Park's Wilderness Theme Nursery

Putting together this nursery was quite an adventure {literally}!  I'd been seeing a ton of outdoor/woodland theme nurseries on Pinterest, so I knew I'd be able to find a bunch of cute stuff. The furniture is from Restoration Hardware Baby+Child, and it is their Weller Series. I love it because it looks so rustic.

I got this cowhide rug from Craig's List. So perfect!

The first thing I started with was the fabric for the crib bedding, because I knew I would plan the room’s color scheme around this. I found this fabulous Buffalo plaid and woodland creatures fabric.

I decided to use foam to make the crib bumper this time, which is soooooo much better than making one with batting. The foam stays upright and doesn't collapse.

This precious woodland fabric is appropriately called "Hello Bear"

Bert’s new room already had a crown molding window cornice, so I recycled my old cornice and recovered it. I bought these nailheads to match the chair instead of using piping.

Wilderness baby mobile

Park's baby wreath

This chair is my favorite piece in the whole nursery! I wanted this chair from Anthropology, but of course, it was like $1 million dollars, so I decided to try and do a copycat chair. I searched craigslist for months, but these tufted leather chairs are apparently hot right now, and they would be gone before I could even get a response from the seller. I even tried to pay one seller to give me the contact info of whoever bought it from him so I could make the other person an offer.  That guy definitely blocked my number (even after I gave him my “I’m 8-months pregnant” sob story) Ha ha! 

Finally, a law office downtown was selling this red chair with a broken leg for $30. I jumped on it! Problem was, I showed up to get it super-pregnant...carrying Bert in my arms...in my tiny Acura. The security guard looked at me like I was a crazy person and said, “Do you need help?” It didn’t fit in my car, so I just left my trunk open with the chair sticking out and drove 2 mph through downtown in rush hour with my flashers on! The chair color was all wrong, so first I had to figure out how to paint pleather. I found this great product from Rub and Restore that was super easy to use. I wanted to switch the legs out for a rocker, but my carpentry skills were lacking, so I just repainted them.

Before

After: the piece de resistance!

I {tried} to make a terrarium like this, but I managed to kill 10 plants before finally buying fake plants! I officially give up on gardening. To me, its like baking. Either you have the magic touch or you just don't.

I bought these vintage boyscout books on ebay. Love them!

 
I wanted to fill the bookshelf up with “outdoorsy” knick-knacks. I got this great antler skull from the grandson of one of my coworkers at the surgery center where I operate.  
I found these bell jars at Michaels, and I had this great idea to display real animals. I first found this turtle shell on ebay. It’s actually the Tennessee state reptile, the Eastern box turtle. I was shocked at how much these things go for. A finished, cleaned turtle shell was selling for over $50 with tons of bidders. Who else would possibly want one of these??!! Mine was the real deal (and only $20), straight from the swamp. It even had bones inside of it! I had to soak it in vinegar, clean it out, and painted it with a varnish. I love the way it turned out!  

My second adventure into taxidermy was the displayed butterfly.  I bought it on ebay from a guy in Thailand – it was kind of a sketchy transaction and since it was coming from overseas it took like a month to get here. The butterfly arrived framed and spread out, but I had to take it out to display it in the bell jar. As soon as I took it out of the frame, all the wings fell off.  So, wearing my surgical loupes, gloves, and using tweezers, I first tried super-gluing them back together – no luck, total disaster. I was beginning to feel like Frankenstein gluing body parts together. Next, I tried hot glue. It seemed to work, but once I got it glued to the display I realized the lower wings were a little off... At that point, I was thinking, “why didn’t I just buy a fake butterfly from Hobby Lobby?” Anyways, I think you get the point – it’s my little adventurer’s captured butterfly. 

These badges and framed sashes were 
Rob’s from back in his Boy Scout/Eagle Scout days.

This teepee was a true labor of love – it was by far the hardest thing to make in the nursery. I used this tutorial, which seemed straight-forward. But, when I tried adjusting the size of the teepee, it threw off all the measurements for the poles. There was lots of re-cutting, re-sewing, etc., but in the end, it turned out great. Bert has been loving this teepee, and he runs and hides inside it.

I bought these cute prints from an Etsy shop. 

My final craft: Welcome Baby Park!

Love the way the nursery turned out, and I know Park will love it too! Here's my big boy playing in the tent!

Coming Soon: Baby Boy #2

Baby Boy #2 will be here soon! We've chosen the name Park Alexander Bratton. "Park" is my mom's maiden name and "Alexander" is my brother's name. October 22 was my due date, but I'm not expecting the baby any time soon. My OB thinks I will go past my due date (like I did with my first pregnancy). 

These babies just don't want to leave Hotel Monica, but I am ready for them to check out! I'm so huge. I get asked everyday if I'm having twins. 

