” I’ll love you forever…I’ll like you always…As long as I am living, MY BABY YOU’LL BE.” ~ Robert Munsch

Why do your think that  just hearing the word, “BABY,” causes our hearts to begin beating faster, our mouths to sweep up into a huge smile, our eyes to twinkle, and we feel this undeniable  ‘joyful and felicitous feeling’ welling up inside of us, that just 5 minutes earlier, was not there? There is nothing more beautiful, miraculous or magical than a baby…the way they smell is sweeter than a resplendent spring morning, their smile is ‘more captivating’ than a renowned Broadway Musical Play, their skin is softer than the feel of a fluffy Eiderdown comforter and even their drool is charmingly adorable. 🙂 The whole family jumps up and down at their first burp… Their first word is a weeks celebration of praise and pure joy and their first step is a bottle of champagne and a night out on the town! ( But you end up not going out after all, because you don’t want to leave your precious cargo! )  🙂  I still can’t fathom somehow that all of us began our lives as an innocent, tiny and  pure baby…Every noble King, each famous movie star, our applauded musicians, husband or wife, our best friend, (even Jesus,)  began their life on this earth as a newborn. When we first enter this world, everything has to be done for us…we are utterly and thoroughly dependent upon another person to fulfill our ‘every single need.’ Even the necessity for being taught to learn how to become capable of living an independent life, someone else has to equip us with. That alone teaches us faith, humility, love, gratitude and trust. (Five fabulous traits to hold on to and cherish) throughout our lives.)  I love the quote by Don Herrold, “Babies are such a nice way to start people.” 🙂

Babies are meant to be celebrated… Whether your treasured one is adopted, birthed from a surrogate mom, created through the means of artificial insemination, a miracle baby , a surprise,  or many long, long  years in waiting, they are “our miracles,” and we cherish them more than our very  own lives.

First we SEE the pregnancy test…it says “YES,” or at least we think it said yes, (are we reading it correctly?)  Next it is; “Honey I think we need to go to the doctor immediately cause I think I am pregnant.”  Your husband begins to perspire heavily, faints, but then gets up and supports you with his entire heart and soul from there on out! 🙂 Then, we HEAR the words; “You are going to have a baby.” Our hearts skip a beat, as we ask the doctor for our double assurance, “Could you please say that again Doc.?” 🙂 Then it all begins… the morning sickness, the eating for two, (or three, or four…, ) 🙂  the dreaming, planning, the excitement, as well as a million butterflies in your stomach. (Your husbands too.) 🙂 You both have made a decision to “not tell anyone until the 2nd trimester,” but for some reason, by the first month, you have already told your best girlfriends, close brothers, your sister, and the cat is now ‘out of the bag.’ You begin to glow…you have your scheduled  doctor appointments, sonograms, and then, something strange and surreal begins to happen… (besides the hormones.) 🙂 You have this deep revelation and new awareness that as you are changing and growing physically and emotionally, so is that beautiful life inside of you. You are growing together! 🙂

You and your spouse have big decisions to make…Do you exchange your regal  Porsche in for a ‘family car?’   That is a lot for the guy to deal with if he has a sports car or a vintage Oldsmobile. 🙂 When is it time to start baby proofing the house? How soon should you plan to have your baby showers? The two of your can go on for days,  even weeks , trying to decide upon the ‘perfect’ name… Do you name your baby after your parents? Do you come up with an original name that no one will understand where it came from? (Like Stardust, Shoog or Thunder? ) 🙂 And do you keep your dog? (In our house there would be no question about it, as he is “our baby.”)  If your a dog lover, and the pup stays, (which he will, believe me,)  who will  teach the two of them how to get a long?  How can you introduce them to be best friends forever? How do you make sure your dog doesn’t feel jealous and left out when you bring the “little bundle of joy” home? (So many things to decide and do…) But they are all FUN and fortuitous decisions. 🙂  The next thing you begin planning is the babies nursery…what will it look like? What colors should you use? What decor style will your baby adore?” 🙂  Just think, you are preparing and creating the very ‘first’ room your child will ever have. What would you like your cherished one to be surrounded by as they sleep,  play, nap, are sung lullaby’s to, and are ‘just living their baby- life?’  A room with magical color, soft pastels, animated characters, an abundance of flowers, teddy bears, cuddly nurturing blankets and toys?   Do you know that  the first five years in a child’s life are the most important years in creating and shaping their personalities? In this vignette, I want to share some beautiful ideas for your ‘babies first room.’

