A place of her own

Babies don't know anything; at least that's according to the new eBay print ads. And it's a good thing they don't.

Poor Fiona is over a year old and we finally got around to decorating her bedroom so it looks more like a kid's room than a baby flophouse. And judging by her initial nonplussed reaction to the room, I don't think she minded her former digs as much as we felt a little guilty for stuffing her crib in a room that was once the guest room and my sewing/craft space. Such is the plight of the second-born child. The third will fair worse, I fear. We have no more bedrooms and this next one will sleep in our room for a most of its first year.  (I really hate referring to this baby as "it," but the English language leaves me no choice. Sigh.) Actually,the baby will likely sleep nestled next to my chest for it's first few months. Such is the nature of my babies and my tolerance for nursing in the upright position after midnight. Then we'll have to put the baby in with Fiona. Age difference is going to be a bigger factor than gender here. I can't see a 4-year-old Danny sharing a room with a 1 year old. And this baby, of course, will have no idea that it has had no room of it's own because, as eBay has so rightly points out, babies don't know anything.

Last year, when Fiona was a few weeks old, I purchased several rolls of wallpaper border at a Habitat Reuse Center. It was lavender and light green with a bug and leaf motif - the perfect decor for a mommy with an aversion to all things pink and princessy. As it turns out, the decor is perfect for her - a little girl who is as far from pink and frilly as it gets. She grunts and growls, climbs and tumbles, and carries dolls around by their ankles when she's not shunning them for balls and cars. If she's anything like her mother, she'll probably be a tomboy until she's at least 13 and then struggle to find a feminine identity with which she's comfortable. I remember very clearly just when the guys began to regard me a little differently. After church one day, the gang all met to hash out a game of cops and robbers. They told me I could be a robber because I had black stuff on my eyes. It was mascara. Heels and makeup in the morning, cops and robbers in the afternoon. But I digress ... 

Jim spent much of last week painting white the dresser and bookshelf from his own childhood bedroom. He also repainted a small blanket chest that we purchased months ago at the Reuse Center. It's now white with a green lid and lavender border and handles. Then Saturday night and this morning he painted and applied the wallpaper border. Light green on the top half, border in the middle, lavender below. It looks fantastic. We're not sure exactly what Fiona thinks. Her reaction was muted. But she did spend quite a bit of time in there this afternoon climbing up and down from the double bed that is still in there. And this evening she hung out with me looking at books for about 15 minutes before bed. Now she has a place of her own to play ... for the next six to nine months, anyway.

As I rocked her to sleep this evening, the new decor was still visible in the room lit slightly by the streetlights. It actually had a very calming effect. Wonder if she would have slept through the night sooner had it been this way sooner? Nah! (that's just what I tell myself to ward off the guilt!)

Here are some photos of her new room:

March 2010