The room's ready, and so are we!

Here are some pictures of the baby's room. As you've probably picked up from previous posts, we live in an incredibly cozy, incredibly loveable, incredibly SMALL space. For that reason, the guest room is doubling as the baby's room. We bought this great queen size mattress so that guests could have a comfortable place to sleep, and we just can't bring ourselves to get rid of it. (Because we want people to come visit!) So, our itsy-bitsy second bedroom now contains all things guest and all things baby.

First, a comment about the green paint: not my favourite colour. It's some sort of mix between bright lime and bright mint. The last tenants painted the room, and although our landlord doesn't like the colour either, it's her new policy to not let tenants paint again. She also doesn't have time to change it herself. So, limey-minty-green it is.

This is the view of the room from the outside, which kind of gives a sense of the set-up. To the right is the box spring and mattress. (Dave intends on building a bed-frame at some point. The idea is that he builds something higher than a typical frame in order to maximize the under-the-bed storage potential.) Straight ahead is the change table, which is also functioning as a dresser of sorts. To the left is a pac 'n play... which is not only going to be our playpen, but also our crib. Here are some pictures of one corner. I have to say, I LOVE the windows in our place, and the windows in this room are no exception. The view is of across the street. When it's a clear day, you can see the Olympic mountains above all of the big-box shopping madness, and it's really quite wonderful. Also, I admit, the wall art is quite random. They are just prints that we had lying around. We like to work with what we've got. The Van Gogh print is a favourite; I got it as a gift from my grandmother. I also love the little pink piece of fabric just outside the baby's room; I got it from a friend who got it when she was in Zimbabwe.
Here are some pictures from the other corner. We were gifted with this super-cute, made-by-hand bassinet... it's sitting in the pac 'n play with some blankets. I couldn't resist taking it's picture because I love it so much. I should also mention I've been working a baby-sized quilt, which I hope will get lots of cuddle-time. It's almost done.

As for storage, this is about it. One shelf for clothing and another shelf for diaper supplies. We are stashing a duffle bag in our laundry closet that contains clothing that we've received for bigger babies. The idea is that when the baby outgrows newborn-sized items, we can do a little exchange, putting the newborn stuff in the duffle and the stuff in the duffle on the shelves. I may be naive, but I not only think the lack of storage is manageable, but a good thing. We are forced to keep it simple, and simplicity is a major value. We do have some space in a shed in the backyard, and we have a stroller and a high chair in there right now. Oh, and we also a baby item in our main living space: a little chair-thing. I'm sure it will probably be on a regular rotation between our living room and kitchen. And here's my 9-months-along stomach, from various angles. Tomorrow's the due date (!), and I get the sense that Dave and I aren't the only ones who know that the baby's arrival is near. When I'm out, I get lots of stomach-stares. ("That's gotta be two!") I get lots of smiles, winks, and nods. ("Congratulations, Ma'am.") It's like the parting of the Red Sea when I set onto a bus. ("Here, take my seat. I insist!") And today, when Dave and I were walking back to our parking spot after visiting a downtown coffeeshop, a city employee working on the sidewalk got scolded by his colleague for not moving out of my way. ("What's your problem?! Step aside for her!") There's something odd about the attention. But there's something special about it too. This bursting belly not only brings joy to Dave and I... but to complete, I've-never-seen-you-before-and-I'll-never-see-you-again strangers. I'm laughing here because Dave looked at the last photo and made a comment about my hugeness. *Sigh* Any time now, baby. Your room's ready, and so are we!