Brady's Nursery is All Done!

Ever since we found out we were having a baby boy, I have been anxious to decorate his room! Before we found out what we were having, we bought our crib and changer because we found what we liked and they seem to be running low since they were on sale, so we went ahead and bought these two pieces. We loved this changer because we knew that we could easily turn it into storage for books/toys when he gets older. The baskets have covers (sewn by a friend from work) that have the fabric that is part of his bedding. Then, we decided to stain a dresser that we already had to match the crib and changer--we really love how the stain turned out, and we were pretty hesitant about it since it was both of our first staining projects! As far as baby boy bedding, it was NOT easy to find! When we found out we were having a boy, we decided we wanted to have green and blue in his room with patterns instead of a theme. Well, there was a lot of searching that happened--online, fabric stores, baby stores, etc.--literally, we could find three sets to choose from that were blue and green that just used patterns instead of themes. If anyone is in the market for a business idea, baby boy bedding just might be the ticket! After several days of searching online, my stepmom, Kelly, found the Sweet Kyla website, and we fell in love with the Cabana set. This company is based in Canada, and they are SUPER sweet to work with...we highly recommend them! Instead of ordering a set, we ordered the pieces that we wanted--coverlet, bedskirt, lamp shade and valance--since we decided to go with the sage breathable bumper. As far as Brady's letters go, I wanted to find more ways to bring in the fabrics in his bedding since we were not going with the tradition bumper. So, I ordered some of his bedding fabric and created the letters myself--it was really actually fun to make them! The other cute things that you see around are gifts that we have been given along the way--a diaper cake, a diaper tricycle, a diaper wreath, picture frame with his name, cross with his name, Onesie with his name, etc. We are so thankful for the fabulous gifts that our friends and family have given us for baby Brady!

Brady Baby Gear

As new parents, we knew pretty much NOTHING about where to start with baby gear and furniture! Knowing this fact about ourselves, we just started asking questions each time we would go to the baby store (our favorite is definitely Buy Buy Baby) and each time we talked to friends that already have babies. We feel like we have learned a lot, but we know that Brady will teach us even more about what works for him once he is here. When we started the daunting task of creating registries, we posted a question on Facebook to ask our friends: "What are your three favorite items that you have had for your babies?" It was amazing to get such informative responses, some that supported one another and some that were completely different from one another--again proving that each baby is different! With all of this information along with some research, we made the best decisions for us as we chose these following items. However, this is clearly our opinion, and there are lots of great opinions out there! We are excited about the items that we have chosen, but you have to choose what works best for your needs, desires, baby and budget!

Carseat = Britax Chaperone (Infant Carrier)
http://www.britaxusa.com/car-seats/chaperone
We are thrilled about this decision to have the Britax Chaperone as our infant carrier. We were blown away by the safety features put into place on this model, and we could tell the difference immediately as we were learning about it from the Assistant Manager at BuyBuyBaby. Although the downfall is that the carseat is a bit heavier (11 lbs.), you can see a few of the features right away that caught our attention--anti-rebound bar and side impact protection all around the baby's body.



Stroller = Bumbleride
http://www.bumbleride.com/strollers/indie-home.php
We cannot wait to try out our stroller once Brady arrives! This was really Nathan's thing, so I was happy for him to run with it to research and choose the best stroller for our lifestyle. With the Bumbleride, it will be Brady's stroller up to 48 lbs., and it can be used as a regular stroller or a jogger. The big selling points for us were: it is compatible with our Britax Chaperone carseat and it has inflatable tires instead of foam-filled--we have heard this is very helpful when strolling anywhere outside!


Pack and Play = Grace Kinsey
Bought at Target
There are a zillion PackandPlay options, and just note that each store has different patterns/options, so it is impossible to choose one that is the same at different stores, so you can compare! We went with a gender-neutral for this along with our other gear that we hope to use again in the future. We liked the napper, changer and bassinet options for the PackandPlay, so we can use it as a "work station" downstairs.


Highchair = Fisher-Price Spacesaver Scatterbug
Bought at Target
To save some space around the house, we decided to go with a highchair that fits in one of our dining room chairs. The plus for this particular model that we decided on was that even though it doesn't stand alone, it will recline to three different positions, so we can use it when Brady just starts to eat until he is older. Also, it turns into a booster seat, which is nice for down the road.


