Bulldog Baby

Finally, a blog post! Today I want to share Caleb's sweet nursery. Before we knew Hannah Grace was going to be a girl, I had this glorious dream idea for a nursery. What if we found all of the old Mississippi State memorabilia and made a nursery with it? I mean, you do all know how big of a Mississippi State fan I am, right? Of course, this would only work for a boy! Enter our fantastic Mississippi State themed gender reveal for Hannah Grace (link here: davidandsaraadams.blogspot.com/2013/10/baby-adams-tailgate.html) and bam, my hopes and dreams of an MSU nursery were shattered which was fine because I was thrilled to welcome a baby girl. It took me until I was 8 months pregnant to figure out what I wanted to do for a baby girl nursery and until Hannah Grace was 2 months old before it was finished! And I love how it turned out (link here: davidandsaraadams.blogspot.com/2014/04/linen-lace-and-sugar-spice.html). I was pretty much the most indecisive pregnant woman in the world when I was pregnant with Hannah Grace!

We started making plans to move Hannah Grace into her big girl room last January 2016. No we weren't pregnant yet, but let's be honest--our nursery room is the world's smallest room. It doesn't work for much else other than a nursery! So Hannah Grace got moved to the bigger room slowly but surely (now probably wouldn't be a good time to admit that all of Hannah Grace's stuff finally got moved out of the nursery two weeks before Caleb arrived, would it?).  Maybe one day I'll post photos of her sweet little girl room! It really turned out super cute.

I started dreaming of Caleb's nursery with my first pregnancy. So I was ready to go when I found out it was a boy this time! My inspiration for his nursery was a calendar that comes out every year that is full of vintage (frame able) Mississippi State football programs. I found one from 2013 for $1 on Amazon, and my Mom happened to have another old one free of charge. I picked my favorite six programs, and the hymns that once hung above the changing table became football programs and a pop of color for the room. My favorite is the Liberty Bowl program in the middle because it ties our Mississippi State love with our Memphis home. 

The changing pad and basket on the dresser were kept from Hannah Grace's nursery, and the football lamp was added to complete his sweet dresser/changing table.

My next inspiration was the baseball MS pillow. We found this while shopping one day in downtown Starkville before we knew Caleb's gender. I told my mom that if it was a boy, that's what I wanted first for his nursery. She came through and bought it soon after we found out Caleb was a boy. It may be a new pillow, but the MS logo is classic for Mississippi State fans. 

We kept the same chair from Hannah Grace's nursery. It's my favorite chair in the house! A precious gift from my in- laws, it took me 4 weeks to decide on what fabric I wanted (did I mention I was extremely indecisive last time?). Still love it! The "vintage" blanket is from my college days, and I love that when it's folded over, Dudy Noble peeks through! Because yall know that's Mama's favorite place. 

In Hannah Grace's nursery, I didn't have a table next to my chair. It's a small hole, and I never found what I wanted or something that I wanted that would actually fit. I found this at a Rhea Lana's sale for half price at $5! A quick coat of spray paint, and here we are. I am loving this table. It's so convenient for bottles, pacis, etc. It holds a lamp, a newborn photo and a clock. Because I never knew how much I'd be sitting in this chair with Caleb. Did I mention how very much the boy loves to SLEEP while someone is HOLDING him?!  At least with a clock, I know how long I've been sitting in one place!

  

The crib is the same from Hannah Grace's room--a family heirloom that first originally held me as an infant. My Mom often says she wishes that she had a list of everyone that has slept in it. Honestly, I wish I had a list of those that have slept in it since we acquired it at our house too! There are a lot of friend’s kiddos that have napped over here in this crib. I still love it just as much as when we originally set it up. I kept the bed skirt, but pulled the lace topper off, and my Mother in Law remade the crib bedding. I had this vision of the back of the crib being like a jersey. Admittedly, I sent Erin Brown, Richie Brown’s wife a text one Sunday and asked her to take a picture of the back or Richie’s jersey so that we could make it authentic! Luckily, my Mother in Law works at the Awards Place in Collierville and was able to describe to the guy cutting the letters exactly what I wanted. We opted for Caleb’s sweet name instead of his last name like the actual jersey would be. Mainly because Adams could have doubled as a first name, and I didn’t want anyone confused. Love the way it turned out.

Now before anyone gets mad at me, all of these pillows/animals are removed when Caleb goes in his crib. My family counted the number of pillows in my house last time they were in town. Let’s just say, I have a pillow obsession!  I had a lady on Etsy take the old football Maroons logo and crochet a pillow out for his crib. Additionally, I found this sweet football pillow at Target and it happened to go with our neutral color scheme.  The last pillow is the most special. This pillow is made from my old Diamond Girl jersey. How cool is that? Did I mention my Mother in Law is the best?! She makes my dreams a reality! It’s a special pillow with lots of meaning to Caleb’s Mommy.

The blankets on/in his crib are all very special too.  My brother’s girlfriend had the one in the back right made. It’s perfect for tummy time (though Caleb hates tummy time). The crocheted one on the right was made by a special friend’s grandmother when we had Hannah Grace. We used the blanket then, but it matches Caleb’s room so well that we keep it out a lot. The solid maroon blanket on the left was done by David’s grandmother. She has a tradition of making all of her great-grandkids a baby blanket. So very, very special. She always lets us choose the color, and I’m thankful she was willing to use maroon for Caleb instead of the typical baby blue. We’ve used this blanket for the background of a few pictures already.  

