Nursery Blues and Savoring Every Moment

When I was pregnant with Xavier, every mom/dad told me one thing: savor every moment, they grow so fast. At the time, I thought, Ok, how possible is that? I envisioned an endless life of diapers, pacifiers, strollers and formula.  Now at just 14 months, he is already quite the little man, fiercely independent, determined to learn and discover new things, translation, wreaking havoc everywhere as he runs from room to room, and pokes his hands and head into every little corner of the house. 

Xavier at 8 months.

At 10 months and chillin in the laundry basket, just because.

Chillin yesterday on his first little bike, a gift courtesy of Grandma Quinn. This bike also plays music by the Beatles, among my faves! I was too psyched to discover that.

I look at his nursery now and often get a little misty because I now see what those parents were trying to tell me. He is growing. Fast. I can barely rock him to sleep because he is busy twisting and turning and trying to escape from my arms. In no time, the kid will be at the University of Miami (his dad and uncles - UM alums -  have already pretty much ordained this).
You guys were right. I am now savoring every single moment. 

His nursery was a budget friendly affair. I installed simple shelves from Ikea to display his shoes, books, stuffed animals and other mementos, like that Rubik cube my husband had when he was a child. As you can see, he has a thing for hats so those had to be displayed as well.

I was knee deep in my love affair with yellow and grey when I did his nursery. My office too is the same color. Truthfully, I couldn't go too crazy with his room because it also serves double duty as a guest room for Grandma Quinn who stayed with us for the first 10 months of his life, the biggest blessing my husband and I could have asked for. If we could have done a solo nursery I would have so added a rocking chair! I soooooooo see the benefit of that on the nights I walked the room rocking him to sleep in my arms. That kid weighs a bit.

His crib was a gift from my boss (at the day job) and his girlfriend. We can hardly get him to sleep in it these days. Sigh. The matching changing table was a gift from the parents of dear friend Simone who died of cancer a few months before Xavier was born.

His initials, XQ and framed art of the many names he was called while I was pregnant. Debbie whipped that together and I used frames from Target for all the artwork seen here. My colleagues and friends had a field day with the names. Tito, Zion, Jabba, Encarnacion, Patricio? You know we live in Miami with those names right? He'll hopefully get a good laugh from those wacky names one day soon. 

Finding bedding for a crib was no ideal task for me. I hated all the Winnie the Poohs, cartoony bedding that was everywhere and wanted something simple. Good luck. Pottery Barn had a classic white with black trim that I yearned to have but it was on back order for months. Sigh. I settled for this yellow/grey geometric one from Buy Buy Baby. Oops, I clearly forgot to add the matching blanket in this photo.

In my never ending obsession with Looney Tunes, I printed photos of some of my faves with frames from Target. Rug and curtains are from Ikea. Changing table baskets are also from Target. 

That's all folks. We're house shopping later this year so this room will indeed soon be a memory. To all the expectant parents out there, here's my simple advice: savor every single moment.