When we found out we were having a boy, we decided that since he would be getting all of his big brother's hand-me-downs (clothes, furniture, toys) that we would at least decorate his room especially for him. Brian had a beautiful nursery that I still love and have all of the stuff from, but it really wasn't practical. And although it made me sad that I spend so much money on his nursery and wouldn't be using it again, I realized how much money we would actually save by giving Hudson a room that would "grow" with him a little better. Brian's nursery was very baby-ish. Soft, light and whimsical (I don't think I have ever actually USED that word before) but after he got a little bigger, it was definitely not practical. Pale blue, green, yellow, and white is NEVER a good idea for a BOY past the new baby stage. So when Brian got bigger, I had to get him something that was a little more durable (i.e. something that could take stains and was a little more manly). We figured if we got Hudson something that he could use even when he graduated to a toddler bed, that we would be in good shape since we are soon to be a single income family. I wanted something bright and colorful and Wes just had one stipulation- no polka dots. You would be surprised how much baby boy bedding has polka dots on it. It wasn't easy. As I've said before, we picked the name mural for Hudson's room first so the theme and colors were built around that. After putting it off as much as we (I) could, we finally have the little peanut's room finished! This is a huge relief for me. Brian's nursery was ready so far in advance compared to Hudson's. Maybe that is just how the first baby works. With Hudson's room, it seems like even though we had less to buy, we had so much more to do- paint the room, save up the money to buy things, etc. It made it so much easier to have ALL of the furniture that just had to be taken from the attic, cleaned and put together. But the painting- oh, my- the painting was horrendous. Even though it was only one tiny room. And after I tried to tackle it alone to get it over with one day and Wes had to finish, we were both reminded that we despise painting and will never, ever, ever, ever do it again. It's funny because I was painting in my over-sized Dallas Cowboys tank top and it now has a perfect tan circle where my protruding belly accidentally touched the painted wall. Ha! When Wes took over the painting, he said to me, "I hope this looks good because I am NOT painting ANYMORE." Thankfully, it turned out perfect and we were able to put the big, finishing touch on it- the name mural that started it all! That was our big splurge and so we had to save the money to buy it. Isn't it kind of ironic that the first thing we picked out was actually the last thing that we put in the room? Anyway, I was a nervous wreck putting this mural up because I had never worked with vinyl wall decals before. I heard it was easy, but with one as large as ours, it really wasn't as easy as it was cracked up to be. I had to measure and remeasure and mark and re-mark and PRAY that I put it on straight and without any wrinkles. That was the scary part. If I messed it up, we wasted $200 and couldn't redo it. I literally had sweat pouring off of me the whole time. Looking back, I am probably being dramatic because in reality it only took about an hour but it seemed like an eternity.
So it is with great pride and excitement that I get to give you a tour of Hudson's nursery! Except for the washing of a few more items like blankets and burp cloths, it is all ready for our newest boy. And I am really excited about how we were able to make it exactly what we wanted for such a little amount of money.
The changing table is the first thing we got finished. We bought those cute little jungle animal baskets at Babies R Us when they were having a buy one-get one 50% off sale. And the stuffed lion and frame I got in the dollar bin at Target. We did have to buy a new changing pad and cover because Brian's warped in the hot attic :) Wes got the jungle canvases FREE from this cool points incentive thing he does at work. My mom and I just added the ribbon and the knobs to hang them from. Did I mention my mom is probably one of the most talented, creative people I know? She doesn't think she is, but she helped me with so much of this stuff!
I got this idea off Pinterest. I bought a 4 pack of these blank canvases from Hobby Lobby for 3.99 and then picked out 4 colors of paint that would match his room. I paid .99 for each tube of paint and some brushes and that is all I paid for this. It is probably one of my favorite things about the room. We can always remember the exact time when Hudson became a part of our family. When I did Brian's handprint, I kept thinking "His hand looks so tiny!" Then I thought, "WHOA, just think what Hudson's tiny hand will look like!" :) Daddy wants to wait until Hudson does his handprint before he does his.
The lamp was from the same collection as the jungle canvases Wes got for free, and we found it at Burlington Baby Depot for WAY cheaper than you could buy it online. My mom bought the lamp and the cute little stuffed giraffe for Hudson and that is another dollar bin frame.
My mom got this cute monkey shelf at Babies R Us during the same buy one-get one 50% sale. We just didn't know what we were going to put on it. She got him that cute monkey piggy bank and then I made the giraffe and the hanging letter H with monkey from Hobby Lobby for around $8! I LOVE the way this turned out.
This picture is really special because it was given to us by our dear friends Matt and Jennifer Hill. It was in their boys' room when they were babies and they thought we might like it since it matched Hudson's theme.
The famous name mural! This is right after I applied it and right before I nearly fainted after being so tensed up doing it. This was our biggest purchase at $200.
This is the bedding that my mom bought for Hudson. It is orange, sage, white, and brown stripes and matches his mural perfectly. I love it. And the pillow for the rocker even has his name on it. The giraffe was something we found on Amazon and I think is the perfect fit!
Oh, and here is big brother trying out the giraffe as a pillow with his blanket. Looks like he approves.
Now all that's missing is Hudson. 57 more days until he will be looking at that larger-than-life giraffe looming over his crib and screaming his head off. Life is good :)
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