See the other blanket in this photo? That Mississippi State blanket is super special too. When my Mom was in college, she had a laundry bag that she used. That was it. Canvas with Mississippi State University and Bully on it. When I was collecting items for this room, she asked me why I didn’t take the laundry bag. I told her that I didn’t have a use for a laundry bag. At that point she gave me the idea to make a blanket out of it. Enter my amazing Mother in Law, yet again, and voila, we have the perfect baby blanket. She backed it with soft cream fleece, and it’s already serving as the spot for Caleb’s monthly photos. I love it, and the history behind it!

Above the crib, the heirloom family dresses were replaced with heirloom family pennants. I spotted these babies at my grandfather’s house a few years ago and asked for them if we found out we were having a boy. They belonged to my uncle, and he gladly offered them. The two hats were my brother’s when he was a kid and sport the baseball logo.

The top portion was updated with a football, Ron Polk’s baseball playbook, an autographed baseball program from my parent’s days at State, a pom pom, a stuffed Bully from when I was a kid, and a cowbell (because who can have a Mississippi State room without a cowbell?). Speaking of cowbells, please check out our sweet boys mobile! I. Love. It. I think this was the second idea I had for a Mississippi State nursery—right behind the football programs framed above the changing pad. I tied cowbells to a grapevine wreath. And yes, they do make noise. Because…clanga!

One of the best parts about doing a vintage nursery is that you get to go through a bunch of things that you already have. My parents came through in a big way on this nursery! There is a lot of stuff in this small space! If you remember from Hannah Grace’s nursery, I pinned a smocked dress to a frame that both my cousin and I wore in weddings and my mom made. I replaced that with memorabilia from my parent’s college days. 

Yes, it says “Go to Hell Ole Miss” in my son’s room. And half of my friends don’t have any issue with that. That rusted old license plate came from some very good friends in Starkville. I used to house sit for them all of the time when I was in college. I would also use their pool when I needed a good suntan. They were getting rid of some things and gave this to my Mom because they know how much she loves Ole Miss...not! It decorated our cabin in Starkville forever. Lucky for me, Mom was willing to let me put it in Caleb’s room!

  

Next to the crib and the high boy dresser, there are three pieces of art. 

The top is a print of a Bulldog that Mom and I found at the Cotton District Arts Festival. We all have large versions of this Bulldog too. A college kid did it, and we all loved it so much that we all got one. The bottom two were done by a Chi Omega sister, Kristen Ley, while we were in college. They feature the world’s largest dormitory, Old Main, that burned in a fire in the 50s and the cowbell. Both have a little description on them. Random fact. Kristen owns Thimblepress which is super adorable. She currently has a line for Target that you should go buy everything from! It is so, so, so cute! It’s geared for Mother’s Day, and I think it’s awesome! I mean, a Chi Omega from Mississippi State is featured at Target (link: www.target.com/bp/Thimblepress)! Go check it out!

On the high boy dresser, I collected special MSU items as well as sports things (Hobby Lobby has a great selection). You'll see Caleb's MSU and baseball newborn photos framed. The glove he's in is one of our good friend's gloves that he used when he pitched for Mississippi State (thanks Tyler)! 

I couldn’t have a Mississippi State room without a nod to the cheese store. For those that don’t know, the stone jar is what they make cheese in. Clearly, the person on ebay had no clue what it was because I got a steal of a deal on it. 

The stitched frame was done by a very good family friend, and I thought it was perfect for a nursery. The little cowbell was done by our friend Piper Reaves Free, owner and artist of Reaves Ringers (link: www.reavesringers.com).  I have one for Hannah Grace too. Both have special newborn bells from Piper, and it matched the nursery décor wonderfully.

The two baseballs…  My Dad got John Cohen to sign a baseball and send it to Caleb. And if you know me, you know why this is funny!  The other baseball was taken from my last game as a Diamond Girl that happened to also be Coach Ron Polk’s last game as Coach.

And speaking of Ron Polk…

I was lamenting in the hospital to my husband that Caleb didn’t share his birthday with anyone cool. Hannah Grace shares her birthday with Martin Luther King, Jr. which is pretty cool. Caleb shares his with Howard Stern. L Sigh. I was complaining and playing on Facebook in the hospital when I saw the most glorious news. Not only is January 12^th Caleb’s birthday, but it is also Ron Polk’s birthday. What fabulous news! I seriously couldn’t believe it! How amazing is it that our little man shares his day with one of Mississippi State’s greatest!?

So I did what any past Diamond Girl would do! I sent Ron Polk a birth announcement with a note. The man never forgets anyone, but the birth announcement did have my photo on it. And I signed it with what year I was a Diamond Girl. Guess what? About a week later, I received a typewriter written letter from the great RP himself congratulating us. Love that man! So many of my college memories have him in them!

And that’s Caleb’s nursery! Hope you enjoyed it!  There aren’t many Pinterest pins for Mississippi State nurseries. I literally searched every sports team for inspiration and in the end, I’m thankful that my parents kept so many special things. Caleb’s nursery wouldn’t be the same if they hadn’t! Thanks for stopping by!