Ellee's Nursery

The word “nursery” is a real stretch.  You will notice that there isn’t a photo of the room as a whole.  You may also take note that the walls are white and there aren’t any decorations to be found.  There’s a reason for all that.  Ellee is going to come home to live in the AIM Lesotho office.  But, shh, don’t tell her!  She won’t know the difference, I know, and at least she’s got a place to lay her head.  It is hard for me as a mama not to be able to make a special place for my girl like I did for my Kyle.  I don’t particularly enjoy the idea of cuddling my daughter at night in an office surrounded by a copy machine, filing cabinet and giant desk.  But, I don’t have a choice.  Once we get to Mokhotlong, I anticipate making a pretty space for my little girl to sleep and play in.  For now, however, I’ve done the best I can to make her “nursery” as sweet as possible.

After hunting all over Bloemfontein, South Africa for a crib for her and coming up with only a couple extremely expensive options, I was thrilled to get a message from a friend in Botswana telling me she knew someone selling a crib.  My immediate response was, “We’ll take it!!!!!”  I wasn’t picky about what I wanted in this piece of furniture; I only knew I did not want my daughter to sleep in a pack & play for the first two years of her life.  Turns out the crib is a custom made, beautiful wooden bed which came complete with a mattress, sheet and thin bumper to cover the inside edge.  And it was all for a girl baby, how perfect!  I am giddy!  It is white which is what I wanted.  It is smaller than a standard crib we’d buy in the US.  But, it is plenty big enough for the first couple of years as Kyle tried it out last night to make sure it was good enough for his little sister.  No, really it’s because his room was being de-bugged but I digress.  Having the smaller crib will actually be a great thing in Mokhotlong because Ellee will share her room with the queen sized bed we bought to have for guests.  That means someone better come visit…. Hint hint.  Oh, the best part about the crib?  It was ¼ the price of the only other option we were half way considering in Bloem.  I love a good bargain!

I love that book, When the World Was Waiting for You.  I bought it for Kyle after he fell in love with When the World is Ready for Bed.  The Waiting for You book tells the sweetest story of a family of rabbits who were welcoming their newest bunny.  My favorite thing about the book?  It's a big family of rabbits!  We like big families.

"We made your room so warm and snug, with crib and blanket, lamp and rug."

Dear friends also had a (get this) white dresser/changing table, which they generously gave us for her room!  I was more than thrilled.  I was ecstatic!  The dresser is a piece of furniture they had shipped from back home and it is absolutely what we needed for Ellee.  I found a changing pad at a resale shop in Pretoria where we met up to retrieve the furniture and Lollee is making a cover to go on it.  Ellee’s clothes are now folded into outfits and nestled into the top drawer.  The second drawer is full of various baby necessities like nail trimmers, a thermometer, the bag of diapers my doctor’s office gave me and a couple burp cloths, among other things.  Isn’t that octopus towel cute?  I found that in Bloem when we were trying to hunt for a crib.  At least we had some success.  The gift bag was from some friends - Ellee's first gift in Africa!  It is a pack of connectable ring teether toys.

Lest Ellee think she can get away with waiting to be born in Africa and only becoming bilingual, I brought the little wall hanging my sweet friend in Mexico made for Kyle to remind her that she's going to be required to learn Spanish, too.

I don't know what's sweeter.  The sleeper with the flower pot or the fleece jammies on the far left with the polka dots?  Or the adorable sweater in the upper middle?  Or the leggings on the far right with the ruffle on the bum?  Or the lacy shoes?  Or the rose petal bloomers?  Really?  Have little girl clothes always been this adorable?!

While in Pretoria, we stayed with new friends from South Africa who helped take us around to a few baby stores there.  One was a second hand shop where I found the little cradle/rocker thing in the bottom of the photo above as well as a baby bathtub for cheap.  Then the same friends had a Bumbo, which they gave us!  I sold the one I was given for Kyle so I am thrilled to have been offered another.  I gave it a good bath this morning as it had been stored for quite some time in their garage and it is ready for use.  Kyle is enjoying trying it out and he carries it around saying, “Ellee seat.”

Speaking of Kyle, he has finally mastered Ellee’s name and says it now with precision.  I can’t quite figure out how much he grasps but he is at least aware that something is going on with my belly and that apparently he has a sister coming.  And that she’s gonna drink milk.  We are really looking forward to his reaction to her arrival and of course we are hoping it is a smooth transition between one and two children in the family.