                    This is my baby picture with my best bud and older brother Jim. :)I sure was a chubby little gal. 🙂

 First, here are a few “baby” quotes to bring a smile to your heart. 🙂

 

DISTINGUISHED QUOTE CORNER:

“Don’t ever tell the mother of a newborn that her baby’s smile is just GAS.” ~ Jill Woodhull

“A baby is an ANGEL whose wings decrease as his legs increase.” ~ Author unknown

“Every baby needs a lap.” ~ Henry Robin

“When babies look beyond you and giggle, maybe they’re seeing angels.” ~ Eileen Elias Freeman

” A baby is God’s opinion that the world should still go on.” ~ Carl Sandburg

“Before you were born, I carried you under my heart. From the moment you arrived in this world until the moment I leave it, I will always carry you in my heart.” ~ Mandy Harrison

“First Roses. One of the bulbs on the rosebush opened into a blossom, white and silky as a baby’s fist.” Natalie Babbitt

 

 

Are you ready to see some “blissful castles” for your baby?”

 

This designer ‘nursery’ is one of my all time favorite…Doesn’t it look like it is straight out of a beloved nursery Rhyme? (One in The Mother Goose tales?) It is so magical and enchanting. I adore the fact that it has a matching chair…I think I would make this enveloping room, my second favored room to spend my time in. It makes my soul smile. 🙂

OK, I mean it this time. 🙂 This is really is my ‘most favorite’ of all the baby rooms…I have never seen such a regal and royal set of twin cribs with the beloved combination of bright whites, blue and  yellow! Absolutely riveting!

This room makes me start singing; “Somewhere, over the rainbow…” 🙂 This is none other than our Mary Engelbreit’s designer nursery. You can tell it’s her creation with all the iridescent, vibrant colors and magical, happy characters. Any baby would be blessed to have this as their own, ‘private castle.’

I feel like I am entering a different era when I look at this eloquent and stunning baby’s room. It’s admirably delicate and ethereal…festooned with pure beauty and grace.

OK, I feel like singing again… “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…” 🙂 This baby’s berth is so bright and airy with it’s striking whites, pastel greens and cotton candy pink. Certainly a nursery that would make a little  baby girl, very happy!

This ‘magical castle” is fit for a prince. I can see a bouncing baby boy feeling like royalty in this regal  and noble room. The mixture of the diverse woods amongst the soft color of peppermint green is par –  excellence.  I love the miniature rocking horse. 🙂

This baby’s room looks like it could be for a sweet little girl or a flirtatious little boy! The soft rose is a wonderful color against the dark, rich crib and Brobdingnagian and baronial Armoire.  I’ve never seen a room quite like it…very formal and refined.

Another perfect nursery for a bouncing baby boy… The soft, soothing colors blended with the rich  dark wood  of the ‘sleigh bed’ crib are highlighted by the artistic, elfin and picturesque tree mural. What an adorable room!

This  blissful baby’s castle looks as if it belongs in a ‘real fortress,’ with a grandiose tower right outside it’s doors. 🙂   This room is bewilderingly lovely and done so tastefully! (I am just waiting to see the three magical fairies, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather from in renowned “Sleeping Beauty”, jotting around the cribs with their magic wands. 🙂

When I look at this room, I feel pampered, coddled and very “welcomed.” It’s such a soft, comfortable yet brilliantly aesthetic room with an abundance of charm. I love this crib that can also be a toddler bed as your baby starts growing up a little! 🙂 (Something we wish they never had to do! ) 🙂

The  “Mother Goose” room with a different view. I can’t get over the expertise of this decor…even the ceiling looks fiercely real with its soft , fluffy clouds and pastel hues of blue, muted yellow and rose… Not only is this nursery, unique and spell bounding, but would be any baby’s dream come true. I hope I can fit in that chair..:)

Has the clock struck midnight yet? No pumpkins here? A Cinderella dream come true baby’s room… I have never seen such a creative and galvanizing crib as this stirring fairytale carriage. Absolutely breathtaking! The wall mural is fascinating and certainly eye-catching. What a unique and lovely room.

This is another ethereal and delicate room yet the dark woods add a touch of gallantry and class.  I love the way the sunlight  glistens upon the walls and crib creating a warm and cozy ambiance.

Very clever, fresh and authentic. A perfect pick for a beautiful and mischievous little baby  boy! 🙂 (I say that as all five of my brothers were big pranksters, thus my mom’s nickname for every one of them was “the little rascals.” )

These two Mary Engelbreit nursery’s are again, kaleidoscopic and picture – book perfect. I adore the passionate, candy apple red room  as well as the sunflower yellow, amidst the soft blues. You can’t go wrong with any of  M.E.’s deigns. Magical!

Lastly, this Beatrix Potter, Peter Cotton Tail motif is a wonderful tale to surround your child with. The magic of her adventuresome story, blended with the explosively beautiful colors in the wallpaper, amongst the checkered bright curtains and dust ruffle, create a completeness and well as ambiance of “great cheer”  to this adorable babies room. Very charming!

