Nesting

Hi friends!
My first bits of nesting instinct have kicked in. Paige has new goals with her therapists and it inspired me to reorganize her playroom to suit them. I love the changes!
She had a book nook in the corner of the room that we moved out of there and into our family room. She is always so busy playing in the room that she never takes as much interest in the books there. And it took up a lot of space. Now that the book sling and cushion are in the family room, Paige can be found over there reading through all her books aloud and participating in quiet play with her animals and dollhouse. It's much more harmonious and peaceful.




Her play kitchen had been in our family room (we tried to encourage her to use it there to no real avail), so we moved it into the playroom where the book nook was. We moved her table and chairs to the center of the floor in front of the play kitchen to encourage her to "cook" and create tea parties.

The blue bookcase used to hold all of Paige's musical instruments. She just tossed them onto shelves and it didn't make much sense organizationally. So, I put them into a basket on the toy shelf unit and am now using the shelves for all the play kitchen food, utensils, baking materials, etc. All of the kitchen-related items are together in the corner and she's already played with it a bunch of times in one day! Now, she is ready to learn about sequencing and extending her pretend-play story lines to include "filling the teapot" and "setting the table" and "pouring the tea into the cups" and "giving cookies to her guests." You know the drill. For language, she is working on prepositions (in, next to, under, on, below, etc.) and number concepts (a few, many, most of, some of, all of) and we can work on this with the tea party theme too. I will even put napkins in the area for her to work on her folding skills. These are all skills that will transfer over well in social situations with other children when the time comes; AND they are skills that can transfer over to "real life" in the home at dinner time. We're excited!

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Playroom Take Two

Hey there!
Now that the playroom is "done" I thought I'd post some new photos of it with the play kitchen in place and all Paige's holiday toys put away. I also avoided using the wide-angle lens for this so it doesn't distort the room. To answer an earlier question from a reader, the room size, I believe, is 11 x 12 feet. (Sidenote: If anyone wants to know more about some of the stuff in here, try checking out the topics column on the right of this blog under "playroom for wee." I tagged all the posts about this room with that to make it easy to find info. Or you can feel free to email me at the address listed on the upper-right) Since everything has its place, it's easy to clean up at the end of the day and keep it looking like this. Some days I don't feel like it so the floor has scattered books and bits on it, but for the most part we like to pick it up and keep it looking new. We also added a mirror to the wall where Paige can admire herself during dress up (which so far means donning a bunch of cheapy necklaces and watching them swish back and forth) and we play mimicking games. She also likes to watch her mouth move as she tries to babble and sound out words. So cute! The thing in the left corner in the toy zone is not a TV; it's a lamp that looks like an aquarium. Paige is very visual and loves fish so it was easy to decide to get it. I often find her staring at it and waving hi to her little fishy friends; especially when she's a little tired and needs extra soothing. I'm glad we changed the office into her playspace; we are in there all day long with plenty to do with no temptation of the television in the family room. I know Paige enjoys having her own place to go and be cozy and where we can all play, make art, make music, read, and enjoy being together...and that was my goal. Mission accomplished!

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Play Kitchen

Here is her new play apron made from vintage 50's fabric. I got it from Etsy seller Gagie Pagie Pudding Pie (appropriately named I think!!). You can see it on her in the photo below the text in this post.

Hi there!

I thought I'd take this chance to show you the new play kitchen that Paige's grandparents gifted her for Christmas. Most of her gifts from us were kitchen-related. She's a little young yet to fully do the whole "pretend" thing, but she's starting. I figure she will keep growing into it. For now, she likes to lift the sink out and throw toys down underneath to hide them. She also will stir her imagined soup in the pot. She keeps pushing the burner buttons on and off while also pouring with her little metal tea kettle. This particular play kitchen is from Ikea and seemed to be the most affordable option out there and I also happened to aesthetically like it the best. It has everything I thought a play kitchen should...including little burners that light up. There's plenty of storage and the simple design matches many decors. Another cool thing is that the legs adjust and it can raise up even higher when she is older. Yay! As you can see, I added hooks to the sides to store cleaning implements and her apron/kitchen cloth. I wanted to install actual metal fixtures for this, but it felt like overkill when the time came to set it up. The simple hooks are functional and easy and are also removable since they are that sticky pull-off material. As my bloggie friend Lor mentioned in the comments in an earlier post, the magnets that hold the cabinets shut are VERY strong. Paige has a hard time opening them; so a few layers of masking tape over them allows for the magnets to work much more gently. When she's older I can just remove the tape. Easy-peasy! So, that's the play kitchen "review." We love it!

