Growing up as the Weatherman's kid

Before she was even born, Anderson’s upcoming arrival was televised.  Our pregnancy announcement was shared on social media and as a “picture of the day” segment. 

A day after she made her arrival into the world her beautiful little face filled up the screen as her birth announcement was part of the news.

When she turned one month old, Miss A made her first in-person appearance on the air when we made an impromptu visit to see Daddy at the station.

Her first birthday was celebrated with a special wish on air with the WAND cast, and just a few short months later she showed off her black cat costume on Halloween to the viewers.

In Anderson’s nearly two years of life she has made more television appearances while visiting her Dad at work then most people do in their lives.  On one hand that is pretty neat for her to have such unique and fun experiences as she grows up; however having a Dad as a weatherman is not always sunshine and blue sky's. 

Most nights Anderson and I spend a good portion of the evening alone.  I love my one-on-one time with my little lady, but a Chief Meteorologist's schedule is not ideal for family life.  When most people are getting off work to spend the evening with their family the Chief Meteorologist job is just beginning.  Anderson and I share dinner together alone most nights; however she does love to turn on the news to catch a glimpse of her Dad sharing the forecast.  She will smile and squeal "Dada" during the weather segment.

When severe weather hits, Miss A and I are on our own, again.  Growing up in the Midwest I'm used to our unusual weather, but on a few occasions it would have been nice to have some support dealing with scary weather, a toddler and a high-maintenance dog. 

 

Like any parent living in today’s world, we love to share pictures of Miss A.  With JC’s job he has many more “likes” than the average person does – over 16,000.  In general the comments on posted pictures are always very nice and supportive, but in the beginning there were a few nasty ones, which usually involved her unusual name.  Even though those comments were hurtful, we learned to brush off the negativity.

The "local celebrity" status really comes to play when we hit the grocery store.  Many people will recognize JC, comment on the weather and Miss A.  Their well-wishes and comments about our toddler are always nice.  JC works really hard to please his audience, and we rarely encounter rude people. 
 

As Anderson gets older and starts to notice the stares while we eat, the whispers of “that’s the weatherman” as people walk by, or even the pictures that are requested while grocery shopping, I hope she learns to adapt and accept the unique life we have.  I hope she appreciates the hard work her Dad does to be able to be as well-known and liked as he is.  It’s not always an easy life we lead, sometimes living under the microscope in public and surviving on our own during severe weather, but it’s normal for us and we wouldn’t change it.

Mommy Misadventures: Taking cover for severe weather at the public library with a one year old ...

I’ve always loved to read a book.  I’m also one of those “old school” people that still loves to go to the library to pick up those books.  So on a day off, I decided to take our one year old, who also likes to look at books and explore new places, to the library. 

We had been cooped up all day due to rainy weather.  When my weatherman husband left for work that day he said he needed to go in to “watch” the storms.  I knew there was a threat of tornados, or other severe weather, but I assumed it wasn't going to be too bad.

After a short nap, play and snack time, we packed up for a quick trip to the library.  We visited the children’s area first.  The nice librarian let Anderson pick out a book to keep for her first birthday and took our picture.  I grabbed a book and we slowly walked our way to the checkout area.  Anderson was starting to walk and wanted to walk everywhere because of her newfound skills.  This was great, as I love to see her learn and develop; however it also means our trips take about twice as long.

And those extra minutes quickly ticked away, while the weather outside was getting worse.  When we got to the checkout counter a weather report was read over the intercom.  It informed us that a tornado watch had been issued and we all needed to take cover.  Looking outside I could tell it was bad out.  The rain was pouring down and it was pitch black at 4:00 pm.

You would think being the spouse of a meteorologist I would know what was going on.  But what I’ve quickly learned is that I’m usually one of the last people to know what’s going on, especially now that JC is the Chief Meteorologist.  When the bad weather is rolling through JC is on air telling everyone else to take cover, while I’m trying to handle a baby, 80 pound dog and figure out what’s going on with the weather on my own.  It may seem easy to just click on the TV, but those of us who are Moms know that there are about a million distractions that can keep us from knowing what exactly is being said on the screen.

