While on vacation in Victoria recently, Miss G slept on an adult-sized bed for the very first time.  We were staying at Brad’s cousins place (where there’s no crib) and we’ve never owned a pack and play, so we decided to just wing it and see how it went.  Luckily, it went fabulously (though it did mean that I slept on a couch and Brad slept on a floor while Miss G had the master bedroom – hah!)  I’ve read many stories about great sleepers transitioning to a bed and suddenly bedtime’s a battle and night wake ups are frequent, so I was a little apprehensive (okay… terrified) about making the switch.  Over the last two and a half years, we’ve worked very hard to ensure that Gracen became (and stayed) a good sleeper and was/is always well rested, so the last thing I wanted was for it to all fall apart.  But I should have known better than to worry.  Our easy-to-please little lady was excited about the switch, and because she’s such a rule follower, getting out of the bed wasn’t an issue. Our time in Victoria came and went, and we were faced with the decision of what to do in her room back home.  Originally, the plan was to make the switch when we arrived in the Okanagan for the summer, but because we had been so successful with a bed already, we wondered if it would be better to just ditch the crib, set up a floor bed, and continue along the path without stepping backwards.  In the end, we decided to ask Gracen what she wanted to do.  Her decision?  Setting up a big girl bed in her room at home.  So that’s what we did.

Before dismantling the crib and switching things around a little bit to make room for a bigger bed, I made time to take some photos of her bright, cheery little bedroom {something I’ve been meaning to do for a long while}…  It’s an eclectic mix of colours, patterns, and old/new/handmade/gifted pieces, and I sort of love the pieced together mismatched feel it has to it.  It’s colourful, happy, and a perfect representation of our little lady and all of the people who love her.

Her crib is probably the most basic one you can buy, and I like that about it (we had the same one in her Kuwait nursery too).  Her gorgeous quilt was made by her Auntie Roz for her second birthday.  It was her first ever quilting project and she was sweet enough to let us choose our fabric (isn’t it beautiful?!) online before ordering it and putting it all together for Miss G.  The paper bunting on the wall above the crib and the felt babushka doll were both handmade by me, the button ‘G’ was handcrafted by my Auntie Viv, and the two canvases are a project Grae and I do each year around her birthday.

The black and white birdie curtains are a favourite from IKEA, the pom garland was handmade for her first birthday party, and the wooden toy box used to be her Papa’s when he was little, though the magenta colour is new.  Up above her curtains are some of Gracen’s most fragile treasures.  The Peter Rabbit treasure container and letters were both gifts from Grandma Charlotte and the beautiful little porcelain flower arrangements used to belong to her Great Grandma Amy long ago.  Off to the side in the white frame is her first ever finger painting (I adore kids’ artwork on walls) and down below is one of my best thrifting finds – the pink wooden doll crib which is now home to Tess, a vintage doll from Grandma Sue.

The giant catch-all shelf that is home to part of Grae’s ever-growing book collection is one of IKEA’s classic EXPEDIT pieces (we’ve seriously owned tons of these over the years).  On top is her first birthday party hat, a couple of wooden angels (one of which my Auntie Lou gave me years ago and the other from a favourite student of mine), a beautiful set of wooden memory blocks from Grandma Charlotte and Poppop, and a frame customized with Amy Butler fabric by Auntie Rozi.  Up above on the little clothesline hang some of our treasured pieces from when our girl was teeny tiny (the striped sleeper was her coming home from the hospital outfit and next to it is her first ever dress).  The frames on the shelf and beside the shelf are filled with free prints from some of my favourite blogs… The ‘Babies Don’t Keep‘ one from Lay Baby Lay and the ‘you is kind / you is smart / you is important‘ one and the ‘Life is a Beautiful Ride‘ one are from irocksowhat. The glass piggybank is a gift from a family I babysat/nannied for from the age of 12 until well into my twenties, and the glass house piggy bank that is hiding behind it is one of the few pieces we brought home from her Kuwait nursery.

This little shelf, which is one of my other {rare} thrifting finds, is home to a set of Olliblocks I made for her, a jar full of our homemade ribbon wands, some family photos, and her little collection of photo books I’ve made in the past.

The other side of her room is home to another space saving shelf from IKEA, some vertical pom garlands (also from her first birthday party), her beloved closet book nook, and some colourful artwork (the marker drawing on the left by her cousin Korbin and the blow paint piece on the right by Grae).  The inside of her book nook also features some artwork done by Grae, plus ‘Papa Baby’ one of my childhood Cabbage Patch Kids (who was found in this exact position might I add).

The final little corner of her room is home to one of her very favourites – her dress up centre built by Poppop.  Up above is a felt heart mobile I put together for her, which is very difficult to photograph nicely, but looks quite magical as it moves.

Well there you have it – Gracen’s cheerful little bedroom pre transition to a big girl bed. ☺ There were still some projects and little things I wanted to do in it, but those things all got put on hold when we decided to move back to Kuwait come summertime.  The exciting news is that Grae will have a giant room (with her own ensuite!) in our Kuwait apartment, so it’ll be a ton of fun to set up something new from scratch.  I’m already dreaming of a well-stocked crafting nook, a cozy corner for reading, and a permanent sensory table of sorts…

♥

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