Life as Kyla

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To have my daughter we had to endure fertility treatments and loss, and although I had wished my son would have been easier to conceive, that was not the case. We went through yet another loss and more treatment to have my son, Garrett. We chose his middle name because it meant “lucky blessing” and it also is the name of one of our favorite mountain towns. We felt that the mountains were the perfect symbol of fighting through the valleys of infertility to get to the mountain peaks, and to remind us that God can move mountains.

That’s the inspiration behind the theme of his nursery. Also his nickname is Gare Bear so that fit right in as well.

I will be sharing some details from his room as well as some links if you feel inspired to use some of these pieces in your own little’s room.

Let’s start with his gorgeous mural, which is the focal point of the room. It is actually peel and stick removable wallpaper from Loomwell. It will not damage the walls, is super easy to install, and even works on textured walls.

The furniture was my daughter’s as well. I think there is something so special about all your babies using the same crib and rocking chair.

I love his name banner! It was a must as soon as I found out I was having a little boy. You can get it here. The seller was amazing to work with, and the banner came super quick! I have the largest size!

Here is the exact basket/bassinet I have and stand. I bought it as a faith purchase when we started our fertility treatments back up for baby boy. I also bought extra sheets here. My mom got him this precious teddy bear.

We used the snuggle me lounger with my daughter and she loved feeling hugged and cuddled when she would need to be laid down while I did chores around the house. The sheets in his crib were also my daughter’s. I love them because they wash well, are affordable, and are super cute and neutral.

I am obsessed with everything personalized, so when my Mom sent me this pillow I knew he needed it. It is super easy to customize and comes in different sizes, fonts, and colors!

Sawyer lion is a Cuddle + Kind stuffed animal, it is heirloom quality and is so cute. Also on the crib you can see we use the Owlet camera, and love it! We actually got the whole set, which also included the smart sock that monitors baby’s oxygen and heart rate. It gives me such peace at night.

I absolutely love the look of an accordion rack and it’s cute, and ALSO functional.

This corner of his room is so cozy, and the perfect spot for nursing and rocking baby boy when he’s feeling fussy. This rocker was my daughter’s and has held up very well, same with the night stand.

The lamp and the framed post card were thrifted. The blackout curtains are Loomwell, and are so nice and really block out light when needed. The curtain rod is target and I loved that it matched the hardware on the furniture!

The throw blanket and pillow are the perfect tie in with the wallpaper and greenery in the room.

I love this area of his room so much! All the little details makes it so special. The dresser is a part of the Larkin set we have. The gold circle mirror is also from my daughter’s nursery, but I think it fits perfectly in his too! The checkered changing pad cover helps add a modern and trendy vibe to the room!

A couple of the items on the changing table are the weighted wipe holder, which we didn’t have with our daughter, but I love it! It helps one wipe at a time to come out instead of a giant clump! The touch little egg light is also amazing for those night changes so you do not have to turn on the whole lamp!

The little basket holding diapers is from Homegoods, and so is the laundry basket! With my daughter we used the diaper genie, it stunk always and it required special bags which made me so annoyed. This time we got the Ubbi diaper pail and it is AMAZING! It is metal so it doesn’t hold smell and it also takes any trash bags!

The picture is of a family of four bears, so I thought that was really sweet as baby boy is our 4th little family member. The gold frame and matting definitely elevates the look.

Months of dreaming, planning, and creating his sweet nursery could not have turned out any more perfect! I absolutely love it and I hope you do too.

My toddler is OBSESSED with sensory play. We have the Ikea Flisat table with some bins, and we absolutely love it. Of course you can do sensory play without the table, all you need is a large bin or container.

With spring right around the corner I wanted a fun spring themed table for my daughter, and what is more spring than gardening and flowers? I didn’t want to spend much money and I also wanted it to be taste safe because she still sometimes puts things in her mouth.

This set up was under $10! AH! Everything can be found at the Dollar Tree or the grocery store. Here is what you will need for this fun little gardening activity:

1.) Dried Beans

2.) Assortment of Faux Floral stems

3.) Small Flower Pots

4.) Scoopers, little shovels, measuring cups of some sort

I modeled filling the pot and adding a flower stem or two for my 17 month old daughter! She caught on pretty quick. This is a great activity for practicing scooping and pouring, which builds fine motor skills. It is also great for creativity because they can create their own little flower garden and customize each pot!

It’s simple, but a fun and cheap activity that kept my toddler busy quite a few days in a row. The best part is it can all be packed away in a container or zip lock bags for later.

I hope you enjoyed this cheap and fun idea, if you did please leave a comment or pin this to a pinterest board for later! Also feel free to sign up for our email list. We never spam, but will notify you when we have a new fun idea like this one up on the blog!

Last year we started the tradition of making an ornament for my daughter’s grandparents as part of their gift. I think we all know how hard it can be to get grandparent’s presents! They can and do just buy whatever they want or need! These DIY salt dough handprint Santa ornaments are the perfect sentimental gift idea!

We did basic salt dough handprints last year, but this year we stepped it up with the Santa design! I’m not going to lie I was intimidated. I am not great at painting, but truly it was not that hard.

DIY SALT DOUGH SANTA ORNAMENTS

Ingredients-

2 Cups of All Purpose Flour

1 Cup of Salt

1 Cup of Water

How To-

1. Combine 2 cups of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of salt and mix. Slowly mix in 1 cup of water, you can start combining the water and dry ingredients with a spoon, but you will end up needing to knead the dough with your hands.
2. Once well combined spread a little flour on the counter and on a roller and roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness.
3. Press your babe’s hand into the dough firmly. Repeat for as many ornaments as you want to make. Use a butter knife to cut out around the handprints and use a spatula to life the dough onto a cookie sheet.
4. Poke a hole into the top using a straw so you will have a place to put a ribbon or piece of yarn after you are done.
5. Bake at 200 for 20 minutes, check them, if you want to dry them out more continue baking. I do flip mine every time I check them to make sure they are getting evenly baked.
6. Once they are dry you can paint! Feel free to use this image to help guide you on painting your Santa face. Then you will let that dry. The final step is to add a coat of mod podge and a piece of yarn or ribbon through the hole and you are done!

xo,