baby smiles & guest room re-do

Ethan's been smiling sporradically (not just gas smiles) for a couple of weeks now. It took a while but I found some things that make him smile consistently, and finally got a couple of pictures!

On Tuesday, our little man will be 8 weeks old. In the state of Texas, you don't get inoculated until after your two-month birthday, which means we have to wait until Monday the 25th to take him to the doctor... and the Sunday after Thanksgiving, we will finally be able to take Ethan to church! We have missed having Sundays at BCF, though I'll admit that a Sunday readily feels like a Saturday when you're not in the routine of going to church. Getting back in that routine may take some work with a new little guy!

Last week, Ethan weighed over 12 lbs. We're excited to get official weight & measurement from the doctor when we go. Aside from smiling, we've noticed that he holds his head up really well and can turn it side to side when he is on his tummy. He does like to lick whatever is under him sometimes (be it the Pack N Play, crib, our bed, whatever). The TV also catches his attention, so I guess we won't be watching The Walking Dead with him around!

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I'm kicking myself because I'm always knee-deep in a project before I realize that I should've taken some "Before" pictures. I'm really terrible about that.

In the last couple of months, I've decided that I didn't like our guest room decor. I bought a bright yellow duvet for the teal & yellow motif we had in our guest room in our townhouse in Clarksville. I trashed or rearraged most of the decor in that room, so I was left with this duvet that was decidedly juvenile. I traded that for this bright white one - now every duvet in the house is white. It seems boring, but it makes it easy for me to redecorate!

(Yep, Ethan's demonstrating the comfort of the room.)

Those cables need taming! The lighting in this picture isn't the best..

This is a better picture of the colors in the room.
The baby is a great accent ;)

Here's the breakdown of the redo:
New duvet cover (IKEA): $25
New lamp (Ross): $13
New decorative pillow (Ross): $10
New wooden carving (Ross): $18
New print and frame (IKEA): $20
New mirrors (IKEA): $10 total
New headboard fabric (JoAnn's): $15
New curtains (Michael's): $20
= $111

The blanket, which we bought in Tennessee, was a $17 Walmart find. The wall shelves are from Hobby Lobby(maybe $15-20 each, one was a gift), as are the candle sticks ($30 or less total). The night stand, which I may also paint someday, is from TJ Maxx on clearance (I don't remember the price, but I know it was a steal because the hinges weren't attached).

The headboard is made of two oblong art canvases, wrapped in upholstery fabric, and glued around the edges (I used a glue gun). I reused the canvases and just bought new fabric at JoAnn's. The canvases were probably $30 or less at Michael's, purchased when we lived in Tennessee.

I'm thinking we'll paint it a really light/soft gray, but that's going to wait since I know that also brings along with it the daunting task of painting the trim white. We all know it took me several months to paint the doors in Ethan's room :)

That's all for now.. share your updates with me!

Also, if anyone sees a killer Black Friday deal on a camera, we're in the market!

love,