Erin Akin Carroll

Our Home: James Walker’s Nursery

Filed Under: Baby, Family, Home, Home Tour, James Walker

Apr22015

I had so much fun nesting and preparing for James Walker. We moved into our house in December 2013 and this room was Hayes’s room. We never decorated it, though, because he was still in a crib and we knew he’d transition to a big boy bed soon anyway. And then I got pregnant with James Walker, so Hudson and Hayes moved in to a shared brother room and this room became the nursery.

We had all of the furniture, so it was great that we didn’t have to make any big purchases. I chose a simple, soft color scheme because I just love blues and wanted a soothing nursery. I wanted a lot of linen and pale blue with some fun pattern mixed in. The rocking chair was the same chair we had for Hudson and Hayes, but I got some great fabric from Fabric 101 here in Columbia for $8 a yard during an after-Christmas sale and had the chair and ottoman recovered.

A local friend of mine recently moved and was selling some of her home accessories, and she gave me the table skirt and I bought the table lamp and trumeau mirror from her for a steal!

The shelf on the wall was in Hudson’s room and before that it was in our study before Hudson was born. I bought a set of three of those from Ballard Designs right after Todd and I got married.

I did get all new crib bedding. My dear friend, Nina, was selling her white linen bumpers and crib skirt and it was exactly what I wanted for the bumpers, so I bought those from her. And I had the buffalo check crib skirt made from beautiful fabric from Calico Corners.

The “little boys” sign is from Aedriel and House of Belonging. I originally bought that to go in the playroom, but the more I looked at it, I knew it had to go in James Walker’s nursery. Maybe someday all three boys will share a bunk room and it can go in there!

The You Are My Sunshine sign was in our guest room in our old house and it is from Sugarboo Designs. I love seeing those lyrics on the wall. It’s impossible not to sing along!

The nest painting was something I’ve wanted forever and it was a gift to James Walker from my mom. The artist is Deann out of Nashville- she’s incredible!

On the shelves, we used a lot of things that were mine or Todd’s from our childhood. Books, Bibles, Beatrix Potter plates and piggy banks.

It was fun to take things we already had and move things around to create his nursery. I absolutely love sitting in this room and feeding and rocking my sweet boy. I hope he has many sweet dreams (and good sleep!) in this room!

Sources:

Crib: Newport Cottages

Changing Table/Dresser: Newport Cottages

Giraffe: Melissa and Doug

Rug: Overstock

Elephant Hamper: Home Decorators

Bookshelf: Pottery Barn Kids

Cafe Shelf: Ballard Designs

Nest Painting: Deann Designs

Little Boys Sign: House of Belonging

You Are My Sunshine Sign: Sugarboo Designs

Buffalo Check Fabric: Calico Corners

Bumpers: Cottage and Cabin on Etsy

Bunny Pillow and Blanket: Pom Pom at Home

April Goals

Filed Under: Goals, Life

Apr12015

1. Begin working on James Walker’s baby book

And, frankly, I need to update and finish Hudson’s and Hayes’s baby books, too. Oh man. I’m really far behind, but thankfully all of the information I need is in their monthly blog posts that I did when they were babies. I ordered James Walker’s book from Way Cool Designs and used the buffalo check from his nursery as the cover fabric. I also got a Joyful Beginnings Journal from Printed Ink Designs for me to keep up with daily and monthly things that James Walker is up to.

2. Create a daily schedule for me

As I’m learning how to adjust to our new normal and I’m coming out of the newborn fog, I need to get a better handle on the things that have to get done every day, the things that I want to get done every day, and what needs to happen for each kiddo every day. Just basic household management stuff, mostly, but I also need to set aside specific times each day to work on the Influence Conference and respond to emails relating to the conference. This means James Walker will need to take at least one nap in his crib every day and I can’t hold him all day like I’d like to! (Wink wink)

3. Clean out my closet

Don’t worry- I’m not going to get drastic and get rid of all of my pre-baby clothes because they don’t fit right now. But I do have a lot of clutter in my closet and a lot of things I haven’t worn in a few years, so in the spirit of nesting and Spring cleaning, I need to do a little clean out.

