Decor

Decor is another issue.

I cannot decide what to put in there.

I would like it to be fit for a growing child but not too cutesy that it cannot last several years or too grown-up that he cannot enjoy it now.

He's not really fond of anything now except for books--he still has yet to discriminate his favorites though. A love for reading seems to be building. When he sees a book he likes, say the Seuss classic, "Are you my mother?", he'd pick it up, waddle over to me, put the book down on the floor, scoot to sit on my lap, and wait.

At first I didn't realize what he was doing, but I caught on. He wanted me to read to him. Not just any old book but the "Are you my mother?" book that I animately read to him. I'd make a Moo sound for cow, the Meow for cat, and even a Tug Tug for the boat. I am his entertainment for that brief moment in the evening. Or maybe I am his entertainment.

He has not wanted to play with any of his toys since I have been home with him. Whenever he catches me trying to do something else, other than play with him, he'd waddle over, pat my knee with his little hand, and look up at me with those big, brown eyes, and go "baa baa" or "boo". If I don't look at him, or feign not seeing him, he'd start to throw a mini-tantrum. He doesn't seem to understand that I am not his Big Toy, I am his momma, and momma needs to rest and eat too.

In all honesty, I do not mind. This stage will fly by like the earlier stages and if I don't cherish it or live in the moment, he'd be a teenager and hatin me faster than I can type this sentence.

Alas, maybe he does have a favorite book and it is "Are you my mommy?" along with "I love you Stinky Face" and the "Where is Baby's Belly Button" flip up book.

Sweet as those books are, I can't use them for the basis of the Kid's theme.

Mr.Kid wants a space theme since he, himself, loves astronomy and all things space. He also likes, ok no, LOVES, cars. Maybe we'll do a car theme for Mr. Kid as well. I don't want modern cars to be plastered all over, they'd make it look corny to me. Perhaps vintage? Or an oldies feel to it? Mr. Kid loves old cars especially.

Here's a few items I would like to put in the Kid's room (the suitcase storage, I already got from Ebay, it was too cute to pass up):

I am in love with wooden toys, so much so that I don't know if I'll ever look at an electronic, plastic toy the same way again.

Second photo: This is a wooden house stacking puzzle. We can keep it stacked or take them apart into different formations. Very cool.

Third photo: This is a wooden fish puzzle. Isn't it just nifty! I love it! I wouldn't mind tickering with this as well.

Last photo: The wooden number train is just so awesome. I have not seen anything like that before, and we can use it to help him master his counting and a few of his arithmetics later on.

I will probably save up for the train set next. I can just picture it ontop of his dresser or a shelf, and him throwing the numbers all around and then eventually learning to put them in order or rearranging them in a secretive, coded way.

Furniture--Bed

The Kid currently still has a crib. His main sleeping area though is our bed. His room is currently too warm for him to stay there, and I think he got too used to sleeping on a normal mattress instead of the hard, and uncomfortable, mattress required for little babies. Ok, it's not too bad, it does have a spring to it, and he can sleep there soundly.
We, the grownups--who are spoiled by our pillowtops--cannot fathom ever laying our pampered selves on it and it's a wonder how our little one's can.

So the problem with furniture is:

• Do we go Toddler (that is "Toddler bed") or straight to Twin
• Buy used or new

Here are a few contenders:

All are from Ikea and available in the US Ikea, except for the last one which belongs to the Ikea in the UK. I am partial to the last, and also to this one:

This particular bed is extendable. It can go from toddler size to full twin. It hails from the Leksvig line and cost around 78 pounds, or roughly 140 or so in good ol' American dollars. I did find it in the Ikea catalog, as well as online in Ikea US, but they have taken it off the website. Not sure why. It's a nifty looking bed.

So is the last one in the cluster of beds above. You can even position it to be like this:

Now that just makes that bed super cool for a little boy, doesn't it.

So we can put it in the lowest position for when the Kid is younger and then switch to this super cool position when he's older and we won't be so worried about the bumps and bruises he gets, if and when, he happens to jump (or fall) off the bed. Which I'm quite sure he might because well, I did, and I am sure Mr.Kid did too.

I tried, in vain, to search for other sites that sells reasonably priced children furniture. Most were in the above hundreds range.

Ikea or second-hand it is then. Better yet, second-hand Ikea! yipee.

The room.

The room is nothing spectacular.
The dimensions are only 9 by 9 (just a rough estimate here).
There is just one window, perhaps it could be said to be the 'heart' of the room as it does drawn you in and make you want to take a peek at the beyond. The view is not magnificent, but serene. You can see a lush green lawn beyond our wooden gates, and willowly trees huddled in a circle around the basketball court. Our own yard is still in desperate need of work, but you can see the possibilities. Visions of a perennial plants and flowers dotting the landscape come to mind and seem to beckon you to be inspired to do something, to take up those garden shears and big straw hat and toil away under the watchful sun on a lazy summer day.
I can imagine the Kid curling up beside the window, a book on his lap, and rain caressing the windows. I hope his imagination will run wild with pirates, safari trips, and voyages to worlds beyond right beside that window, the heart of the room.

The rest of the corner sanctuary consists of stark white walls and a closet, now filled high with memories from his baby years. The closet can use a tweak or two here and there; the white walls though, alas, cannot be touched. Upon receiving word of this, my heart did sink a little. I am tired of white walls, it would've been nice to color things up for a change.

For flooring, we have soft, beige carpeting. This too cannot be removed.

So we have one window, white walls, beige carpeting, and a closet in a 9 by 9 room.

What can we do with that?

The start.

The kid has his own place now. It is in one corner of the backside of the house, tucked away neatly for his own privacy as well as to maintain our sanity. Little spurts of tantrums cannot be heard much unless it turns into a full-blown crying session, of which--being good parents--we will take notice.
The conundrum with this new independence is designing it. I have no experience with children let alone children's room, and despite my semi-artsy background, my imagination is at a standstill. I have the artist block. I don't know whether to choose animals, cars, trains, or planes. I mean, the possibilites are endless!

What I do know is what I don't want, and that is:

• anything Disney or other branded merchandise like Curious George, Diego, Thomas the Train
  
• anything too cutesy
• anything too blue
• anything too boy-ish
• anything that does not inspire the imagination or self-conversations

When I have discovered more of the things I do not want, I will add to the list.

And so begins our search and our project for His Own Corner. Hopefully, before we move from here, we would have come close to completing his room or atleast settled on a design.

Now let's begin...