The Switching of the Rooms

One of our spring/summer projects was moving Jacob and Lydia out of the same room.  They had shared a room since Lydia was a few months old, and we had planned on it staying that way for a few more years.  We knew this switch would come - just didn't expect it to be so soon.  The third bedroom upstairs is adjacent to the kitchen and a wonderful space for a playroom...space that I was hesitant to give up.

As she came into her own more and more, we found out Lydia is a bit of a night owl...and/or a social butterfly.  She was excited to talk to Jacob every night when they were both supposed to be going to bed, and he - having just dropped his daily nap - was ready to go to sleep.  She tends to sleep in in the mornings, and he is an early riser, so it wasn't working on the other end, either.

It was amazing to me how much this switch disrupted the whole house, and as a result, my own state of mind.  The process was fairly easy and relatively quick, but the transition time was difficult, nonetheless.  There were a lot of moving pieces - adding a door, painting, new furniture, separating/purging/moving alllll the toys, etc. - and it weighed on me till everything was in its place...right up to the last wall hanging - haha.  So, you can imagine how good it feels to have it done, now!

An added benefit of this transition is Jacob having his own space.  Lydia had reached an age of curiosity and physical ability to really get into things.  Jacob has really done pretty well to tolerate her, but trying to keep his things/her safe was definitely making him anxious, as was his lack of space to "escape" to or call his own.  

So, while I was worried about losing the play room, the switch has really been a blessing.  Jacob has his own space to store his special things and to feel free to spend time in when he needs a minute alone.  Lydia's room is still connected to the kitchen, and most of the time, she does not mind Jacob joining her to play.  She thrives on playing independently sometimes, too, though, and even occasionally closes her doors on her own to play by herself.

Of course, I forgot to get a good picture of the "before" of this room - when it was a beige playroom - but at least this shows it before furnishings.  We were thankful to have had Aunt Roo's help painting and thinking through the layout of the space!

The relocation of her bow collection was a joint brainstorm, and I was (and am) so pleased with it!

The print on the right is an illustration from a book we've had since Jacob was little.  I had always loved it and was thrilled to find out the artist sells prints of a lot of the illustrations she has done (this one is from Anne of Green Gables in the BabyLit series)!  This was one of very few things I bought for "baby girl"'s section of the nursery before she arrived.

The piece on the left is something I have had since before we were married...I don't even remember where it came from.  The other two are garage sale finds that I made our own.  ☺

Nanny Byers made the beautiful, functional curtains - they are exactly what I'd envisioned and really make the space!
Aunt Roo contributed the super-cozy, perfectly-sized rug!

Here's the nursery-turned-Jacob's-room!  We still have the changing table/station on his dresser and Lydia's hanging clothes in his closet, but we'll get there.  His new bed has drawers underneath for all his things, and he was thrilled about it!  He sometimes permits Lydia to play Legos, but he still wants to be able to regulate that while keeping his door open, hence the baby fence.

This room transition also affected our homeschool area, and subsequently, my state of mind surrounding that journey.  Jacob's Lego table occupied the space we planned to use for school.  We could not move it into his room till the furniture was moved around.  We could not move the furniture around till there was a door on Lydia's new room.  And on and on it went.  Somehow, I found it very difficult to wrap my mind around how homeschooling itself was going to go without things being in place in the physical space we were planning to utilize.  

Here's an glimpse of what the space looked like "before."  Check out the homeschool post to see how it was transformed once the Lego table found its place upstairs in Jacob's room...and to read about how my state of mind (thankfully) came to a place of peace, confidence, and delight.

Transformatively,

Kensy

 Favorites of the day:

Jacob's rest time routine (that affords me some breathing room in the middle of the day)

IKEA storage solutions

these two (and those curtains!)