4. Set a date for and plan Hayes’s birthday party

My sweet boy is no longer the baby of the family and he’s about to turn 4 on May 5! So much of me wants to just do a family party for him, but he’s SO into his friends and birthdays this year that I know it would mean so much to him to have a party with his buds. We’ll likely go somewhere and do an activity he loves… I just need to set it all up.

5. Read one book

I usually just scroll through Facebook and Instagram while I’m nursing in the middle of the night, but I miss reading. And I’m finally able to concentrate on something for more than 20 minutes at a time. (Anesthesia side effects seem to rob me of my ability to focus.) So I’m ready to start reading again after a little hiatus. I’m going to start with the goal of reading one book this month. (You can click on this link to see all of my book review posts if you’re interested.)

Those are my goals for the month. How are all of you? What are your plans for April?

James Walker’s Newborn Photos

Filed Under: Baby, Family, James Walker

Mar312015

When James Walker was six days old, the amazing Jordan of Landon Jacob photography came over to do his newborn photos. It was such a relaxing time. I just love Jordan and she is so easy to work with and relaxed, and it made all of us relaxed, too. You can imagine that photographing a family of three boys isn’t exactly easy, but she made it so fun. And it did seem easy!

She worked so fast- and with a hungry, nursing baby and a post c-section mama, that was very much appreciated.

My mom was with us, too, so we were able to get her in a few of the photos as well. I’m so happy with how they turned out and how they just feel like us!

I’ve admired Jordan’s work for a long long time, and I’m so happy she was able to document our sweet James Walker in his first days.

this time…

Filed Under: Baby, Family, Heart, James Walker, Motherhood

Mar272015

We loaded up in the car to leave the hospital like old pros. It’s our third baby boy. He screamed almost the whole way home as he experienced the car seat for the first time. And while he screamed, I could feel this look of peace cover my face.

All of my babies have screamed the whole way home in the car. And I don’t remember that look of peace on my face. The screaming in the car led me to panic and made me sweat and made my heart race. I wanted to pull over and hold him and try again before. But this time I knew that our baby boy was fine. He’d be home in a few minutes where I could snuggle him and remind him that he’s safe. And just the overwhelming feeling of gratitude for having a baby in our car, coming home with us, was enough to make me feel that peace this time.

This time we know that it’s our last baby. Our third baby boy is our last baby. So this time I’m going to hold him for all of his naps. I’m going to nap when he naps. I’m going to breathe in that smell of baby shampoo and let my senses memorize how that smells and how that feels and what his little grunts sound like.

This time I’m going to smile when I lift him out of his crib in the middle of the night. I’m going to stop watching the clock at 3:00 a.m. and see each moment as time that I can spend with him that I’ll never get back. Not because I’m superhuman or because I don’t love sleep, but because the thought of never feeding a baby in the middle of the night again makes my heart break.

This time I’m not going to force the baby on my big boys. I’m going to wait for them to ask to hold him and love on him. When they rush home from school and want to see their baby brother before they do anything else, I’ll know that taking the pressure off of them was a good thing.

This time I’m going to cry as I watch friend after friend stop by to check on me and meet our newest addition. When I see them hold him and welcome him to the world, I see a future full of friendship and the support we receive from our amazing village. The meals they bring are the icing on the cake, but the kindness and love and grace they extend to our whole family are the real deal.

This time I know what stuff to sweat over and what stuff to just let go. The stress of nursing a big baby was gone because I knew what I was getting into and I could effectively communicate with our doctors and nurses. This time I knew that being a couple of ounces away from his birth weight wasn’t something to panic about. This time I know that holding him all day right now is good for me. This time I know that staying in my pajamas and missing a shower (or two) is okay- even if people are coming over. This time I know that feeling relaxed is the most important thing. Everything else can wait.

This time I know that my soft belly will return to normal again, so I just wait and enjoy the pajamas and yoga pants and extended wear of maternity pants.

This time I sing the same hymns over and over again at bedtime and sometimes find myself unable to choke out the words as I sing to my baby boy about God’s grace. This time I know that there’s no more important thing that I could ever sing about.

This time I’m praying that I don’t rush my big boys into growing up too much because my hands are full with their baby brother. They are all still babies in my eyes and each of their feelings and emotions and life stages are all important.

This time will fly by. He’ll be a month old in just a few days. I’ll wonder where the days went. So this last baby boy of ours is being fussed over and cherished in the best ways we know how to do that. We are so, so grateful for this time.

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