Memorial Day Weekend - Lia's Room

For those folks who had planned on taking their boat out to a lake, or camping, or having a nice backyard BBQ this weekend, the weather here in the inland northwest  - sadly - did not cooperate.  As I write this, it is raining BUCKETS (buckets I tell you!!!) - and it's been this way for several days. Temps in the 50s and 60s, and rain showers on and off. Not much of a "kickoff to summer" in these parts. So far we've only seen a handful of days with temps in the 70s and even hit 80 so far (once or twice). But those of us who live up here realize that "summer" never really starts until after July 4th anyway. Onward and upward...

Nevertheless, for us this weekend was all about indoor projects, so the weather really didn't matter. It was finally, (FINALLY!) time to work on Lia's room! To those who are newly following along on my journey, I have moved a total of five times since I started the adoption process in 2006. FIVE. TIMES. After the first two moves, I stopped unpacking all the cute, little girl items I was collecting, and instead packed everything away in rubbermaid containers, labeled and sorted by age and type of item. Not knowing what age Lia would be when she came home, I gladly accepted hand-me-downs (in various sizes) from friends, but never purchased any furniture or a crib/bed for her room, figuring I would handle all that once I knew more about her. So now that I know she will be almost 2 years old when she comes home later this summer, it was time to get to work!  There are still some finishing touches to come...but here are some of the highlights from what we accomplished this weekend:

Her bed is a very cool contraption from IKEA called the "Kura" bed. It can be set up as a bunk bed, a loft bed, or as a regular twin bed, just depending on how you flip it (upside down or right side up) and attach the bed rails. As you can see, we are starting it out in the "loft bed" position, but without the loft mattress actually in place, instead placing the mattress directly on the floor (so she can't fall out). As she gets bigger, we can flip it over and make it a twin bed, or install the railings for the upper bunk and turn the ladder out away from the wall. The pediatrician I spoke with at the adoption clinic mentioned that - at her age - the type of bed (crib, toddler bed, or twin mattress on the floor) didn't matter as much as creating a "cozy nook" for the child to help them feel safe and secure, as well as the ability for a parent to snuggle with them or sleep next to them if necessary - which should work well with this setup. We may end up co-sleeping for awhile as she adjusts to her new surroundings, but I wanted her room to be an inviting place to play and imagine...for both of us!