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Playroom

Hi friends!
I've held out long enough and am ready to show you the full photos of Paige's new playroom!
As I'd mentioned in the past, we took the front room of our house that we used as an office and turned it into a play space. It simply wasn't being utilized as much as it could have been anymore as an office. Now we are in here most of the day every day and we love it! It's cheerful, energetic, and we feel happy here. In the photos you can see my little corner where I do my computer stuff, can do my own artwork, and store my own books and things. My inspiration board is there too. Paige can play all she wants and I can be in there too. I hope you like it!
I plan to make changes in the coming future to make room for Paige's play kitchen and a dress-up spot, but I wanted to show where we are at for now. I hope all is well with you as we are finishing up some nasty colds over here. It seems like we've been endlessly sick! Is it spring yet? haha.

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Toy Area

Hi friends!
Today I'm excited to show you Paige's toy corner.



Her little Ikea shelving unit sits here and I rotate in her toys periodically. I like keeping it simple; Paige can see her toys and it's easy to put things away. I like that she can take her own toys out to play with and she's learning bit by bit to clean up after herself. We've got a long way to go with that, but the seeds are being planted!
The baskets come from Ikea as well; made to fit the squares perfectly. We found the sheepskin rug at Ikea and it's a soft and cozy place for Paige to sit and play with her blocks and other gadgets. The blue picture frames came from Ikea as well (you can't beat the prices!) and I put some cards I'd held onto from our trips to Bar Harbor inside them. One shows the seabirds of New England and the other shows the seashells of New England. The center print is of a crab. As Paige gets older, I think it will be fun to match shells we find to the card.



The shelving on the walls comes from Ikea as well. I wanted places out of Paige's current reach where I could keep things stored. If she wants something, she can point up and I'll get it for her; but for the most part I can keep toys for rotating into use later on. Not yet shown are 2 other shelves where I store art supplies and the like out of her reach but in view to remind me to let Paige play with the supplies when I can. In the future, I plan to store board games and puzzles on these shelves. As long as there are tiny kids around, having a 200 piece puzzle thrown around the floor is happily avoided when possible. ha!

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Art Corner

Hi friends!



Today I will show you Paige's corner for art. We got a Melissa and Doug easel that has a white board on one side and a chalk board on the other. It also holds a roller of paper in between and it feeds up through over the white board. Paige has been LOVING using her crayons on this; she can do big strokes and scribbles with abandon. I never considered using an easel before; I figured she'd be fine coloring in an art pad while sitting in her chair. It was fine for crayons; though she didn't do much for scribbling. The pad would move all around under her hand. Also, when she tried to paint, her fist would just go through the wet paint and smear around. The easel keeps her hands up away from the work surface. She seems so much happier with it this way, and it's neater for her. Having studied art professionally, I think it's important for children to have a space to create and experiment. So far so good! Also pictured is the container of beans Paige plays in (mentioned a few posts back). The artwork over it is a scan from a child's book that I printed on large paper and framed. You'll see behind the easel that we have some magnetic letters stuck to the wall...we did a few coats of magnetic paint in the entire corner from the floor to a few feet up. Those particular magnets don't work so great, but the thin kids of magnets seem to stick well. I hope to design and create some magnetic play sets/scenes for P to play with. I know we could have done chalkboard paint over it, but I feel funny encouraging Paige to write/draw on the walls. I would think it would be confusing to a little child...you CAN write on the wall HERE but not THERE. I decided to keep the festivities to the easel for simplicity's sake.
So, that's the art corner!

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Music Spot

Hey there!
Moving on in our tour, next to the reading area we've placed an old bookcase I painted blue for the purpose of housing Paige's musical instruments.



Since they are out for her to see, she finds it much more convenient to grab them and play with them through the day. We plan on adding some more instruments to the shelves soon. My old keyboard from my childhood rests on top; we pull it down for Paige to play sometimes. She always delights in hitting all the keys and tapping out random tunes. I never realized I would actually like all the noise and welcome it. For NOW anyway, haha!

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Reading Corner

Hello friends!
I hope you have been well! We got the playroom all finished up, so I thought I'd take time through several posts to show you around. I can tell you that we've been loving it and Paige seems to love running straight in there come morning. So far so good!