36 weeks

Some of you reading this may be thinking, “Wait a minute, I thought she was having a girl?” Well, funny story (and one that could only happen to me). I had a doctor friend that said he and his wife took a blood test to find out the sex of their baby early on. Me being a super-planner, I wanted to know the sex early on, so I just googled “gender blood test”. The first thing that popped up was www.sneakpeek.com (FYI – don’t buy stock in this company). It seemed legit and they even had a lab that supposedly processed the sample. So, at 9 weeks pregnant, I ordered a kit (it was only $100), pricked my finger, sent it back, and got an email saying “Congratulations! You’re having a GIRL!” Obviously, I was ecstatic, and immediately told all our close friends and relatives we were having a girl. Texted all my sorority sisters saying a little Phi Mu was coming! I picked out a name, bought a whole set of girly white furniture, designed the entire nursery, and bought a ton of stuff. 

Then, at our 5-month ultrasound, we got a big surprise... I told the ultrasound technician, “We already know it’s a girl. We did an early blood test.” She says in a hesitant voice, “That’s weird, I’m seeing boy parts…” I was like, “Nooooooooo!” Rob was dying laughing, and I wanted to scream. At first, I was in denial – maybe the technician was wrong, maybe it is really a girl… But, after talking to my OB, he assured me that the penis is hard to miss – ha ha! So, all the furniture went back, and all the girl stuff for my fabulous nursery went into the attic with the hopes that baby #3 will be a girl. 

How ironic that the doctor fell for an internet scam! Only me! I later went back and started reading mommy blogs about this SneakPeek website, and as it turns out, this has happened to a bunch of pregnant women. Someone even calculated how often the site was right based on the comments and it was ~55%. So, basically the same statistics if I had asked a random stranger on the street to guess the sex of my baby. I called the number on the website, and I’m pretty sure it was someone’s cell phone (it went to voicemail). I’m picturing a guy sitting on his couch, eating Doritos, getting these test samples in the mail, and flipping a coin – ha ha!

Anyways, Restoration Hardware was nice enough to exchange all my adorable girl furniture for some rustic boy furniture. I chose a “Wilderness” theme after seeing this adorable pin on Pinterest. For this nursery, I tried my hand at furniture restoration and taxidermy. It was quite an adventure! Pics to come!

Robert: Age 1 year - 16 months

We have a walker and a talker!  After turning one, Bert’s new trick was pointing. He started pointing at everything he saw. And sometimes, especially if it's an animal, he makes an excited noise and points. We started transitioning him to a sippy cup and more table food. He’s proven to be a very picky eater (just like daddy!). But, he loves hot dogs and mac-n-cheese. No luck with fruits or vegetables…

We took a family beach trip to Destin, FL with my family and Rob's family. Hopefully, this trip will be the first of many annual trips  We stayed in a condo in Sandestin right on the beach. It was so much fun, and we loved spending time with both sides of the family.  Bert was hilarious on the beach. He didn't like the feel of sand on his toes, so every time we put him in the sand, he'd lift up his legs up like a flamingo! 

Bert took his first steps around 1 year, and for the next few months, slowly added a few steps at a time. He moved from the infant room to the toddler room around age 14 months at daycare where all the kids were walking. I think it encouraged him, because over the course of a week or so, he began walking all the time. His first word was spoken around age 13 months “ball”. He’s babbled a lot before, and we thought he maybe said “mama” and “dada”. But with the word “ball,” he points to a ball, so we know he understands what the word means. Right before he turned 15 months, he started saying “No”. Haha! Sometimes he shakes his finger and says “no, no, no”, which I think he got from daycare! We’re definitely getting a preview of the “terrible 2’s”. He does this pouty/mad face, and it is so hard not to laugh at him! He’s imitating our words more, and will try to repeat what we say.

First Zoo Trip: We took Bert to the Ft. Worth Zoo over Labor Day weekend to see the animals, since he seems to love watching animals on TV. He loved the monkeys, and he pointed and squealed at them. He also loved the fish. We’re not sure if he really knew that the larger animals (elephant, giraffes, etc) were actually animals...

First Haircut: We finally took Bert for his first haircut. I actually tried to cut it myself several months before this, and it was disastrous! He did really well, and afterwards, we've been calling him "Friar Bert".

{Maternity Family Photoshoot at Arbor Hills}

Our wonderful photographer, Soraya, met us at Arbor Hills in Plano, TX for our family maternity shoot. It was a beautiful park, but it was HOT (like 101 degrees!). We were dripping with sweat 5 minutes in, but it was so much fun shooting with Bert. He got so excited every time someone walked by with a dog. He would point and squeal! We're a little sweaty in these pics, but I think they turned out great!

 So far, this pregnancy has been pretty uneventful – very similar to my last one. I’m trying hard not to gain 60 pounds again :)  My downfall this time around is Sonic shakes (last time it was frozen yogurt). I know all the ones “off” the menu. I’ve had to school a few new Sonic carhops who try to tell me “we don’t make that shake”. I’m like, “don’t play with me – I know what Sonic can do”.
 

My OB says it’s going to be another big baby (yikes!). We are super-excited Bert will have a playmate to grow up with!