Normally I do get a quick text from him telling us to go "take cover", but I hadn’t heard from him all day, and I wasn’t aware things had gotten so bad out. 

Anderson and I gathered up our books and walked to the "severe weather" corner of the library with the rest of the patrons at the city public library.  While we waited Miss A was showing off, holding up her book for everyone to see, before she got bored and wanted to walk around.  Thankfully, we were allowed to make our escape about 15 minutes after taking cover.  This was likely just before she got tired of the new adventure and threw a fit.  We raced to the car through the rain.  I quickly placed her in her car seat and jumped in the back seat to buckle her in.  By the time we got home I was drenched, but Anderson was fairly dry -- and we were both very happy to be home.

Growing up in the Midwest the storms are fairly common, so when severe weather comes it isn’t something that panics me.  It is somewhat normal because I’ve always had to deal with it.  

Now being a Mother, and the only one responsible for our safety at home during severe weather and winter weather, I will be much more diligent about knowing what’s going on after this incident.  Anderson and I were fine at the library.  The tornadoes were not close to us there, or at our house, but this was a big lesson for me.  I have to make sure I stay better informed for our safety.  As parents we all wear different hats to keep our family unit together.  For me, this means I have to be informed and keep everything together while Dad is out informing the rest of Central Illinois.

Mommy Misadventures: The day I had on mismatched shoes..

I’m definitely not a morning person and never have been.  Before baby I loved being able to sleep in on the weekends.  Of course now that is ancient history.  No matter what day of the week it is I’m usually up by seven. 

Due to my distaste of getting up early in the mornings, I tend to be rushing around each day trying to get myself out the door looking halfway put together for work. 

For Anderson’s one year Doctor checkup it was a typical morning rush to get dressed and out of the house.  We had scheduled an early morning appointment so both JC and I could accompany Miss A for her milestone visit.  Doctor visits are never quick, so it takes some real effort to keep a one year old occupied for 30 minutes or more, wearing only her diaper, in a cramped room. 

Since her milestone birthday Miss A had been working to meet her next big achievement, walking.  To pass time in the room, we walked back and forth across the room, over and over.

During one of our trips across the floor, I looked down and realized I had on shoes that did not match! 

“Seriously, I have on two pairs of shoes!”  I told JC.  His response, of course, was laughter.

In that situation, that was the best thing to do.  I know for a fact I’m not the only mother that has accidentally walked out of the house with two different, but very similar, shoes on.  In some way it could even be considered a rite of passage for working mommy’s.

During the appointment I kept my shoes tucked underneath the chair when possible, and quickly drove home to find the right match for my shoe before heading to work. 

The moral of the story is: laughter is the best medicine.  Sometimes life has its way of throwing a curve ball at you, but it’s best to just laugh it off (when it's not too serious), take care of what you need to and move on.  Life is too short to dwell on the small stuff.  In this instance, a mismatched pair of shoes is not really that serious.

Also, I need to get up earlier and give myself more time to get ready in the morning (or buy new shoes that don’t look similar).

Anniversary Getaway Misadventure

When a person becomes a parent every aspect of their life changes drastically.  Literally everything.  Relationships, sleep patterns (or lack of), eating patterns and interests are all things that have changed for me.

Before meeting Anderson I had the idea that I would still be able to have time to do “adult” things, like going to Broadway plays, concerts, eating at nice restaurants, or quick weekend getaways. 

Over a year into parenthood I can say we’ve checked two things off that list: visiting a nice restaurant a couple times over the year and (with the help of family) going away for a weekend trip.

Even away from your child, the duties of a parent don’t stop.  Case in point, a recent weekend getaway to Augusta, Missouri in celebration of JC and I’s five year wedding anniversary.

Five years of marriage is a big milestone.  To honor this milestone, we wanted to do something fun with each other.  With both of our busy work schedules and the daily demands of being a parent, we rarely get a time away from Miss A.  I wouldn’t want it any other way either.  I love spending every second of my free time with her.

JC had been planning our weekend anniversary trip to Augusta for a couple months.  He had checked out the fun stops along the wine trails and found a nice bed and breakfast to stay in. 