Activity Center = Baby Einstein Musical Motion Activity Jumper
Bought at BuyBuyBaby
Before we knew if we were having a boy or a girl, we went to BuyBuyBaby just to look around at the MANY baby items that there are to choose from! When we got to the activity center/exersaucer section, I mentioned to Nathan that we should definitely register for one that allows the baby to jump around because I knew that if we had a boy, we would need to get some energy out! Not that girls don't need to get energy out, but from having brothers, I just remember there being a lot of activity going on even in the very beginning. After finding out that we were having a boy, this was a no-brainer for us! As you can tell, this is the one thing that we haven't managed to put together yet. We figure we have a few months, so we are going to wait to put it together until Brady is closer to using it!


Swing/Bouncer = Graco Swing 'n' Bounce Hathaway
Bought at BuyBuyBaby
Again, for the sake of saving space, we loved that we could combine our swing and bouncer. We were also thinking that it might be nice to have a way to move Brady if he falls asleep while swinging. This way, if he falls asleep, we can just detach the chair and take him to another location pretty easily, hopefully while he is able to stay asleep :)


We are SO thankful to family and friends that have bought almost all of the items for Brady and us! We know that they will each be lifesavers in their own way, and we are thrilled to feel as "prepared" as we can with Brady's baby gear! I've probably left some things out, but these are the basics that come to mind that people ask us about.

Daddy-to-be Graduates from Elon Law!

To say that I am proud of Nathan is an understatement--he has blown me away as he has worked his way through these THREE years of Elon Law school! I was thrilled to have a weekend to truly celebrate all that he has accomplished in these last few years, and I must say that Brady wasn't very active because we were on the run all weekend--I think he was just sitting back and relaxing since his mommy wasn't relaxing much! The festivities started on Friday evening with a Graduation Open House for family and friends to come hang out. Then, all of the family joined us as we went to an Elon Law reception on Saturday. We had a chance to meet many of Nathan's professors and talk with them while visiting with a lot of Nathan's friends that have made it through these three years also. After the reception, the whole family went out to dinner and headed back to Raleigh. On Sunday, we got up bright and early to drive to Greensboro for brunch at one of our favorite restaurants in Greensboro, Village Tavern. After brunch, we headed over to the theater to get seats for graduation, enjoyed graduation and then went to another reception that was held in a local park area. Overall, the weekend was full of excitement, relief, happiness and a crazy-busy schedule!

Nathan is the 3rd one called in this video :)

Another Shower for Baby Brady--yay!!

On April 30th, friends of ours worked together to plan a "couples shower" for Brady and us! It was so fun to have lots of Nathan's friends join us and celebrate Brady's upcoming arrival. Thanks to our friends-Megan & David, Kate, Tara & David, Sarah Ann, Melanie & Jordan, and Abbie for throwing this fabulous shower for us! There were all kinds of blue and green details that highlighted things we love, which made it so fun to walk around and see all of the cute things they came up with! Our favorite might have been the Red Velvet Cake Pops since Red Velvet is one of the favorites that Nathan and I love to enjoy together :) We are so thankful for family and friends that have given us so many things that we know we will need and so many things we know Brady will love!

Diaper Wreath--Made by Brady's Nana and Pop Pop

A few weeks ago, we went to Richmond, and my mom surprised us with a diaper wreath full of goodies for Brady! It was so cute because we went up to unpack our stuff in the bedroom, and she had it hanging on the door. My mom (probably will be Brady's Nana, but still deciding) and stepdad (probably will be Brady's Pop Pop, but still deciding) worked lots of hours to figure out how to create this cute wreath and then actually making the wreath step-by-step, down to gluing the beads on the "B" that hangs at the bottom. We were so excited and impressed with their creativity! They were so careful to get a variety of things that we can use for Brady, and they made sure they were BPA-free, etc. So cute!

Showering Baby Brady!

On April 17th, we had our first shower--our girls only (except Brady) shower :) It was so fun to have family and friends (many from Meredith) to catch-up with and celebrate the upcoming arrival of baby Brady! My sweet friends, Millee, Chambliss, Amanda, Elizabeth and Stephanie were so gracious to come together and throw this shower for me. It was amazing how creative everything was, from the diaper wreath with all kinds of monogrammed items to the punch in the baby bath with bath toys to the tricycle made out of diapers--it was SO fun to see and explore throughout the afternoon :) These are just a few of the pictures that we got from this fabulous celebration (thanks to Stephanie for being our photographer for the afternoon)!

Cute invitations!
Diaper wreath and tons of monogrammed goodies created by Elizabeth...
Special reading by Julie :)
As soon as I opened this shirt, the room pretty much all said, "Nathan" because it's Brady's first outfit that will look just like his daddy's wardrobe...
Cute game--label each "pregnancy term" with a candy name...


Diaper Tricycle--cute!
Brady's name in cute handmade paper onesies...
The whole group!
My sweet girlfriends and hostesses...