand,

but got over it when she learned a treat was involved.

In another attempt to get a decent picture of the two of them, we grabbed a chair.

And ended up with this gem.

I did manage to get one super sweet Sarah smile, though.

For some reason, Joseph decided I needed to take a picture of him with the sheep from our nativity scene as we were leaving the house.

So we took a picture of Sarah when we got back.  They were both sooo well behaved at the service making us incredibly proud of them.  I wish I would have taken a picture of Joseph with his candle, he lit it himself and was super careful with it the whole time. 

And because I like to keep it real, here's another nativity scene after the service picture.  It makes me laugh.

After church, we went to a local Japanese restaurant (where we also ate last year and decided we would make it a tradition because they were super sweet) for a fa-ra-ra-ra-ra dinner (any A Christmas Story fans out there?).  Then we drove around looking at Christmas lights for a while.  When we got home, the kids each got to open one specially marked gift (Christmas pajamas) before baths and bed.

Christmas day, our kids both slept in until about 8:30 (a perk of having kids old enough to sleep through the night, but too young to wake up early super excited about Christmas)!  Sam had put together a roller coaster the night before and Joseph enjoyed watching it for a few minutes before even venturing over to the presents.  Ignore the sweat pants, sweet boy had his first overnight accident in a long time leaving us no choice (I seriously considered playing with the kids in the bedroom while I dried his pajama pants so he would be wearing them in pictures, but decided it wasn't worth it).

The kids' "big" gift this year was a kitchen.

I'm happy to say that a month later it is still played with daily.

We really tried to keep it simple as far as gifts go.  They also had some gifts from grandparents and aunts and uncles to open, so they ended up with a big enough assortment of stuff to keep them entertained for the day which is good since we spent the entire rest of the day at home. 

While I finished preparing lunch, the kids made lunch for Sam in their new kitchen.

Friday morning we headed to my dad's house in Lawton where Sarah was happy to see horses.

The kiddos rode the pedal tractor and tricycle and played with the dogs for a while, then we  headed over to Grandma Margie and Papa Don's for their Christmas event.  It's only about two miles, but when we got there we discovered this. 

Joseph was happy to discover cousin Bryar was at Grandma Margie's house (as well as a ton of other family members).  They have an organ that Joseph loves playing.

After dinner, the menfolk hung out in one room

while everyone else started gathering in another  

where, just like every year, Grandma read the story of Jesus' birth before we opened gifts.

We then headed back to Papa Joe's (my dad) house where the boys got trampolines (there was no way I was getting a decent picture of that!), donned cool new jammies

and slept on a pallet in the living room with Papa.  Apparently Joseph was being himself and asking tons of questions because around 11:00 I heard my dad ask, "Joseph, do you know what be quiet means?"

They managed to make it all night, though.  And Sarah was eager to join the party when she woke up the next morning. 

Before we headed out for our next gathering, we sat up the ol' tripod and took a few pictures

It's a little difficult to get a three toddlers to look at a camera and smile when there is no one behind it, but we managed.

We even took a couple family pics of my sister and her crew (have I mentioned Bryar will be a big brother in March?!).

Before we could leave, my little hat obsessed girl ended up wearing Papa's hat.

Which led to Joseph wanting to take a picture in it

as well as Bryar.

Worn out from the day before, all three kids passed out a few minutes into the 30 minute drive to Grandma Jean and Grandpa Dennis' house. 

Once at Grandma Jean's, Bryar practiced being a big brother with Sarah by tickling her.

Because you know we had to at some point, we attempted a couple pictures of the cousins.

While we were taking their picture, my cousin, Ross, came out to surprise the kiddos...

dressed as one of the Ninja Turtles.

It was better than Santa Claus.

Miss Priss got fancied up with a new faux fur vest that she wanted to put on immediately and a purse.  Girl loves her accessories.

Since my grandparents were going to be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary in a few days, we made it a point to take a whole family picture so we could frame it for them. 

My Aunt Cindy wanted a picture with the kiddos but the boys weren't really having it.

It ended with them being silly and Sarah wanting kisses.

Luckily, the kids cooperated so we could take a family picture.

The day continued with the kids doing what they had been doing at every gathering so far, eating.

If you had a plate with something sweet on it, it was highly likely that Sarah would find you

and stare you down until you shared with her.

The event ended with Sarah taking a nap on her Great Grandpa Dennis

and Joseph loving on some horses.

We took the scenic drive through the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge from my grandparents' house to my mom's house that afternoon.  The next day, the boys started a band with Bryar on the microphone

and Joseph on the keyboard.

After lunch, Sam, Sarah, and I headed home leaving Joseph to spend a few days with Gammy and Aunt Moo.  It was actually fun to spend some alone time with Sarah over the next couple of days.

Her play is so much calmer than Joseph's (although I missed him and his huge personality terribly while he was gone). 

Only having the calm child home allowed me time to take down our Christmas decorations (even though Sam would have rather I left them up until after the 1st) during which I discovered a nerf dart in the tree which brought a smile to my face.  Evidence of a little boy living here (I'm just glad it didn't break one of my special ornaments.