When we dropped off Anderson she wasn’t feeling great, but was still her happy self.  She was in capable hands, plus we were only going to be away for a couple nights.  Everything would be fine.

But it wasn’t.  Anderson ended up getting very sick with a terrible ear infection, and we made the decision to go home.  It wasn’t a difficult choice either.  When I heard her calling “mama” over the phone my heart broke and our car headed home.

Of course it is unfortunate that our weekend got cut short by a day, but as a parent I could not be away from my daughter while she was sick.  No matter how excited I was for the much needed “alone” time, nothing would have stopped me from getting home to take care of her. 

Despite having an abbreviated trip, and going home to a sick baby, the hubby and I were thankful for the short amount of time we did have together.  It had been ages since we were able to spend more than a couple hours alone doing something that we wanted to do together.

Over the past year I try to make a little time to enjoy “hobbies,” like reading, DIYing, or going on a short Netflix binge.  Those hobbies are much easier to do at home during nap time, or before crashing from exhaustion at the end of the day. 

My biggest and best “hobby” ever arrived on September 2^nd when my little girl was born.  Who has time for adult hobbies when it is so much fun to laugh, make animal noises and have tea parties with an adorable one year old? 

A Girl and her Dog

When I became pregnant with Baby Fultz one of my biggest concerns was introducing a baby to our very spoiled dog, Wrigley.  During those nine months Wrigley could sense that his life was about to become drastically different.  His behavior toward me changed often.  He would be snuggly and protective some days.  While others, especially during the last few months of pregnancy when my belly was taking over the house, he wanted nothing to do with me or that thing growing inside me. 

The first few months of having a new baby and a puppy were really great actually.  The baby slept often, meaning Wrigley slept often too.  When the baby needed our attention, one of us would be on baby duty, while the other helped pre-occupy Wrigley if he was in an ornery mood. 

The biggest challenge with our very energetic, outgoing dog those first few months was helping him calm down whenever we would have visitors.  Wrigley loves people and tends to be very loud and lovey when visitors come over.  He wants to show off by playing with his ball outside or be the center of attention with new people.  As you can guess, a little bit of jealous started to develop.  People were coming to visit the baby, not the dog.

As the months quickly moved by and Anderson started playing with toys, then crawling and becoming interested in things in her world, Wrigley maintained the center stage in our family.  Anderson adored Wrigley.  She has ever since she started noticing him.  The sight of Wrigley always brings Anderson to a huge smile, laugh and now pointing and babble talk.  She is as excited to see him as she is to see JC and me each day.  He is her brother.

Wrigley on the other hand doesn’t always show his excitement when he sees her; however I think he does love her (if dogs have emotions, which I think they do).  When he is in a very good mood he licks her on the face and lets her lay on him, give him kisses and pat him.  In a normal day at our house, this happens a few times a day, so really he is very tolerant of the excessive baby love. 

When he is feeling jealous though (which happens a good majority of the time), he wants nothing to do with Anderson chasing after him on her quick baby crawl runs.  This usually results in one of her toys becoming the dog’s toy.  Many baby toys have been put to rest due to the jealousy between our dog and daughter. 

Despite him ruining many toys and sometimes barking loudly, Anderson showers Wrigley with love.  She shares her food with him when she’s had enough during meals.  She teaches him lessons – pointing her finger and talking in her baby babble when he’s being naughty.  She sometimes likes his toys more than her toys (gross), and tries to rescue her toys when he’s decided to steal one of them.  When he's outside she stands at the door watching him and sometimes shows an attitude (just like her brother) if we aren't able to join him outdoors.  This friendship between my two children has been really interesting, fun and heart-warming to watch grow over the past year. 

In our very quick four years of being dog parents, we probably let Wrigley rule the house too much, didn’t discipline him enough and have spent way too much money on peanut butter and dog treats.  But he was our first child and makes our family (for now) complete.  He was Anderson’s first friend and will be her best friend for many years to come.  He is our protector and truly has a fun spirit.  JC and I may not get to spoil Wrigley as much now with every day trips to the dog park or his favorite cannoli treats from The Bakery, but he knows that we still love him just as much.  I think he's finally accepted the fact that Miss A is here to stay and he's okay with that, although he may not love it all the time. As far as Anderson goes, life with her big brother and protector is all sunshine!  And, in all honesty, he’s still the ruler of the house. 