We first start with the reading corner. I'd heard good things about book slings and how this kind of bookshelf shows the covers instead of the spines; thus making it easier for little ones to find the book they are searching for. Paige still enjoys taking the books out, but she also likes putting them back IN (when the mood strikes of course). It's much easier to keep things neat. We chose a holder from One Step Ahead. I wanted us to have a cozy place to sit and read together (big enough for us both). I found the Cocoon Jr. here (free shipping!). It's very comfortable and is made from recycled furniture grade foam in a microfiber zippered case. The filler goes in an inner liner (with a zipper pull you take off so it's safer for little kids) and the microfiber outer liner is machine washable.
The lamp was a brass one that was given to us; so I painted it blue. The little wooden sun was a gift from my brother many years ago. I also hung two of my favorite Norman Rockwell prints over the area for ambiance. I'll show them in better detail later on.
So, there we have it! I have lots of books waiting in the wings to be rotated into the space once Paige is seeming to be bored with these. In the meantime, we are enjoying her little nook together and I find so much joy in seeing her flip through books by herself on her cushion too.

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Cool Beans

Hi there!
We're coming along with Paige's playroom! The last weekend was spent gathering up toys, painting furniture, shopping for shelving and picture frames, assembling stuff...you name it. Chris did most of the labor. I did the painting and organizing. We made a great team and got the whole room put together! Now, I'm working on figuring out what artwork I want and where I want it. It will take a little time since I've been making sure to rest; this cold I've had just won't quit! So, I'm resting during Paige's naps and going to bed extremely early every night.



A little while back, we put together a "sensory play box" for Paige. It's a Rubbermaid wrapping paper container that my Mom was getting rid of that we filled with all kinds of dried beans. I put in a few little toys to dig with and voila! an indoor sandbox of sorts was born. She will sit in there for a good half hour just burying her feet, pouring out beans, and the like. We haven't yet had trouble with the beans going everywhere. I take her out before she gets too restless...I can tell when she's getting sick of it. But it's the perfect thing to pull out when she seems whiny and ready for something special to do. You can see a little sneak peek of some of the playroom in the background, hee!
Have a great day friends!!!

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Playroom: A beginning

Hello friends!
I owe you some photos of our fall fun as of late. We did some pumpkin picking not too long ago, and went on a wonderful small trip to Bar Harbor, Maine to celebrate our 5-year wedding anniversary. Little P. loved collecting the plentiful fall leaves! I got to take lots of beautiful photos while we hiked around Acadia National Park...a favorite place of ours. We also got married in Bar Harbor, so it's a very special place for us. It was great to show it to Paige, even if she is a little too young to really appreciate it yet!
For this past week, Little P and I have been very sick with colds and all the fun that entails. I'm currently in bed, propped on pillows as I write this. Thank God for the weekend and my amazing husband who is tending to all things house and toddler. I'm looking forward to feeling better. Another week ahead, another chance!

SO! On to some exciting plans that I'll share with you!
I have decided to convert our office into a playroom for Paige (and future kids when the time comes). Since having her, I've put my business on hold so that I can focus on raising her (and future kids, hopefully...and NO I'm not pregnant but I like to think ahead!) I figured the room is just sitting there unused, so why not change it so it can be useful again? The other reason I'd like to change it is because I'm still fighting with my television addiction (Curses!!!) and thought that spending our time in a different room will help us (i.e. ME) avoid the tv all together. I'm sneaky like that. The end benefit? Hopefully Paige will increase in her language and comprehension and communication and have a fun place to enjoy.

Here's the room as it was a while back as where I did my work.


First step: we've taken most of the desks and other equipment out of the room and found new homes for most of it around the house. I'm leaving a few pieces of mine in one corner of the room so that I can be in there with Paige and have my own spot for doing computer work, painting, drawing, etc. Since the tv won't be there to distract me, I figure I'll be able to actually create more and Paige will benefit from seeing me do creative things. Win-Win! The challenge for me is to actually decide WHAT to create/draw/paint and actually DO it. That's a whole other issue!

The rest of the room will be all kiddo-ready.

The plan:
1. Paint the walls a fun and cheerful color.
I flirted with the idea of doing the same color as Paige's nursery, but I wanted to try something new. We chose Benjamin Moore's "Fresh Cut Grass".

