The Last Thing

A&Z are potty-trained, drink out of an open cup, go to school and the list of "big kid" milestones goes on and on. The last hold-out was the cribs. We were proud members of the "cribs for life" club because we didn't want to mess with the great sleepers we have trained. The girls have been able to climb out for several months now, but with a few warnings and consequences, they were staying in their cribs. Still, it just felt like time so we took the sides off of the cribs this weekend.

They picked out new bedding at the store (ladybugs for Lexi and owls for Zara) and are super excited to be in beds. Tonight is the third night and they are doing great, no issues with staying in bed. I'm wondering if this good luck will last? Its so nice to be able to snuggle with them when we are giving goodnight kisses and singing bedtime songs.

The Bookcase

I want to update this nursery post with new pictures of the bookcase in action. We used it as a changing table in the nursery at our old house, but we moved it into the playroom at the new house.

The nursery post is the most viewed post on this whole blog (its linked to Ana White's knock-off building plans website). Here is the building plan. Marcus and a friend built it from scratch when I was pregnant. They modified the dimensions to make the top shelf shorter. Here is what it looks like now:

Nursery, Mission Accomplished.

*** Updated post showing the bookcase in the playrooms is here.

Ok, I realize that the girls are almost a year old, but we finally put up curtains in their room so it is officially done! The curtains are lined with blackout material so they keep most of the daylight out when they are sleeping.

Sources:
Bedding and curtains: Pottery Barn Kids
Cribs: Graco Ashleigh
Dresser: Craigslist
Bookcase: Custom made by Marcus (knock-off of PBK using plan from here)
Chair: Best Home Furnishing - purchased at Goodnight Room

Toys: 0 - 12months

In this post, I shared my list of essential baby gear and necessities, basically a registry guide. Now that my babies are rapidly approaching the end of the first year (sob), I'm going to share our favorite toys for the first year. We have a lot of toys, but many of them do not hold their attention for very long and/or have very little repeat play value.

1. Sophie the Giraffe - yes, this is a trendy, spendy toy, but it is so worth it. The girls loved chewing on it more than anything else and still play with it.

2. Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes - on the annoying music scale, this is pretty low and its really easy for little hands to grip.

3. Green Toys Stacker - we have other stackers, but this is the favorite. The girls don't really stack it yet, but they love to chase the rolling pieces and chew on them.

4. Tiny Love Playgym - This thing saved our sanity from 2-6 months. The girls spent a lot of tummy and back time playing with all the toys (and letting us get other things done). It really helped them start to reach for and grab toys. They still play with the big mirror.

5. FP Rainforest Jumperoo - This jumper is a standalone version with lots of toys and keeps the girls very entertained for as long as I will allow them to stay in it.

6. FP Learning Home - In the last few months, the girls have really started playing with this a lot. They open the door and crawl through all the time, ring the doorbell, open the windows, stand up and play with the parts on top. This toy is entertaining for hours and months on end. I would say that this is a great toy (if you have the space) for the 9 - 18 months age.

7. LeapFrog Table - We just recently purchased this (used) and the girls love to stand up on it and play with all the music toys all day long. The legs come off so younger babies can use it too.

8. SoftPlay mini crinkle fabric books - These were/are a huge favorite. They are the perfect size for little hands, make a great crinkling noise and have rings in them so you can attach them to the car seat or stroller seat.

Baby Gear

Hi, my name is Natalie and I hate clutter. Have you been to Babies R Us lately? There are a 1,000,001 baby gizmos and gadgets. I try to keep our house from looking like a daycare. We do have a playroom with a bunch of toys (all purchased second-hand), but two babies live here.

Some of my girlfriends have asked me for a list of baby product recommendations so they can go to BRU and not lose their minds. I distinctly remember our first visit there when I was pregnant - M and I almost had heart attacks thinking "we need two of all of this stuff?" Fear not, prego friends, you do not need most of that stuff. A few things are really important though. Anything that makes baby sleep or makes baby stop screaming is essential. The trick is that every baby seems to have their own little set of rules about what makes them sleep and stop screaming. Good Luck and SLEEP NOW!

Here is my list of the things you really need and will actually use:

1. Car Seat - its the law :) Chicco Keyfit30 is really nice, albeit a bit heavy.
2. Pack n' Play - bassinet topper and changer station are great for the first few weeks/months if you want baby to sleep in your room. Then later you can use the bottom portion as a portable crib for travel.
3. Boppy - great for propping up baby so they are not flat on their back all the time
4. Snap n' Go stroller - cheap, folds up small and lets you snap your car seat in and go
5. Playmat - Love this! We started using this at 2 months and still use it multiple times a day. I highly recomend the TinyLove Deluxe Playgym.
6. Blankets - We like the SwaddleMe ones in fleece for swaddling (duh) and love the Aden & Anais blankets for just about everything else.
7. Breastpump - Medela Pump in Style and storage bags.
8. Bottles - Dr. Brown's. A few of the 4 oz and more of the 8 oz.
9. High Chair - you don't need this right away, but the Fisher Price SpaceSaver models are nice if you don't want to use floor space. It straps onto any regular chair.
10. Diapers and Wipes - Costco rules for disposable diapers and wipes. We use BumGenius Elemental All in One cloth diapers at home.
11. Shampoo and Diaper Cream - We love all the Burt's Bees and California Baby products.

Other Things I Love:

• Kangaroo Korner fleece pouch - put fussy baby in and like magic the baby falls asleep!
• Ergo - better than the Bjorn because it holds the weight on your hips and not just your shoulders. Also lets you wear older baby/toddler on back
• BOB Revolution jogging stroller - spendy, but awesome!
• Bouncer Seat - Fisher Price Rainforest keeps the natives entertained
• Jumparoo - Fisher Price Rainforest wins again
• Backseat mirror
• Dr. Brown's mixing pitcher - great for mixing formula in batches
• Video Monitor - Summer Infant Handheld Color
• SleepSheep Sound Machine

Stuff you DO NOT Need:
Bottle warmers, wipe warmers, bed quilts, baby bath towels

If you like doing your own research, I recommend reading the current version of the Baby Bargains book. Its like the Consumer Reports for all baby gear and is totally essential for figuring out which brand is best.

Nursery in Progress

Well, the nursery is almost done. We have the major things taken care of and all that is left to do is decorate those walls and find some organizer bins for the bookcase. Any ideas on wall decor?

Here are some pictures (I am not a photographer so this is as good as it gets!) Click on the pictures to increase size.

Starting the Nursery

We started outfitting the nursery last weekend! We now have all the big furniture pieces bought or ordered so we are happy to have the decisions made and things coming together. I put together a visual of the things we have so far. Notes: the light aqua is the wall color and there will be two of those cribs.