Being "that family" at a wedding

A beautiful bride and groom, an elegant room filled with stunning table decorations, guests dressed to the nines in black and white – and a young family covered in orange baby vomit.  In the seconds after Anderson projectile vomited orange all over the white linen table cloths, my bridesmaid dress and JC’s all black tuxedo at my brother and sister-in-laws wedding, I was reminded how babies and weddings don’t normally mix.

After a very long wedding day and a very full belly of milk, baby food and some soft fruit, Anderson had too much – and showed us that very clearly.  In a mad dash of concern and not wanting to cause a scene, JC scooped Anderson up to make sure she wasn’t choking while I attempted to clean up the scene of the baby disaster.  Thankfully, a very sweet waitress helped us quickly clean up.  Anderson was fine – already crawling on the floor and happy to be in her jammies.  As her Uncles would say she “puked and rallied.”  And only about half of the room knew that we had been “that” family – making a very dramatic scene at a beautiful event.

Family photo.

This was a short glimpse into our lives during the wedding weekend of my brother and sister-in-law in Chicago.  The weekend was a fun time, ending with the beautiful marriage ceremony and reception.  But weddings, like many other things in life, are much different than they used to be pre-baby. 

Anderson is a wonderful child.  I might be bragging a little, but I could not ask for a more laid back, go-with-the-flow child.  She is very happy and loves life – which showed during the long days and nights during the wedding weekend.

Miss A was a trooper, being shuffled between JC and I, grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and family friends.  She did it all with a big smile on her face too.  Even though Anderson won’t remember this special event in her Uncle and Aunt’s life, I know she will enjoy seeing pictures of herself dressed up like Uncle Ty in her tuxedo dress.

For any other families who may be taking babies to weddings here are some tips:

-Be cautioned that car seats don’t fit into limo’s or coach bus seats.  But do take lots of pictures.  How cool is it to take your first limo ride when you are nine months old?! 

-Make sure there is downtime for your baby to take naps.  Thankfully, Anderson got a short nap the morning of the wedding and one during part of the wedding ceremony.

-Also hope that your baby can sleep through loud noise.  (i.e. – reception).

-Have a change of clothes handy for baby, yourself and even others helping out with the baby.  Refer back to the throw up dilemma. 

Miss A with her new Aunt!

-If you don’t have a change of clothes, or are able to clean up, don’t stress about it.  People realize that you have a small child and being covered in baby food and other baby things (vomit) is pretty normal for parents with small children.

-Don’t worry about your child getting dirty.  We finally let Anderson crawl around on the floor and explore in a small area of the reception site.  Her knees and feet were very dirty, but she was happy to be able to be a baby for a while.

-Thank friends and family who offer to watch your sleeping baby while you enjoy the wedding fun.  Thanks Jacque!

-Have fun!  After Anderson “puked and rallied” we headed out to the dance floor and boogied until she fell asleep.  Also, remember that even the bad moments may turn into fun memories down the road. 

Despite our rather messy baby incident during the reception, we all had a really great time creating a special memory with Anderson and our family.  Thankfully, our family was very supportive and encouraged bringing Anderson along to all of the wedding events.  It didn’t turn out to be a picture perfect baby wedding debut, but it was a special day for all.  JC and I are grateful to Ty and Daniela for allowing the three of us to share in their special day.

Daycare Dilemma

Being a mother has many challenges.  Some are things that were expected, like the early morning wake up calls, or dirty diaper dilemmas; however one thing that I never expected to be as complicated as it is: finding affordable daycare that meets my standards.

Our family’s work situation is not the normal 8 to 5 schedule.  With JC working in TV News, he works a second shift schedule.  This means he goes into work in the early afternoon and gets off late at night.  In theory, you would think this would be great for our budget.  We only have to have a babysitter for about 3 to 4 hours a day during the gap when we are both at work.  In our naïve pre-baby world, we thought it would be no problem finding a daycare provider for that short period of time.  Fast forward almost a year later, and we are still trying to find that “perfect” daycare situation – that doesn’t leave us with an empty wallet. 