It's a VERY loud color and not quite what I had in mind once it was on the wall (the swatch certainly wasn't exactly what appeared in real life.) I found this online swatch and it actually matches what's on the wall more. It's a very yellow-ish bright green. It was more green on the swatch. Isn't that always the way?? ANYWAY, I've decided to go with it and see where it takes us. I don't hate it and it certainly has some cheer about it! Don't barf! I had a more soothing yet cheerful color in my head, though, I must admit. I'm thinking that once the furniture and decor is up, it will look very different. What I put up as accent colors to COORDINATE with this color is going to make all the difference. I'm thinking TURQUOISE (think Tropical ocean blue) will be great. Chris finished the painting last night, so the room is covered in tarps and piles of my junk on the floor in the middle of the room (no photos for now!). Thanks so much Chris! He's the labor behind the plans. Nothing would happen without him! Now, I just have to find homes and a place to put all the rest of my stuff. blech.
2. Create a Reading Corner
I've ordered a few materials to create a cozy corner for reading and relaxing. Paige's favorite activity is to root through books, so this will be a vital area to focus on. I'm keeping myself in mind here too since I'm the one who reads the books to her and the one who keeps things in order as she's still learning to pick up after herself. I also have a mini surprise in store for this spot that I will share with you once it is complete! Wee!
3. Create an Art Corner
This will be a space for a children's easel (I'm thinking of the Ikea easel), paper, play clay, paints (liquid watercolor), and all the materials for creating. I will store the art supplies in a place where she cannot reach them. Perhaps when she is much older and knows how to responsibly use the materials I will put them where she can access them on her own. For now, I know I am asking for trouble if I leave them out. At this point, artistic pursuits need to be a well-chaperoned activity.
4. Create a play area.
Her toy stand will go here so she can reach all her things and put them away herself. I will include a small play rug to keep her comfy while she does her own "work" of playing.
5. Create a kitchen area: plan a few months away
I don't know what Santa is going to bring, but perhaps a certain Grandparent will gift Little P a play kitchen at Christmas? A little birdie told me. Keeping this special knowledge in my back pocket, I will leave an area open for this and consider what I need for storing play food, play utensils and pans, and kid-sized cleaning supplies. I figure it's ok to write it here since Little P can't read yet, right? I'm thinking some sort of shelving, hooks for broom and mop, hook for apron and cloths...
6. Table area
Her mini table and chairs can go here so she can work at the table as she wishes, host tea parties, do arty stuff, or whatever she wants to do.
7. Music Area
I'd like some shelving to store her musical instruments so they are all out for her to see. My parents found my old keyboard from when I was a preteen and it still works great! So, I'll put this here along with her wooden drum, wooden xylophone, maracas, etc. She LOVES to make music so I think having a little spot to keep these things out for her to see and use will be a great boost for her.
8. Dress Up Area
This is for the future, but I'm bearing it in mind. I know when she's older she will want to dress up. So, I'm keeping my eyes peeled for the best ways to store little outfits and such. I've also saved all my old cheapy necklaces and jewelry for her to play with. Again, I need to find a way to neatly store/display these for her . I'm keeping my eyes open for old handbags, wallets, shoes, and other accessories. She'll certainly need a superhero cape. That's most important, right? This is a zone that could get very messy and crazy, so I'm starting to search the internets for solutions that are easiest for kids to maintain and enjoy. We'll also need a little shatterproof tilt mirror or the like so she can see herself. Why dress up as a super-surgeon with killer shoes when you can't see the fruits of your labor?
9. Artwork
I'm still brainstorming this. But, I have some much loved Norman Rockwell prints I got in Vermont years ago just waiting to be framed and hung. I think this is the best place for them as they each have a child's theme. I'd like to create my own print to frame for the reading corner. I'm working on what this is to be; we shall see! I have other bits and bobs hanging around that I can also use to decorate in there. The key is to find things that are whimsical and colorful and "go" with the room. This is the stuff that give the room it's "look" and I want to carefully curate how I decorate it. I think the room will have a more "lived in" look about it than P's nursery. For example, I don't think everything is going to match just-so. I think it will have a nice homey feel, which will be right what I'm after!

So, there you have it! I will share our journey of creating Paige's playroom with you so you can follow along my thinking process from beginning to end! I hope you don't mind! I love this stuff. *sigh*
I'm thinking it will take a few weeks to get the bulk of it done, and should be mostly done just after the holidays. I'll share photos of nooks and progress as we inch along.
I will be sure to label all my posts about the playroom and call them "Playroom for Wee" so you can refer to them in the right column under "Topics". In case anyone has future questions about where something came from, etc. everything will be found in one place. Sharing is the name of the game!

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