DECORATIVE ACCENTS  and beloved treasures for your babies rooms.  Every ” Blissful Castle” has to have some! 🙂

 

With each babies “Castle,” you will want to decorate the room with personal trinkets and gifts that dear friends and family have given to you…If you have any room let over, 🙂 here are some beautiful accents for your babies blissful room.

These stellar and antique photograph frames are filled with nostalgia and grace…the perfect place to “show off” your newborn…and believe me, there will be an abundance of pictures. 🙂

Beautiful and elegant ‘baby blankets.’ I don’t think you can ever have enough of them! These  blankets look as though they are  homemade … the crochet work is superb. A definite keepsake for sure.

An eloquent and divine baby’s first Christening gown and bonnet…These too are keepsakes and great display items for your babies nursery.

Another regal and lovely Victorian Christening gown. I wish my mom had saved mine as I know I would somehow find a way to display it amongst the treasures of our home. 🙂 (I’d never dress up my teddy bears in this gorgeous gown.) (Well, only if it fit to a “T.” ) 🙂

No babies castle is complete without a few, fair- haired stuffed animals…(his or her,) intimate companions as they begin their journey of LIFE!  (You know, the one they tell all their secrets to?)

More antique picture frames with your babies first silver cup and spoon…My sister started collecting the silver cups and spoons for some of  our nephews and nieces and has had so much fun selecting them for each of their personalities.  They are wonderful gifts and heirlooms your baby will cherish as they get older.  (Most likely, a lot older.) 🙂

This fluffy crib blanket looks entirely to elegant to lay on… It’s gorgeous.  (But if I had a baby, I’d wrap them up in it every chance I got.) 🙂

Yes…”favorite things!” Who can  honestly say, that when they were a baby, tiny tot or up on in age, that they did not have their one special, favored Teddy bear? My oldest of many is 36 years old and his name is Cornelius. He sits upon my husbands and my bed all the time…  (I even remember the day my mom and I were having lunch and shopping in  the renowned and beautiful Laguna Beach CA. As we entered one of those ‘magical boutiques,’ there he was… (And I just had to have him!)  Truly, teddy bears go hand in hand with childhood! 🙂 (And for a lot of adults-hoods too! 🙂 )

What a beautifully winsome Sunday dress and bonnet  for a baby girl. This resplendent attire would be perfect for a day of photographs for your “Babies Keepsake Memory book.” 🙂

This is a bright painting done by M.E.. This would look perfect in a predominantly periwinkle blue and yellow room… It’s exceedingly cheerful! 🙂

A colorful and gladsome artwork from M.E.. This animated  border wall paper would bring life and magic to any little ones castle. 🙂

“There was an old lady who lived in a shoe…” I remember that story… (I was always praying my mom would stop having babies so we wouldn’t have to move to a gigantic shoe – house…) 🙂  This is M.E.’s version and done so well. Another charming and inviting piece of artwork for your babies safe haven.    

Two gifts in one… M.E.’s soft, cuddly,  fairytale baby  blanket, ( just beautiful,) as well as her journals for moms… Mary’s  baby diary’s  are great for writing down precious memories as they happen so quickly and you won’t want to forget a single one! And, its  chromatic book cover brings  extra warmth and coziness to your babies room with its myriad of bright color.

 

In closing, I wanted to share that even though my husband and I have never “birthed” a baby of our very own,  I feel God has blessed me, (and us) with an abundance of children in my life that were much like my own… (I am sure there are many of you who have this same blessing!)  Each of these ‘babies/toddlers’ were a cherished season in my life…some my husband knew well, and the others came into my life before I met him. I was a ‘Nanny’ to several of these adoring kids and like a second mom to another, (the beautiful Samantha with the candy in her mouth.) (Gosh, how she loved her licorice.) 🙂 (And yes, that is me with Samantha during my college days…)  Though I definitely have, she has not aged a bit! She is a beautiful young woman with two gorgeous children, (who remind me so much of “the little Sam” that blessed my life beyond measure.)   🙂   Children are a blessing and I feel my life has been blessed to overflowing from my time with them! Thank you to Bethany, Samantha, Torry, William,  Jackson and the twins, “Paul and Warren.” (Those two  boys were as different as night and day!) 🙂

I hope all of you who have an abundance of babies, (grown up or still tiny tots,) or who are getting ready to have a baby, planning on having a baby, adopting, or are foster parents for all those adorable little ones who do not have a home,  have been touched in some way by this blog with joy, a few creative ideas as well as a smile. 🙂 Enjoy creating and don’t forget to take lots of pictures a long the way! 🙂

Additional Links:
Victoria Magazine
Country Living magazine

CREDIT FOR PHOTOS –  In placing your computer mouse over any of the photos or graphics, it will display to you where it came from.

LINKS: If you would like to learn more about the newly added links to Living Winsomely, please read the blog, “WE NOW HAVE LINKS.” 🙂