We did have some luck.  The past seven months a reliable college student has been watching Anderson.  A second job and upcoming class schedule has changed her availability.  We are back to square one.

In the past year, we’ve visited a couple home daycare providers.  All of which have not been right for our family.  We’ve called many more – all are either full or have a waiting list.  The bigger daycare facilities in town are very expensive – much more than our budget can handle. 

I hear stories from other parents who love their child’s daycare provider.  The child learns so much and enjoys spending time at daycare.  I hope for that for Anderson because that’s what I was lucky enough to experience growing up with my babysitter.

Patsy was our babysitter/nanny.  To leave her title at that is leaving a lot unsaid.  She was much more than a babysitter, and still is despite much time and distance that has passed.  Patsy’s house was like my own house.  Our family’s spent holidays together and many evenings at sporting events.  When I think back to my childhood so many memories of Patsy and our days together come to mind. 

I realize that my experience is not normal for many families with babysitters.  My Mom and Dad were lucky enough to be friends with a wonderful lady who was in the situation to take care of me.  JC and I aren’t in that type of position (believe me; we’ve racked our brains trying to think of people to turn to – and nothing).   

Even though I know Anderson won’t have the “Patsy” experience that I did – I hope she will find a daycare provider that is caring, fun and kind.  I want her to look back on her childhood and remember fun times learning how to write her name, play outside and interact with other children at the babysitter.  To be able to find the right daycare provider is going to take time, patience and a lot of effort.  We won’t settle for just anyone, and finding that perfect daycare provider has proved to be a test in itself.

Any advice for us as we continue our daycare provider hunt? 

Celebrating my first Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is definitely not a so-called “Hallmark holiday.”  If I’m completely honest though, I never truly understood the Mother’s Day holiday until I became a Mother, or like last year, was about to become a Mom. 

I remember asking my Mom one Mother’s Day why there was a special day for her and my Dad.  My rational was that there should also be a day dedicated to celebrating kids too.  My Mom, knowing my childhood innocence, said I would understand one day that as a child we are celebrated every day.

Best friends.  Mimi and Anderson.

Now I understand.  With that understanding comes an even deeper appreciation for my Mom.

In today’s society Moms have such a heavy burden to carry.  Media puts so much pressure on us to “do it all,” while still having an awesome post-baby body.  Then these articles touting their tips for getting your pre-baby body back asks you, “What’s your excuse” for not getting in shape or organizing and DIYing everything in your house.

Well, my excuse is that I have an 8 ½ month old at home who is crawling, climbing and standing on wobbly legs, needing my constant attention and care after I get home from working and commuting for nine hours out of the day. 

My excuse is that my husband is working six days a week (sometimes more) – meaning I’m working six days or more a week. 

My excuse is that I need sleep, more than I need my pre-baby body back. 

My excuse is that I can’t do it all, and I’ve realized that is okay.  If the house is dirty, or I don’t have the energy to do anything besides veg out on the couch watching Netflix marathons once the baby goes to bed, that is okay. 

As Mothers we need to appreciate ourselves and give ourselves a break.  We are all doing the best we can. 

Family visit to Scovill Zoo for Mother's Day.

 

First Mother's Day with Miss A.

 

As a new Mom, everything in my life has changed from the morning routine, to how I eat meals (in a rush) and how I think about things.  My daughter has taken center stage in my life.  I now put her needs and wants well ahead of mine, where her Father has stood for years now. 

Even though she is still an infant she shows me her appreciation in little ways.  The smiles and laughter at my silly faces or when I get home from work every day or the cuddles when I get her up in the morning.  I know I’m loved by Miss A completely trusting me as she begins to stand up while I stand guard, and saying “ma ma” as her first word. 

These small gestures of appreciation and love make the late nights, early mornings and other struggles so worth it as a Mother.  I know if I don’t measure up to what the media thinks is the “perfect Mom” that’s okay because I measure up to what Miss A needs in her Mommy.  And that’s what truly matters.

