Just add baby

And now, what you've all been waiting for: the finished nursery!  After several awkward weeks (probably more like months!) of transition, we went from a sewing room to a room ready to welcome a sweet little girl!

Before

Framed art is from this talented Etsy vendor

The mobile (which is my favorite part of the room!) I made from scrapbook paper, combining ideas from here and here.

I made the curtains; the fabric has sweet little white polka dots and there are tiny ribbon rosettes at the pleats, but you may not be able to see those details.  My sewing is better than my photography!  

The shelf holds a cut-out letter A (for Anna!) that I covered with scrapbook paper and Mod Podge.  The doll, Molly, was my favorite toy when I was little.  The stuffed duck is there because, well, I think it's cute.  And my sister (the great "Aunt Soup") made the mouse for Anna.  Apparently this is the ambassador mouse to Ithaca, representing a large family of other cloth mice waiting for Anna in Harrisburg!

Also, beneath the shelf hangs Anna's Baptismal gown & bonnet.  I bravely (or perhaps crazily) decided to cut the train off my wedding gown so that we could have an heirloom gown to use for our children's Baptisms.  I figured that there's a small chance that my wedding dress will fit the style & body size of my daughter(s), but this option allows for (hopefully) many babies to wear it!  Technically, the wedding gown could still be worn again, as the dress is all intact; only the beautiful train was sacrificed for the Baptismal garment!

Aside from the fact that I'm thrilled to have another opportunity to enjoy the beautiful fabric of my wedding gown, I love the sacramental symbolism of new life in Baptism springing from the union of Marriage - it illustrates our Catholic understanding of procreation as an outpouring of the love between husband, wife, and God. 

And before anyone compliments me, you should all know that my EXTREMELY talented mother is the one who took the pieces of the train and made them into the beautiful garment you see above!  She is amazing!  I can't wait for Anna to wear it in early September!

Crib, with the inspiration crib sheet.  And, the nursery wouldn't be complete without some happy fabric pennants, and (way more importantly) a Crucifix over her crib.  Again, excuse my poor photography!

Daybed (the room is huge!) and - finally - a door!  (We still don't have a door for our bedroom, but now we're 2 for 3 on the upstairs rooms.  And, as Meatloaf sings, that ain't bad).

I made the pillow.  Anna's great-grandmother (the "Rose" in Anna Rose) made the afghan.

Bookshelf from Craigslist (a great $40 find, considering the owner reported that their former neighbor hand-built it for them!).  Rocker from Justin's mom (made by the Amish!)  Bear painting is from another of Anna's great-grandmothers!  (How blessed is she to have 7 living great-grandparents!?)

I recovered the lampshade with polka-dotted fabric.  In my mind, the ball fringe makes up for the less-than-satisfactory job I did in applying the fabric.  Bargain books from our new Ithaca Ollies (woo hoo for a PA store coming to NY!)  The picture is of my Dad and me - and looking at it now, I think that in my 38th week of pregnancy my face has returned to the extremely chubby cheeks I was sporting at 6 months old!  Thankfully I already grew out of them once - here's hoping it will be baby Anna and not me who's chubby in a few weeks!

So, I'd say we're ready for a baby!  

We even hung up her little towel bar in the bathroom - check out her cute hooded towel!

 It's unbelievable that at any day now I may be holding my little girl in my arms!  Looking forward to introducing her to all of you.

Baby Anna, if you're reading this, Mommy and Daddy are ready to meet you!  You can come out now :)