Room Reveal

Lots of pics...I think I can dig up a few of the "before's"...a few weeks ago, Ethie went camping with Gramma Leslie and Grampa Pete....and Andy and I (mostly Andy) painted the kids' rooms and switched around their stuff (that's where I pullled my weight). We've done some additional things with Ethan's room since then...his ETHAN letters, "Cars" stickers, hooks, pictures, growth chart, things we've avoided putting up for awhile because we knew this move was evident...but it's done for the most part. Andy got a little "destruction-happy" one day and pulled off the trim to the window when it was still Dylan and Owen's room, thinking we'd replace the window soon, but we still have not bought a new window and the trim is still off....the window is cracked on the bottom, so this is definitely the first one to get replaced. We also need a light/lamp for his room...Lightnight McQueen's red aura from his bedside table is just not going to cut it...although it's great for mood-lighting when he entertains...

Ethan's current room when it was Dylan and Owen's room....fire-hazard! Try carrying a load of laundry through this entryway...or a baby OR TWO!

Same point-of-view...Ethie's room. I decided to keep the same black-out curtain that my Mom made for this room (oringally for D & O) because #1 It's awesome and blocks ALL light and #2 we decided to move Ethan's plush green chair (another awesome gift from my parents when Ethie was born) into his new room and the curtain ties together the sage green and bright blue! I swear that Ethan probably sleeps an average of about an hour more per night with this curtain in his room...either he falls asleep earlier or sleeps later...either works for me.

ETHAN...or NAHTE...Ethan doesn't want to believe me that you read from left to right...dyslexia?...OK, might be jumping the gun. That red thing hanging from the wall is Ethan's growth chart and he's half way up that thing. He's TALL! Also on that wall are ALL the cars from the "Cars" wall stickers sheets because Ethan felt very strongly that all the cars should be together because they are friends. What a sweetheart.

View from by his bed, towards his closet, which at first I was too lazy to paint and now have decided it does NOT need to be painted blue. It's purple, like before, and guess what?! The awesome black-out curtains not only tie together the sage green and blue, but the purple is in there too. Thanks Mom, how did you know?!

And of course, on this wall, my blood, sweat and tears, quite literally...in my first sizable cross-stitch...Pooh and friends...E is for Ethan. I finished this thing like 2 days before returning to work during my maternity leave...I might remind you that he surprised me with being 8 weeks early! It matches perfectly.

Moving on to Dylan and Owen's room.
Oh. My. God. Apparently, the last picture I have of Ethan's old room is from Feb 08...this can't be right, can it? Look at him. He's so little! This was the evening of the day that Ethan climbed out of his crib and hit the floor during naptime...cribtent time! Ok then...scrolling down very quickly...can't it look at it...choking back tears...wasn't this like, yesterday?

So, the green on the wall looks darker in these pictures, I think...but it's the same. Probably looks darker because of the ghetto-fabulous curtains I have rockin' in this room right now. The same beautiful green curtain my Mom sewed for me, but they were pre-black-out-curtain brainstorm so I had to throw a lovely black sheet over each window. No, I don't have black sheets for any of our beds...these were old sheets from somewhere that were kept for future fort-making...really, I promise. Same set-up as above...Ethan's dresser/changing-table...add a crib...swap out a rocking chair...it's the same deal. On the wall is more Mommy blood-sweat-tears...serious cross-stitch #2...it was pretty much the only form of stress I had during my bed-rest...will I, or will I not, finish this cross-stitch before the babies were born?...the answer...everything but the names, weights/heights, and date...but by like 3 days...phew.

I had lots of stuff on these 6 shelves when it was Ethan's room...now, I'm taking the simplistic approach...

Ghetto-fabulous curtain #2...and the closet...packed with clothes/blankets/diaper/wipes/my paycheck...

TBD: Hanging of the baptism frames I made for D & O...they are leaning up against that table with the fan...on the left side...all that hard work, just to lay on the floor...So...do I make this into a "boy" room now, or wait until later, when I know their personalities?

In closing, some Ethanisms...because they are frequent, and funny!

Liz calling Ethan, Ethan-poop-poop-a-doop...Ethan says "No, I'm not that name, I'm just Ethan"...flashback to me calling Ethan a big boy and him saying, "No, I'm just boy"

A few mornings ago, Ethan rested his head on my hand and said, "I'm crushing your hand with my head"...and I said, "Yeah, your big melon head"...and he said, "I don't have a melon head, I have a hairy head"

Andy gave Ethie a haircut tonight...we've come a long way. He used to be freaked out by haircuts and it was a whole morning ordeal just to convince him to sit on my lap while Andy cut his hair. Tonight (and the last few times), he sits by himself...in his "little" chair...and tonight he actually cried when Andy was done! Whoa!


Ethan very rarely calls me Mommy anymore...I am now known as "Um, Um, Mommy"...he puts "Um, Um" before pretty much everything now...it's pretty cute...I try not to laugh.

Call me slow, but I just realized a few days ago, that the pictures of my kids that I have displayed in frames around the house don't even look like my kids anymore...Ethan does, sort of...but Dylan and Owen do not. look. like. that. So, today I've been trying to pick the cutest of pictures to order...and let me tell you, that's harder than you think. Which do I choose for the 5x7s that I keep on the top of the piano, which 5-10 do I pick for the 4x6 frames that I have in the living room. I have some uploaded to snapfish, but this will be a painful process. There could be worse things than having kids that are too cute.