Thanks for letting me be your Momma Miss A!  You are truly a gift and I will do my best to follow Mimi's advice by celebrating you every day!

Everyone has an opinion ... on Baby Names

“If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all.” 

It’s a phrase most people learn when they are very young.  It’s also a phrase I try to remember to instill good decision making for myself still to this day.

Unfortunately, many people in today’s society don’t follow this motto anymore.  A good portion of society believes they have the right to share their opinion, even if it means hurting someone’s feelings or personally attaching them.  With the huge presence of social media in pretty much all aspects of life, people now feel even more protected and confident that it is okay to share opinions, especially negative opinions.

Before our daughter was born, JC and I talked about how much we were going to share about Baby Fultz through his work “fan” page.  He has over 12,000 fans on this page now. We both decided on some limits for our family’s privacy.

Anderson's first time on TV at one month old.

Going home from the hospital.

Once Miss A was born and a few days had passed, her birth announcement was read over the news and posted on the news social media sites.  It was a joyous time for us as we shared the news of the arrival of our newborn with a good portion of Central Illinois.

Most people were very nice, offering congratulations and kind words of advice for JC through his social media pages; however with most things in life anymore there were negative comments.  Most of those comments revolved around the name we chose for our daughter.

Anderson Regen. 

It is unique and very different – exactly what I wanted.  JC and I both grew up with very common names.  We both like our names, but wanted to give Anderson a name that was strong, and would make her stand out.  Since it is a unique name, people always ask us if she is named after someone.  No she isn’t, we just liked the name.

Picking out Anderson’s first name was very easy compared to deciding on a middle name.  We threw around family names, then finally decided to pick a name that was not family so we did not cause any unintended hurt feelings. Her middle name, Regen (pronounced Ree-gan), is the German word for rain.  Both of our family lineage traces back to Germany, we traveled to Germany while I was pregnant and during the majority of all of the major events in our life (engagement and wedding) rain has been part of those times.  Her middle name is very fitting for our life experiences. 

Anderson, two days old.

 In the midst of all of the nice comments about “how cute” Anderson was, or “how happy” people were for us, there were a few mean comments directed toward her name.  One person said that he “couldn’t believe we would pick that name for our kid.”

Because of JC’s public figure job, and remembering my motto even though others did not during our happy time, we blocked out those mean comments from our mind during the happiest time of our life.

Picking out a name is a special job that parents have.  It isn’t an easy job either.  It takes much time, discussion and negotiation to come up with a baby name that is just perfect.  Before becoming a parent I would have opinions (that I kept to myself) about baby names and whether they were good or bad.  Now, knowing the heavy job naming a baby is – I choose to celebrate the parents in this life-changing time and their baby as he or she is welcomed into the world with a brand new, special name.

Balancing Life as a Mom

When you become a parent, you also become the point of interest for much unsolicited advice on the topic.  Co-workers, friends, family and people you don’t even know feel the need to pass along all of their parenting and child-rearing advice.  I always listen, with an open-mind.  A lot of the advice has actually been helpful. 

Now, after going through the pregnancy and newborn stage there are pieces of advice that I want to write down for me to keep in mind in case another Baby Fultz is added to our family in the future. 

One piece of advice that in my experience has been completely overlooked when talking about parenting issues, and has been the most difficult thing for me since becoming a working mother, is learning how to balance everything on my plate and still feel like I’m being a good Mom.

After eight weeks staying home with Miss A, I headed back to work.  Staying home wasn’t an option for our family at this point in time.  Plus, I truly like my job.  I enjoy working with students, teaching about topics I feel strongly about (prevention of substance abuse and leading healthy lifestyles) and meeting new people through work as part of my public relations duties. 

Family visit over lunch break!

The exhaustion from commuting, traveling on the job and having to focus on work for 8 plus hours a day, going home to take care of a baby and then continuing with all of the normal housework and family obligations has been a challenge to say the least.  The first week back at work I was a zombie because of the new schedule – not because I had a baby at home keeping me up. 

