This year for Mother’s Day (my first one!), I got to shop a little bit on Etsy. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but I did want something for the nursery. After a little while of clicking around, I stumbled across these adorable prints.

I couldn’t resist that cute giraffe.  It was also exciting to have it written in French because I would really like Bowen to grow up knowing at least a few French words (after all, he is a LaFerriere.)

I’ve always loved the Hotch Potch alphabet spelled out by the dancing masters.  18th century American history is one of my favorite periods and I’m hoping that Bowen will love visiting Colonial Williamsburg as much as I do.

Now it’s time for some frame shopping!

Thank you, Michael and Bowen, for my gifts!

It definitely took me longer than I thought it would, but the nursery stripes are finally almost finished!  There are just a few spots that need touching up before I call the painting officially complete.

The closet doors have been taken down and it makes the closet look much bigger:



Here’s Bowen’s little toy box that was mine when I was little. It fits perfectly in this room.

My parents had my named carved into the top of it:

And Bowen’s little rocking horse that was also mine. It’s been out in the shed for years and will need some touching up.

I have a bad habit of putting too much on my plate at once.  Working for our public library has not helped me cure this habit.  I see new books pass by my desk every day and the temptation to check them out and read them is just too much for me.

I find myself bringing home 2-4 books every other day, thinking that I’ll at least be able to skim through each one.  While I was on maternity leave, I was able to read several books, but now Bowen insists that I play with him rather than read.  I haven’t cracked open any book that I’ve brought home in the past 2 months.

So I have this long line of books waiting for me (and this is not all of them)
These are the ones that I really wanted to read.  Now most of them are due back and I’ll have to go to the bottom of the waiting list again.

Is it possible to get any reading done while taking care of a 6-month-old?  Maybe I’m just not managing my time well enough!

At Bowen’s 5-month check-up, we found out that he is the average size of an 11-month-old (!)  No wonder he’s not fitting into his 6-month outfits anymore.

In the months leading up to his birth, I collected a huge wardrobe of clothes for Bowen, ranging from newborn size all the way up to 12-month size.  Needless to say, he outgrew nearly everything in his dresser after his first 3 months.

So the poor little guy has been long overdue for some new clothes (that he doesn’t have squeeze his chubby little body into).

Here’s one of his new outfits:


I’m still busy trying to finish painting in the nursery. I’ve tried to squeeze in a little painting here and there while Michael’s at work or studying, but Bowen usually insists that I hold and play with him instead. I have tried to paint while holding him on my hip, but it just doesn’t work. Oh well. I’m just happy to have a baby who loves to be with me. I’ll take that over painting any ol’ day of the week.

Here’s what what we started with:
And here’s where we’re currently at:



The lighting is poor in these photos, but you get the idea. I’m hoping to finish up the rest of the painting over the weekend (if Bowen takes long enough naps!)

I color matched Farrow & Ball’s Dayroom Yellow at Sherwin Williams during their 40% off sale a couple weeks ago.  You can’t really tell from my photos, but it’s a perfect cheery and sunny yellow.  For the stripes, I matched F&B’s Fawn.

After the painting is all finished, the closet doors will be taken down and I’ll be replacing the old dark woodwork with white woodwork.

Bowen has been incredibly grumpy this week.  He’s completely over his ear infection and cold, so I know he’s not bothered by that anymore.  Maybe he’s teething?

We’re all moved in!  Boxes are slowly being unpacked and we’re adjusting well to all the changes that come with owning a home.  Yard work, cleaning 1700 square feet of space (compared to our previous 680 square feet), etc., etc.  I’m really surprised at how much I love working in the yard.  I always hated yard work growing up, but I guess it’s different when it’s your very own.

We had one set back to our settling in last week: Bowen had an ear infection and also caught a nasty cold.  The poor little guy was pretty miserable.  He’s on the mend, however, and today was probably the most productive day I’ve had since we moved 2 weeks ago.

I mowed the lawn early this morning.  Unfortunately, I took this photo beforehand, so the grass doesn’t look quite as nice as usual.

Here is the back of our house.  I’ve managed to squeeze in a little bit of weeding around the patio so far.

I’m hoping to try and dig out part of this old dog fence tomorrow.

I also started painting Bowen’s nursery/playroom today.  Can’t wait to share those photos!

Speaking of Bowen, he’s 5 months old today!