Rooms

Happy St. Patrick's Day from our green little potatoes!   (Or, as I told Maya today, today is the day that everyone wishes they were as gorgeous and Irish as you!)  :)

These photos are from St. Patrick Sunday (the Sunday before St. Patrick's Day) at church.  Bobby was in a pair of chocolate cords with a white button up and the green argyle vest.  Maya was stunning in a green dress with a white shrug.  I know I'm biased but... just gorgeous!  You can see more pictures here. (I know... I'm way late in updating since February... And I still have cell phone pics from Feb-Mar!)

Guess who napped in his big boy bed today?  I know... craziness...  I used this great little bolster bumper thing than a friend got them for their Christening.  (imagine a towel with a bolster on each side to make sure the baby cant roll off the bed... I think they came from Ikea).  So, I put him down and he took his morning nap there!  It was so rough to think that, one day, they will be out of the nursery and in their own 'big kid' room.

***

We've created rooms for our children.  For Nicholas and Sophia, we created the room we now refer to as the "big kid" room.  It's a large bedroom with a double closet, and is where our guests usually stay.  There is a toy box and book case that were Peter and Robert's when they were kids.  We also have their bunk beds (set up right now and two twins).  I love this room.  Over each bed, there is a crucifix (also Peter and Roberts) and a picture of the Virgin Mary and Jesus.  There is a baked mud Peruvian mobile that hangs from the ceiling in between the beds.  It's a simple room, but it's beautiful.  The bamboo shade lets in the light, and the taupe walls against the dark wood beams on the ceiling give the room a peaceful feel.

For Alexander, we created the nursery.  This room is an offshoot of our bedroom that was initially built to be a master bathroom, but when we moved in, was just 2x4s and no walls.  There is an enclave with a bookcase, a lamp, and the hamper.  My rocking chair, which was actually Peter's paternal grandmother and rocked Peter's dad (along with his uncles, aunt, cousins, him, and Robert), sits in front, across from the crib.  There is a tall dresser/highboy and a wide dresser that doubles as the changing table.  We painted the walls a color called koi pond that shows up as a sage green in the light and a deeper spearmint in the dark.  It's a small room,  but walking into it is like walking into another world, a world full of peace.  Over the crib is a painting of an elephant that my dad painted when we were pregnant with Nicholas and Sophia; over the changing table/dresser are three hearts (one for Nick and Sophie, one for Alex, and one for Bobby and Maya) that my MIL made, along with birth announcements that Bobby and Maya's godsister drew for them.  By my rocking chair, is a wood carving we bought when we were pregnant with Alexander, of a mother cuddling her child in her arms.  Although we dont spend much time in this room, I enjoy the stillness when I am there.

Maya and Bobby inherited these rooms.  We always knew they would.  Nurseries are commonly passed from child to child, and, in houses with limited space, it isnt uncommon that children share bedrooms.  But they dont have their own space... A space we made "just" for them.

But they will.  

We've started creating their homeschool area in our upstairs loft.  While future children may use it as well, it is the space that we are making with them in mind.  And I am so excited.

Our loft is a decent size space, with a large laundry closet for our W/D.  It is the space you enter when you come up our stairs.  You pass through it to get to our upstairs bathroom and storage space, as well as to enter the hallway to go to our bedrooms.  There are two perfect spaces for school desks, so that Bobby and Maya can each have their own special areas.  In the middle, we are going to place a square or round table with chairs around it for group school time.  And, on the wall between the two large windows, a bookcase for our school materials.  

Over our W/D, I have a long shelf, so I can use that for a tote of developmental toys if I need to, and the area gets soooo much natural light from the 3 windows (plus the one that shines in from the storage area).

I've been looking for the perfect desks and, after I shared plans with Peter's parents, they found gorgeous ones that they've decided to purchase for the kids for their first birthday.  I've been looking for a bookcase and group table for us, and I think I've found two that I like but I'm not sure...  I dont want to go broke, LOL!

***

We enjoyed the beautiful weather we had yesterday with TWO walks to the park!  The first we took with Peter's mom, the second with Aunt Sarah.  What a lovely time!  I love spring!!!

***

A book I ordered for the kids came in today.  It's called Angel in the Waters and leaves me speechless.  I highly recommend it.  

***

I promised myself that I wouldnt continue the "monthly" notices for Nicholas, Sophia, and Alexander's birthdays, once they hit 2 years old, because, really, no one talks of their children in months anymore after 24 months... And I didnt devote a post to Nick's 25m on the 1st, nor did I do Sophia's on the 16th.  But how my heart still beats with their love inside...  How those days never slip by unnoticed or without their favorite meals...

***

Well, I suppose I'd better turn in if I expect to get up and take these little ones to their second storytime tomorrow!