Lucy's Room!!

Once we moved Ruby out of her crib, we had always planned on moving her into the "Ladybug Room" with Hattie and moving Lucy into the now empty nursery. It was a big spring for Lucy, as she celebrated her First Communion and 8th birthday only a few weeks apart. As her "combined" gift from us, we promised to get her into her new and improved "big kid" room by summer. We started Memorial Day weekend, and she was able to spend her first night in there later that week. We have been putting the finishing touches on it since, and finally thought it was "done" enough to share some photos! Lucy is SO PROUD of this space. She chose the paint colors and helped me refinish a garage sale dresser and night stand. She spends quite a bit of time in here and has done a really great job of keeping it clean and organized so far! She was so open to anything, just no "pink or purple." I think we did a great job of capturing  her personality in here. She may now have the smallest bedroom in the house, but she's so darn proud of it!

(Authors Note: Don't be too disgusted by the burnt orange carpet. It's original to the house. All upstairs carpet was meant to be replaced earlier this year... but, well, we got a furnace instead. Next year. Next year.)

 BEFORE... so long, farm animals! 

 AFTER: Hello, big girl room!

 The world UGLIEST garage sale dresser got a make-over!

I found that car mirror in a shop in Door County last year and HAD to have it for Lucy's room... It's been hiding in the basement for almost a year!

Crib-Less

I haven't blogged in nearly a year. 

Life's been busy. Good, but busy. 

Today, however, was a turning point in the Salmon house. As of this evening, we are now a "crib- free" household. This is a day I have been dreading for a very long time. I love babies. I love that having a crib in my house meant there was still a "baby" in our home. For over 10 years, we have had our crib up for someone to sleep in... or in anticipation of someone to sleep in, and it has warmed my heart in ways that I can't begin to describe in words. Over the years, too, I've learned that there are two types of moms in this world: the type that can't wait for all of the baby stuff to be "done" and packed away and are eager and excited for the next stage of life... and the moms like me... who are truly devastated to let go of this stage of parenthood.  

Alas, I knew this day was coming. Dan and I had made a promise to Lucy that she would get her own room as a combination birthday/First Communion gift from us, with the understanding that the switch-a-roo would be completed sometime over the summer (which, if you're reading between the lines, just means I could drag my feet and delay the inevitable for a bit longer) On the afternoon of Ruby's second birthday earlier this month, she made her first crib escape during naptime. And a few more attempts after that. Which (grrrr) hurried the process along a little faster than I had hoped. 

 ...and so it begins...

We marked this past Memorial Day weekend to get the bulk of the work completed. We had furniture to assemble, walls to paint, carpets to clean, and curtains to hang (look for more details on the new room in a separate blog post coming soon) so when I heard a banging and clanking coming from the room early Saturday morning, I shouldn't have been quite so taken aback to see Dan tearing down trim and moving furniture. 

But I was. 

And I was not happy. 

I cried. 

A lot. 

And I think poor Dan didn't know what he had done. He was simply starting a job that needed to get finished. What he didn't realize was that I needed a moment. One more minute to stand in the doorway and take it all in. One more moment to relive laying each of my sweet baby girls to bed for the first time in that crib. One more glance to say good-bye to all of the silly farm animals gracing the wallpaper border that we painstakingly put 3/4 of the way up the wall instead of the at the top so that the babies could see the animals while we got them dressed. One more bit to remember the excitement and anticipation of preparing that bed for the first... the second... then third... and fourth little ones that we were bringing into our family. Washing the bedding. Moving the mattress waaaaay back up to the top. Hanging the mobile. Anxiously waiting for the next new bundle that was going to call this bed home. I remember how exciting it was to go shopping for the nursery furniture and how carefully we chose *just* the right bedding... something gender neutral that we could use for all the babies we would be blessed with down the road (but man, if I had known then that I was going to have four girls, I would have picked much differently!!!!) I remember all of this... like it was yesterday. That crib, the bedding, the wallpaper... it all symbolizes this incredible feeling of love and excitement and anticipation of watching our family grow and change... and while I know our family is complete, turning this page and starting a new chapter has been a bit.... sad. 

Sigh. In hindsight, he did me a huge favor. It was like ripping a bandage off. It really did sting in that second, but it forced me to move on and get the ball rolling... I cried a bit more when the silly wallpaper border came down (in one easy piece, thankgoodnessforsmallfavors) and Dan made sure to put a piece of it aside to save. 

I still get teary-eyed looking at this stupid wallpaper. Will this ever end? 

The entire process took a few days longer than we anticipated, and Ruby has still been sleeping in her crib each night in the middle of the torn up bedroom. I have worked hard the past two days (as hard as one can while single handedly trying to keep a puppy and two year old out of trouble) to finish up as much as I can, promising Lucy that she would FOR SURE be in her new room by her birthday this Sunday. Tonight was the night! While Lucy's room still needs a few finishing touches, everything was in order enough for them each to sleep in their own beds... in their own rooms. After a single reminder to get back into her "big girl" bed, Ruby fell asleep quickly and painlessly. Fingers are crossed that she stays there all night!

Fast asleep in her big girl bed! 

 Over the weekend, both my mom and my mother-in-law said the same thing to me, reminding me to look forward to all the happiness the new space was going to bring Lucy, instead of all the sadness it was bringing me... and they couldn't have been more right.  Lucy was ECSTATIC to curl up in her brand new bed in her very. own. room. I am certain she'll have some very sweet dreams in there tonight! I can't wait to share some photos of her new space with you very soon!