Because just about everything we eat is made from scratch, I decided to make up as many meals as my freezer would hold to have for after we return to Maseru with Lady Saint.  After baking lemon cranberry and apple pecan breads the other day, I have to call it quits.  The freezer is packed.  We have thirteen main dishes ready and waiting for us along with the breads I just mentioned.  I tried to get a variation between chicken, beef and pork so we can have some diversity.  Besides having to buy fresh foods for go-with-its, we should be set for a few weeks.  The only other thing I need to do is make some tortillas up but those are so flat, I’m sure I can find space for them somewhere.

I know you are all dying to know what I fixed so here is the final list:  chicken almondine, baked chicken alfredo, chicken pot pie, Mexican lasagna, sloppy joes, baked spaghetti, my grandmother’s famous Where’s the Squash lasagna, taco meat, dinner quiche, honeyed pork chops, balsamic glazed ham, shredded BBQ, and I think I’m forgetting one but I don’t feel like pulling it all out to check.  You get the idea.  We’re gonna be eating good.  Lose baby weight?  What?

Two weeks from yesterday we’ll make our way to Bloem to await her arrival.  Her due date is four weeks from tomorrow.  I don’t know what made us settle on 16 days ahead of time but for whatever reason, it’s what stuck.  Maybe it’s a foreboding.  Regardless, I just wanted to get there and settle into our guest room and not feel so anxious about making it in time for her birth.  Hopefully that is plenty of time to achieve my goal.  I would really rather not deliver here in Maseru as I’ve seen the hospital and was way less than impressed.  Even many of the Basotho leave and go to Bloem to give birth to their babies.  So, we hope to avoid that possibility as much as we can.  Our guest room set up is going to be really nice; we’ve finally settled on staying in the suite, which has a decent amount of space where we can prepare meals.   There is a small fridge/freezer and a microwave and we plan to bring a toaster oven.  Hopefully doing so will allow us to eat in often and save money on food.  And it has a little sitting area that will make our daily living a little more normal feeling.  The owner of the guesthouse has worked out a really reasonable rate for us all to stay for however many weeks we end up being there – hopefully about four.  It would be easier if we knew exactly when Little Lady will arrive but since I won’t be being induced, that just isn’t possible.  Regardless, she’s prepared for us to camp out and wait and she is letting Lacy stay for free.  Kyle doesn’t know he gets to go live by that in-ground trampoline for a month.  He is going to be so excited!

That’s all for now folks.  I should probably go take a nap while I still can.  Until next time….

~Abby

Lollipops

We decided a while back that Kyle would be calling my parents Lollee and Pops.  You see, my mom's name is Laura Lee.  And growing up, we were not allowed to call my dad "pops", as he thought it sounded disrespectful.  So, it only seems fitting that I get my kids to call him that for me.  He has agreed to it, probably because he is tired of arguing with me about it.  Plus, it is just too adorable to pass up - Lollee and Pops.

The fabric line we picked out for Kyle's nursery is called Lollipops.  Unfortunately, Mom and I didn't pick up on it 'cause we're not that observant.  But, once it was pointed out to us, it just made the theme all the more endearing.  I couldn't be happier with how unique and fun everything in his nursery is.

This crib we borrowed from a friend.  After a fresh coat of off-white paint, it looks as good as new.  The bumper pads were designed by me and made by Lollee.  I know it is against "code" at the moment to put a blanket in the crib with a baby, but we all survived it so, I figure he will, too.  Lollee spent too much time hand-stitching this special quilt to leave it folded on the side of the crib.  

(The back)

Above the crib hang these adorable "peek-a-boo" canvases which my sister, Holly, painted.  The animals are taken from the panel wall hanging, which is the overall theme of the room.  

We borrowed someone else's creation of the giraffe and monkey.  But, being determined to have an alligator, we were forced to dream him up on our own.  Thanks to our friend Google and some scratch paper, we think he turned out quite well.

Peek-a-boo

The curtains were also made by Lollee, from the Lollipop line.  From day one, I knew I wanted tab curtains for his room, and she did a great job capturing what I'd hoped for.

Next we have the swing.  This isn't handmade, I'm sorry to say.  But, it was given to us indirectly by Jonathan's sister, Tiffany, and her husband, Josh.  I absolutely love the colors and it's so soft I feel sure he won't want out.

On the night stand beside the rocker is a lamp I found at the Goodwill and gave a coat of spray paint.  The shade I found at Target on clearance and the monkey friend is from Hannah and her mama.  You've already met the K, but now you see where he goes.  I already have my iPod ready to go, I only need to throw some lullabies on it.  In the rocker is a pillow from Lollee for my aching back and a blanket from Lacy for chilly late nights.