Now that I’ve been back at work for six months, learning how to balance everything has not gotten any easier.  I have figured out how to deal with the exhaustion a little better, even though it does catch up to me at times; however I still have not learned how to work in some time to exercise, or do any of the hobbies that I used to enjoy.  Our dining room table has had scrapbook supplies covering it for months now that I just can’t seem to ever get to. 

Happy girl on her 8 month birthday!

 

I wonder if I will ever feel like I can successfully manage all of the things that I want to do, and have to do (who really wants to do dishes and the laundry), and also get my quality Anderson time.  It’s a real challenge since I already feel like I don’t have enough time with her during the week. 

It’s a struggle that I know some other Mom’s deal with as well. 

After months of hearing unsolicited advice, I’m now asking for it.  How do you find a good balance with work, Mom duties and personal interests/hobbies?

A Whaley Cute Nursery Celebrating the New & Honoring the Old

Decorating and my daughter.  Two of my favorite things.

When Baby A was just a few months away from making her debut, JC and I got to work getting the nursery ready.  Since we did not know Anderson's gender before she was born, it was a challenge finding cute, gender neutral decorations.

I've always loved the ocean, and went through a phase of being obsessed with dolphins and whales in late elementary school, so when I saw a gender neutral bedding theme for whales our nursery theme was decided.

Then came the wall color.  As I've mentioned before I love color, and sometimes get a little color happy.  Keeping the gender neutral requirement in mind, we chose a cool "spring green."  Thankfully, unlike some other spontaneous paint shopping trips, this color looked great on the walls.  Not too bright, not too girly and not too boyish either. 

After the paint was dry, we added in some new and old pieces of furniture.  A new crib, which proved to be a challenge getting home, and dresser.  The glider is probably the most used item in the nursery.  We’ve spent many hours rocking our sweet baby to sleep at night.  It was a wonderful gift from my parents.  My grandma made a cross stich blanket for Anderson before she was born.  It sits on the back of the glider.  Since we don’t get to see my grandmother that often, looking at the blanket is a reminder of her each day. 

The new pieces of furniture that were bought for the nursery are beautiful, but my favorite furniture in the room is the old.  The old pieces of furniture were items that I was given for birthday and Christmas gifts growing up.  They were handmade by my Grandfather.  His hobby was making beautiful things out of wood.  Because of our limited budget, and wanting to keep my Grandfather’s memory alive through his handmade furniture, Anderson’s toy chest, bookshelf and shelf in her room are all hand-me-downs.  We’ve personalized the old furniture by painting the shelf and parts of the toy chest; however we didn’t want to change the furniture too much to keep the original piece alive. 

Most of Anderson’s wall decorations are unique and personal as well. 

While planning for Miss A, I spent hours browsing through the “Kids” category on Pinterest searching nursery décor.  Once the whale theme was nailed down I found an adorable whale painting.  Thankfully, my future sister-in-law is a great artist and she painted the picture for me as a baby shower gift. 

In one corner of her room we have a shrine for Miss A.  It has all of her wall stats pictures that have been personally created for her, and an extra special baby stats gift from her Papa Pearison. 

The first wall stats picture is another Pinterest project that I decided to try, and which actually turned out to be pretty easy.  I created the wall stats using Microsoft word.  It only took a few hours.  I was pleasantly surprised with the results. 

My Mom created a baby stats creation for Anderson using a Cross stich pattern and had the piece framed for us for Christmas. 

The final baby stats picture was given to Anderson from my Dad.  We are all big Cubs fans in our family, so as soon as Anderson was born he headed to the Cubs website to register his granddaughter as the “newest” Cubs fan.  

On the final wall in her room is the chalkboard that I used to track my belly growth each week when I was pregnant.  Now, it is used to track Anderson’s monthly weight and length gains, and developmental milestones during her photo-shoots.  Of course, JC and I had to include pictures of us to remind Anderson that her Mommy and Daddy are always with her.

Anderson’s nursery has turned into a sanctuary for our special little girl.  It is my favorite room in the house, and also the room I am most proud of.  This room is filled with lots of items made with love from our family and friends – mixing the old with the new.