The Nursery

I recently saw some blogs where people posted a "tour" of their child's nursery, and I wanted to do a tour of ours too. Bear with me. I know this might not interest some of you, so feel free to skip this post. But since a main purpose of Six Golden Coins is to have a chronicle for my kids, I want to take a moment to share this with them. (Aren't the rest of you lucky to be along for the ride? Yes. Nod your head. Yes.)

We decorated the nursery when I was pregnant with Katie. The original idea was to have a family tree theme for the room, because I wanted the baby to grow up with knowledge of its heritage. We didn't know the baby's gender until birth, so the family tree theme was nice and unisex too. Dan painted the walls a light yellow, and then painted the ceiling sky blue. And being the engineer that he is, he then painted a very true-to-life tree in the corner. And being the more creative person in our marriage, I didn't like it. We argued a bit over how the tree should look (I wanted more "cartoon-ish" and he wanted realistic), and then he improvised and came up with what you see. The tree overlooks the rocking chair and bookshelves. I taped some "tree decorations" on it to give it a three dimension feel (items like butterflies, birds and apples). Also notice the blue "sky" on the ceiling, complete with adhesive clouds. Nice touch, huh?

Near the tree corner is the changing table. It's really just a contoured changing pad on top of an old dresser. My paternal grandmother gave us the dresser as a baby present. She used to have it stashed in her basement, and had someone refinish it and paint it white for us. We drove all the way to Virginia to pick it up and bring it home about two months before the baby arrived. The shelves above the changing table are full of diapers, but you'll also see some of my favorite childhood storybooks, along with some of my old toys (even my original Cabbage Patch Kid!).

The crib corner is kind of the night version of the tree corner. We hung plush stars and a moon from the ceiling, and a little moon shelf. Two things you can't see in this photo are framed prints near the crib. They are prints from one of my favorite childhood authors/artists, Joan Walsh Anglund. I loved the book Morning is a Little Child. When I was pregnant with Katie, I asked Mom if she still had my copy of that book. She said she couldn't find it, so I ordered one from a used book store. Then once Katie arrived, Mom sent her my old copy. She had pasted an inscription on the inside cover, where I once wrote my name years ago.

Now, back to the whole family tree theme. After trying to diagram a family tree on paper, I realized that was a theme that wasn't going to work. My family alone has way too many branches (deaths, divorces, remarriages), and I couldn't figure out a nice illustration of that. So we went back to the drawing board and came up with the idea to have a photo border in the room. (This is my favorite part!) Dan bought some skinny chair rails at Home Depot and nailed them to the wall, a few inches apart. Then we taped photos inside the border, and Dan found sheets of plastic that we cut into strips and slipped between the wooden rails to protect the photos. The border by the changing table has been educational for both kids now, and kept them distracted during diaper changes. We use those photos to teach names of family members. There's also a photocopied note posted there that my dad wrote me before Katie was born. It helps me keep his memory alive.

I used one wall to display family tree photos, and the photos show Dan as a baby, his parents as babies, his parents' parents, etc. The photos are labeled with the person's name and their role in our family tree. I remember some nights when I was up nursing at 2am, I'd look at the photos and think of all those people whose lives joined to form the little one laying across my lap. It made me feel such a connection to the ancestors who came before, and those who have yet to arrive.

When Katie turned three, we moved her out of her crib and into her own big girl bed in another room. The nursery stayed the same and was ready for Jackson's arrival in 2007. I know one day we'll change it to suit his tastes, but for now I love the way it is.

EDIT: I have another photo to add, because I forgot one thing that we added to the nursery between Katie and Jackson's births. I'm such a dork - how could I forget this one? It was pretty monumental! It's the letter that my dad wrote to my brother Jackson when he was born. Dad had it framed and given to Jackson on his 16th (or was it 18th?) birthday, and it was in Jackson's possession until he died. His wife had it for a while, then returned it to Dad when a few years before Dad died. My stepmother then had it for a while, and I received it after I found out I was having a boy and decided to name him Jackson. It is a beautiful, touching letter, and a tradition I've tried to follow with my kids by writing them letters when they were born. Here's a photo of it:

And here's the text of the letter:

Monday, October 12, 1970
Dear Son,
I have pondered long today, with your mother’s help, over the one gift which, after we have given it to you, will remain with you always – your name. It must symbolize those unreachable goals for which each of us must reach.
I give to you that which was given to me – my name. But I give you my name, and more, with the hope that you will give to your fellow man that much more than I have, or will succeed in giving.
I give you Marion – to symbolize the compassion and love which your grandfather showed for his neighbor and fellow man and to symbolize the loving tenderness of your mother.
I give you Archibald – as a symbol of strength, steadfastness and uncompromising determination.
I give you Jackson – as a symbol of dedication to love and God, epitomized by your great-grandmother and her kinsman, Thomas Jonathan.
And so, young Marion Archibald Jackson Steele, wear your name proudly, but with humility. For you have a great and noble heritage –
As I watched you today during your first few hours, as you started your long road to agonized fulfillment, your lip quivered as if in fear, after having seen that which is ahead. And, I am sure, it will quiver again and again as you experience seconds of future untold minutes. I pray that God will bestow upon me the privilege of walking by your side to encourage and help you over the rough spots as you grow toward manhood. – But grow with tenderness and love; humility and compassion; strength and perseverance. But most of all – love. Love, most of all, your mother. She is so dear to me.
Your name is a gift of permanence. And with this I give you the enduring gift of my love.
Now begin – good luck and God bless you.
Your loving father,
Marion Archibald Steele