The Harnation

Manda's quilted creation got me thinking about my own baby blanket experiences and the memories of the the three of us growing up with our baby blankets nearby.

I asked my dad if he could pick out a few photos of us as kids with our respective blankets and he sent me two CDs worth of photographs - and that only covered the first five years or so of my life.



You see, we three girls had a sort of love affair with our blankets growing up.  We kind of started out as equal opportunity users with the various blankets when we were very little but by the time we were talking, we each had our own distinct personal blanket preferences.

Mine was the Strawberry Shortcake cotton print blanket, simple and sweet.  It was one of the few items that I never lost growing up and was a constant fixture on my bed at night.  Well loved and well worn, it lost one of its corners to the "tire" of my big wheel one afternoon.  It remained a staple of my bedroom sheet set well past its expiration date and is currently safely tucked away in my closet (is it weird to be almost 30 and have your baby blanket right next to your shorts?)



Amanda preferred a soft green number, but was also accompanied by a creamy white version of the same blanket fairly often.  One of those two blankets were almost constantly being toted around by her and I don't think she was able to fall asleep without having one safely snuggled against her cheek until she was about 8 or 9.


Amy's choice of blanket was this fluffy, quilted green print number. It was one of her prized possessions that she packed up and took with her when she ran away from home - the day before her 5th birthday - because she didn't want to take her obligatory Sunday afternoon nap (that story deserves an entire post of its own!).



My attachment to Strawberry Shortcake was no secret.  So much so, that the first gift we received after finding out that we were having a baby girl of our own, was this sweet Strawberry Shortcake doll and blanket from my parents.


They must've had to look all over to find this doll and blanket set because my dear Strawberry Shortcake has had a makeover in the last 30 years.  All of the plastic surgery on this girl has hardly left her recognizable as the character of my youth. 

To complete future Baby Girl's Strawberry Shortcake legacy, my mother knitted these sweet little booties. 


While I'm on my mother's gorgeous knitted creations, I must take a quick moment to spotlight this adorable sweater.  The gender neutral yellow sweater was started several years ago when my mom got a wild hair about having some "real"grand babies (because "grand puppies" somehow don't count).  She finished and personalized it once she found out she'd finally get a grand baby of her own.


How fun will it be to watch Anne Marie grow up with her own childhood blanket/quilt made by hand by her dear Auntie Mandie and her own set of Strawberry Shortcake accompaniments? 

Finally, fourteen days past due, sweet Anne Marie made her entrance into our world.  Nameless for most of the first day of her life, we finally settled on a moniker for our little bundle of depravity.


I had such an easy pregnancy, I just knew that labor couldn't possibly go as smoothly as everything else.  I was right, and the labor/delivery part of the story left something to be desired (maybe I'll write a separate post on some of that later).  However, we are so thankful to have such a healthy, beautiful little girl that there is really no room for complaining.

We are quite in love.


There have been several times over the last week that Matt and I have stopped, looked at each other, and said in wonder something along  the lines of, "we're PARENTS!"  or "she's OURS!" 

I don't know how long it will take to sink in, but it's been a pretty cool ride so far.


Sleep has been good some days, and not so much others.

My emotions have been pretty unpredictable too.  One morning last week, Matt was praying as we sat down to breakfast and I was holding Anne Marie in my arms.  I just started crying tears of joy as he thanked our Lord for His goodness and mercy towards us.  My heart is so full right now and sometimes it feels like it might burst.

Of course, an hour later, as I was getting showered and dressed, I heard AM fussing and Matt coming into our bedroom (presumably to see if I could get her to settle down), so I slammed the bathroom door shut before he could get to me and interrupt the first few moments of quiet solitude I'd had in days.  

I know the emotional swings come with the territory, but I hate not being in control of my emotions.  I really can't stand to not be able to keep it together.  There's almost nothing worse than to start crying over something seemingly benign and not be able to stop it!


I know I'm biased, but I think she's worth a 32 hour labor and some uncontrollable tears.

If you haven't seen it, check out this recent post over at Cordially Charlie's blog.

Great story, great storyteller...


http://charliewingard.blogspot.com/2012/05/rescue-of-roger-locher.html

Matt

My extremely talented sister made me the most gorgeous, cheerful, beautiful, happy quilt.

One of the first things she said to me after finding out we were having a girl was, "now you need to pick out your fabric!" After hours of searching online and a fruitless trip to a couple of local fabric stores (what's up with local quilting fabric selections being so full of "old lady" fabric patterns?), we settled on this collection:  Taza by Dena Designs.

I LOVE the fabrics and colors and knew that it would make a really cheery quilt without becoming a "pink explosion".  Amanda had been eying this quilt pattern and was just as enthusiastic about making it for me as I was to see it all come together.

Manda has made several quilts so far, each one better than the previous.  I must admit that I had some serious lust for the quilt she made for Amy four years ago and was tempted to steal it.  I was thrilled to finally get my own Manda creation (Oh, wait.  This quilt is for my baby.  Does that mean it's not really mine?...)


Since Baby Girl isn't really supposed to sleep with bedding for a little while, and to help protect it from spit up for as long as possible, I'd like to hang the quilt on the wall above the crib.  Anyone have any experience in that department?
 

I am so thrilled about this quilt, I can't even begin to tell you.  I know it took a lot of time and effort to put together and will be something that we and Baby Girl will cherish for a lifetime.  I still have my baby blanket folded up in my closet.  The pink quilted Strawberry Shortcake blanket was a constant fixture in my bedroom until I was about 8 (well, actually, it stayed folded up on my bed until I got married, when Matt told me I had to stop sleeping with my BABY BLANKET!  ...I can't believe I just admitted that!).

I spent Sunday afternoon (nothing like waiting until the last minute, huh?) sewing a very simple crib skirt, using two of the patterns from the fabric collection Amanda used in the quilt.

 
Y'all, I'm not crafty.  And it's been probably 15 years since I've used a sewing machine, so the fact that this came out so well is just a testament to its simplicity.

Either way, I'm pretty happy about it.

So, while I'm at it, here's a look around the former office-now-nursery:



The only real changes we made were that shelf with the baskets, a ceiling fan, shelves in the closet/stairwell, and the curtains (ikea).


I ordered the crib, changing dresser and side table from J.C. Penney.  All three are solid wood and very well built. I got a great deal on them too!  We already had the chair and bookshelf, and we ordered the glider on sale from Babies R Us.

We left the walls their neutral green color.  After this (and any possible future) child(ren), this room will revert back to an office, and I didn't want to have to paint it multiple times.  Besides, I really like the green.  :)


We may do something with those french doors if needed - like applying translucent film to the glass or adding blinds.  We're kind of holding off on that for now to see what we'll really need.

I'm really happy with how it all turned out.  We've been pretty low stress about this baby prep thing and have tried to keep it all as easy and simple as possible.  I think we were pretty successful at doing that (and keeping our costs to a minimum, always a plus!).

One of my favorite parts about the room are all of the handmade gifts, lovingly created by dear friends.

Hanging on the wall is a pink dress made by Jennifer M.  It's absolutely beautiful, and of heirloom quality.


I was speechless at my baby shower when I received not one, but two, breathtakingly beautiful quilts.  They're currently folded over the chair and glider in the nursery and I can't wait to wrap Baby Girl up in them!