The Boys' Rooms

Both boys' rooms are finally done, and they are my favorite two rooms in the whole house!  One of my first thoughts when we found out that we were having another boy was, "Great, the nursery is already done!" On second thought though, we've spent a lot of time in that room over the past three years, and it needed a little sprucing up.  Plus I think when you're the second child with an older sibling of the same sex, it's easy to become the "hand me down" kid.  I wanted Jake's nursery to be unique to him and not just "Cooper's old room."  As we transitioned Cooper to his new big boy room, some pieces of furniture from his nursery went with him (the night stand which had been in the corner by his window and the two shelves), and we decided to paint the nursery a light blue to really freshen up the room since we would be using most of the same furniture and the same bedding (we did have to get a new bumper of the same pattern because Cooper had torn his bumper up through almost three years of loving use). We updated, changed, and bought a few things, and voila!  We have a "new" nursery for Jake!

Jake's Nursery

The view from the door

*When you walk in his room, this is the wall to the left.  I haven't put the sheets on the mattress yet or the bumper on since it'll just collect dust for the next several weeks until Baby Jake gets here.  

*Cooper had a nightstand/table where the bookshelf is now, and there was a shelf hanging on the wall above it.  

*The baskets on the floor are also new.  They have his stuffed animals, baby toys, and some board books in them.  The bookshelf holds several special trinkets including the poem "Why God Made Little Boys" from Karl's nursery, special gifts I got when I was pregnant with Cooper, a wonderful book called Let Me Hold You Longer, and a quilt one of my former student's mom made for Cooper.

*There was also a shelf above the glider when it was Cooper's room, but that shelf went to his new room too.  This one is a different style than the others were.

*The glider is the same.  It's not the most beautiful glider, but it sure is comfortable!  Karl and I have spent many, many, MANY hours rocking our firstborn in that chair, and I know it will serve us just as well with Baby #2!

Out of the all the changes, this is my favorite.  I love the box letters of his initials!  I wanted the J to stand out since he will go by part of his middle name, so I stood it up on two books.  A Light in the Attic was one of my favorite books as a little girl.  I remember the day I got it and how giddy I was as I read all the poems in one night.  I read them to my students, and when my boys are a little older, I'll read them to them too.

This is the wall to the right of the door when you come in.  His changing table is all ready for him, and his drawers are stocked full of his sweet little clothes and blankets.

The picture frames on the wall were also in need of a little update.  Cooper's frames had brown satin ribbon attached to the back.  I took that off and put burlap ribbon on them and got little knobs to "hang" them to the wall.  The pictures are actually mounted to the wall, but the knobs give it a nice little decorative look.  Cooper's newborn pictures are still in the frames because they're too cute to take out until I have some of Baby Jake.

An overall shot of the nursery from the doorway.

*Here is a link to see what Cooper's nursery looked like.*

We started planning for Cooper's big boy room back in April.  We knew our old guest room/playroom would be his new room.  After a lot of trips to Pottery Barn Kids and a lot of planning, we slowly but surely started to get his room ready.  I ordered his furniture at the end of April, and it was on backorder until June, which was fine because we had to get the old room, closet, and bathroom cleaned out before Coop could take over.  I also used those two months to make little purchases here and there so it wouldn't be so much at once.  By the middle of June, the furniture was delivered, and Cooper immediately was claiming the room as his.  He loved his big boy bed from the moment they came in with the box and never went back to his crib (which he loved).  I never imagined we would transition him the same day as when the furniture was delivered; I thought it would be gradual process.  Nope!  Little Man is a big boy, and this is a big boy's room!  The lighting in Cooper's room is terrible for taking pictures, so the pictures do not do the room justice.  It is absolutely precious!  I love his room, and more importantly, he loves his room!

Cooper's Big Boy Room

The view from the doorway.
I decided not to do a theme because little ones change their interests so fast, but I did get a train pillow and a little old fashioned train to put on his nightstand since he loves his choo-choos right now.  He also has a train picture frame that he colored on his nightstand.  I wish I had taken a close-up of his nightstand.  Anyway, I wanted an All-American boy room he could grow up in, and what better way to show that than with a rustic wooden flag?!

Another view from the doorway.  To the left of the door is his dresser (with the two shelves from his nursery) and closet door.  On the main wall is his nightstand (from his nursery) and his bed.  On the right wall is his bookshelf and bulletin board and window.  On the wall with the door to his room is a framed picture and his bathroom door.

I love the black and white pictures of him in the raw wood frames.  To add in a little color, I got mats to match the colors in his quilt.  Of course, his Cooper Bear is on there too (Karl used this bear to tell me he was ready to have a baby when we started trying for Cooper)!

This is a view from Cooper's bathroom.

*I love having a bulletin board to display Cooper's precious work from MDO since our refrigerator isn't magnetic.  Last week they learned the letter A, and on Friday when I picked him up from school, he showed me the picture of the big A and said, "I color that A." And then, the part that got me crazy excited, he said, "/a/, /a/, apple."  Any kindergarten teacher out there knows how exciting that is! :)
*Cooper's bookshelf has two shelves.  The top shelf is full of his books, and the bottom shelf has his puzzles on it.  
*When he "graduated" from his nursery, we still had to move a few of his special baby things: his monogrammed elephant that I took his monthly picture with when he was a baby, his engraved picture frame with all his birth information, and his precious wooden block that also has all his birth information.  That wooden block has always been and will always be my most favorite baby gift.  We have had one made for so many of our friends and family members since Jennifer got it for Cooper.  Here is a link to the website where you can get one: http://www.craftefamily.com/baby_gifts/baby_block_personalized.asp.  

Cooper's bathroom is also pretty cute, but I didn't think to take a picture of it.  The boys' rooms are right across the hall from each other, which might pose a bit of a problem while Jake is very little and crying during the night, but I know in no time at all they'll be taking advantage of that short distance to yell to one another!

Maybe now that the boys' rooms are done, I can one day (after being married for 7 1/2 years) get around to finishing mine and Karl's room...