Rooms

A little boy's room can say a lot about that little boy, and when we found out we were in fact having a little boy, I immediately started to jot down ideas, save pictures and catalog paint samples. This is what I did with Cece as well, but being that I am a girl I knew the direction I wanted to take that room right away. Obviously I m not a boy so I didn't know exactly what I could bring to the table to make it a boy's room. Asking Nate what he wanted to see when he walked in there, what he wanted for our boy he simply said "no pink, no girly shit, simple and preferably something that reflected the man he would grow into and the name he would be given and that he didn't care that much." So seeing as we didn't even know him, giving that to him was going to be difficult so instead of getting everything before he was even born I added to his room slowly and more after he was born.

I had painted Cece's name above her crib when she was in this room, I wanted to do something similar for our boy but I knew that was not going to scream BOY! So we started collecting vintage letters and of course since we already knew his first name was going to be Ralph and that he would in fact be the 5th we started with that. Once we knew what we were going to name him we moved into the A's as well. I love that wall, I love it because my sister and Mom dug through bins of vintage stuff at road shows to find these pieces just for him, while thinking about him, even though he wasn't even here yet he was on their minds and that's special.

After he was born I started to add to the other wall. I knew I wanted to bring elements in that reflected Nathan but in a more boyish manner. Hence the plaster deer head, the screen prints with Where the Wild Things Are, I found this print of the deer with the world growing on it's back and framed it, my Mom also found the print with the old Ford truck (Nate claimes we are a Ford family so that fit perfectly).

The book shelves were built for Cece and her growing book collection but we moved her into our old room and kept this room the nursery. I love all the natural light the windows allow, so we started to fill up his bookshelf with books about trucks, sports and all things boy, what a funny feeling to not see Fancy Nancy on those selves anymore. We found the old vintage truck in our home town along with the move theater S and R.

I am  big believer in angels and I make sure that there is at least 1 in each bedroom in our house. We have one on our dresser and C has several in her room as well. These 2 angel boys reflect certain times in our lives. The little boy with the dog was one I got for my Mom as a gift when Nate and Bella had come crashing into our world and I wanted to document that as best as I could. The little boy holding the sign that says "Hope" actually was bought after we had our second miscarriage, luckily we were blessed with Arlo that same month. So they sit here on his sheves to watch over him as well.

When each of the kids was born Nate made a point to go down to the hospital gift shop and get them each something small. He got Cece a little angel pendent that looks like a flat stone; it also had a place on these shelves at one time. Nate got Arlo the gray Koala bear that sits in the truck.

I tend to switch stuff around on the shelves frequently or when I find something that says "Arlo." He doesn't pay much attention to his room as long as he has his basket of toys, enough balls to carry one around and kick another through the house, he loves to line his trucks and tractors up and then spread them throughout the house. We throw his shoes in a basket that he never bothers with, surprisingly.

On most days after picking them up from school, if he isn't trailing me in the kitchen you can find our boy sitting in his chair next to his books, looking at the pictures, finding the ones with animals and making all the animal noises. He loves his room and it's evident by the amount of time he spends in there. He likes to turn his radio on and bounce a ball around. He falls asleep peacefully surrounded by things that we find that remind us of the little man we brought into this world. He didn't sleep in his room until he was 6 months old, but he transitioned into his crib with ease and in the early morning hours when he is slowly trying to wake up I peek into see him snuggled up with his Linus and his wild things pillow, he is quietly humming to himself, willing himself to fall back asleep. If he sees me and isn't ready to greet the day he will roll away from me in an attempt to communicate he is not ready yet.

After a long day at work and a crazy evening with dinner, bathes and homework, I make my rounds several times a night to check on our babes sleeping. They are cuddled up with their blankets and their pillows in their respective rooms, the sound of their soft snores flowing through the house as I read and relax. I am reminded about what my priorities are as their Mother. I love that we have given them a safe and warm place to lay their heads at night. That only once in the 5 years of being a Mom has my child woke up with a nightmare, and I hope (vainly) that it's because of us that they always have sweet dreams. That I would sacrifice new shoes, a newer car, fancy outings to give my kids simple pleasure. That it makes my heart beat faster when I place my hands on their soft faces as they take deep breathes in their sleep, it gives me power to move on to the next day to power through and do what needs to be done and sacrifice what needs sacrificed so that I can give them this.

To so many a room is just simply a room, but what Nate and I have tried to do in their rooms is make them their "place" there comfort zone where they can run to and be upset, or be sad and get lost in a book and make believe. We may not have a large home or the most up to date stuff but what we have given them in place of that is a home, filled with things that show that this place will alway be that to them, their home, their safe place.  It sounds silly but that gives me to much joy to express. I will take the little shoes thrown in the mudroom, tractors and balls hidden in my blankets, little marks on my walls that show Cece has been there, because with all that it means that they're here in our home marking it as their own. One day it will be just Nate and I in our overly tidy home, with no snoring babies down the hall and no crayon markings on the wall and I won't trip over sevearl different footballs on my way to the bathroom and I will miss it terribly. I hope though that because we have built a home with our children in mind and gave them that comfort that they will return often and make their messes and hear their bickering ad we will rejoice that we gave them that, that this will always be home and it will remain so because most importantly above all the prints, blankets, toys and pictures it is that because Nate and I will be here eagerly awaiting their return.