Inara Studios

2 week old Blaise. Absolutely adorable!

And a special request from daddy.

I could kiss Eva’s toes all day long.

How did we get so lucky?

Our little Eva is now 7 weeks old! Time is flying by!

Last week when I was photographing her nursery, I also took some pictures of Eva IN her nursery. I love the size comparisons! Her baby blanket (which I also made):

Someone is getting some rolls. =)

Thankfully, Eva LOVES to sleep in her crib! All of her naps during the day take place in her nursery. I never get tired of watching her sleep, whether it’s right there in her room or from the video monitor that we have downstairs. I think sleeping babies are mesmerizing!

Way before we knew our baby was a girl, I started dreaming of how we could decorate a nursery. I am an introvert and I love making our home cozy since we are here a lot! (I am perfectly content to spend an entire weekend at home with Cade! That’s just who I am! =)

When we found out we were having a girl, I began my search for the perfect bedding. I never found something that I absolutely loved so I decided to look at fabrics instead and make my own bedding. This process took weeks. I literally looked through thousands (no joke!) of fabric swatches online. I finally narrowed it down to 3 different sets and then we picked this one from spoonflower. Based on those colors and the general patterns we began designing the rest of the nursery. I am delighted to show you our end result (which literally was completed this week)!

First the individual details…

Thanks, Michelle for this adorable pillow!! You nailed the colors of our nursery!!

And how they fit together…

Since I spent hours researching each of the pieces in our nursery (and a lot of times I got ideas from others) I thought I’d share our list:

• Crib - Babyletto (a gift from Cade’s parents)
• Rocking chair - from Pottery Barn but I got it on craigslist. The previous owners had always kept a cover over it so the cream fabric was practically new! We took the rocking feet off and stained them an espresso color to match the crib.
• Side table: from the flea market. I painted it.
• Dresser/changing table - also a craiglist purchase. This thing took weeks to sand, stain and refinish but we are super happy with the result.
• Expedit Bookcase - from Ikea
• Shag rug - Walmart. This thing is awesome and definitely the best “new” value for the cost.

If I ever need a new career I think I’ll become a nursery designer. I had SO much fun!! =)

I had every good intention of completing our nursery before Eva arrived. Yah. That didn’t happen. But now we are so close to being done… only a few paper lanterns are left to be hung above the crib and a poster needs to be printed and framed. I am hoping to finish them this weekend so I can finally take some more photos in her nursery. But in the meantime, this is Eva on the dresser that Cade and I refinished ourselves. It was a work of love (and tears and sweat =).

Happy Tuesday!!

I know I have been posting images of Eva in a random order, but that’s just the way my life is right now. =) For those of you that love birth stories here is a quick version (feel free to ask for more details in person. I don’t mind sharing.)

At 1:40 am on Wednesday June 15, I woke up with a very strong pressure wave. I went back to sleep right away and didn’t think much of it. But after being woken up  twice more in the next hour and a half, I decided to start charting them. At 3:30 am Cade woke up and from then on we knew it was the real deal. He was the best birth coach/partner I could have asked for. We labored at home until 10:30 am. That’s when we headed to the midwive’s clinic for them to check my progress. Right before we left the house, I felt the pressure waves change and I had the urge to push. Needless to say, when we arrived at the Vanderbilt nurse midwives offices I was completely dilated and they could feel Eva’s head. (OH, my goodness!!) We rushed over to the emergency room and were ushered upstairs to labor and delivery. My water broke with the first pressure wave once we were in the room and Eva was born a little over an hour later, at 12:27 pm. Cade was there to receive her and cut the chord. It was the most amazing experience in my life!

While my sister was visiting us a few weeks ago, she took some photographs of our little family on our bed. I hope this continues to be a regular activity … since I have very fond memories of sitting on my parent’s bed, talking or just hanging out together, even as a teenager.

Eva… 11 days old.

Tiny, newborn baby Eva. I love my big babe and little babe!

Eva was born 4 days before Father’s Day. Perfect timing!!