An alligator. How perfect. We didn't plan that.

This is a sweet little wall hanging that our dear friends in Mexico brought to us right before we left.  The wife made it.  It says, "God bless you, baby."  I love it.  And I am so glad it was flat so we could get it back to the States easily and carry it around with me until we finally got settled in somewhere.  

Now you see the squiggly mirrors between which that nifty craft I made hangs.  

Can you see me?  I'm not quite narrow enough these days to fit in between things.

The diaper bag was created and assembled by Lollee and monogramed by a friend.  I can't wait to carry this around everywhere I go.  

There's the hospital bag in the works and the super cheap trash can I found in the dollar section at Target.

The dresser we borrowed from my parents and I painted the knobs to add a little personality.  The changing pad Lollee made (are you seeing a pattern yet?).  Above the dresser are watercolor paintings which my sister, Maggie, painted and Lollee matted and framed.

Do notice the coordinating butt paste. (It's really called that.)

Last but not least is an adorable stuffed animal my sister, Lacy crocheted for him.  It is a frog on one side and turns inside out to make a turtle on the other.  Every little boy needs a little double sided animal to play with, don't you think?  Lacy is also working on crocheting a hanger for all of his stuffed animals to go in.

Alright.  Now that the nursery is finished and ready for use, Kyle can come..... Any day now.  The Doc told me today that everything looks good and I am free to go into labor at any time.  Like I have any control over it.  I hope Kyle heard that.  I feel like a kid before Christmas.  No, I am way more excited about this than I ever was about Christmas presents.

~Abby

Bits and Pieces

Piece by piece Kyle's nursery has come together.  I am now waiting on the last piece to be delivered before I can take pictures for the big reveal.  I feel certain that no one is as excited as I am to see the final product, but feel free to humor me and drop by to tell me what you think.  Hoping to have that final piece early next week, you can pop on over sometime next weekend for a nursery update.

Until then, I just couldn't wait to show these couple little crafts Mom and I conjured up this week during a trip to Hobby Lobby.  It seems like we go in phases with that store, and we are certainly smack dab in the middle of an "in" phase as we prepare for Kyle's and Caleb's arrival.  We spent copious amounts of time in there preparing for my wedding, so it only seems fitting that we frequent the store during this exciting time as well.  Plus, you just can't find cuter materials anywhere else.

Excluding the furniture itself, I can't think of anything in Kyle's nursery that isn't handmade or something scavenged from my parents' attic which I've modified to fit the occasion.  Thus, each piece is special because it has that personal touch.

So, we stumbled across these adorable wooden animals, pre-painted and everything for .67 cents a piece.  After pondering for a minute on what we could do with them, I decided to go look at the wooden letters.  I found the perfect size for $1 each (that's why we like short names, it makes the crafts cheaper) and picked out the K, Y, L and E.  I also found this charming giraffe which set me back 2 bucks, but I couldn't pass him up.  He is a good bit larger than the other animals, so I decided to have him as the "hanger." Plus, Kyle's name only has 4 letters and I found 5 adorable wooden animals so, it solved that little problem.

Unfortunately, I can't post a picture of the whole view, because they hang between mirrors and that would give away the rest of the unfinished nursery.  But, obviously, they are hanging by giant brown ric rac.  I painted the letters off-white with some left over paint from the crib, and added the edge details using the acrylics we bought for the paintings Holly did for his room.  The colors and animals were inspired by this panel which we purchased and Mom quilted:

While we were moseying through Hobby Lobby, Mom picked up the pieces she needed to do this "K" she had dreamed up for him a few days before.  It is a large 3D letter with patterned paper on the front and orangey-brown paint on the sides.  We couldn't pass up these darling sticker monkeys with googly eyes.  Don't they look so unassuming hanging around with their bananas?  They are just perfect.

Needless to say, I am pleased with the way things have come together.  I can hardly believe we're just 4 weeks out from his due date.  It seems like forever ago that Jonathan and I were still trying to read the Spanish instructions on the pregnancy test when the double lines showed up.

Me: "What do the double lines mean?!"

Jonathan: "Uhhhhh, positiva!"

I cried a tear of joy.  Little did I know it would feel like a decade before we'd get to meet the little miracle.  It truly feels like a dream still and I'm waiting for reality to hit.  I can hardly wait to quit waddling and sleep on my back again.  But, I get the feeling that I'm gonna miss having him in there all the time.  Regardless, I'm ready to hold him and these next 4 weeks can't go by fast enough.

~Abby