She’s three.
I get it.
But we have this thing with our children, where we don’t push them to grow up. I wasn’t in any hurry for her to stop drinking a bottle. She was the last of her little friends to use a sippy cup. The only reason I potty trained her last summer, was because she came downstairs one day and told me she wasn’t going to wear a diaper any more. She’s not really a climber, she loved her crib, so we rode that wave as long as possible.
And then I looked at her in it one day, and realized it was time. Cue the ugly crying.
So I did what any good, modern mama does. I started a Pinterest board. And I pinned things I liked, but also wouldn’t require me to paint or buy a lot. Because I was having a hard time with this transition thing, but also we’re on a pretty tight budget with me staying at home now.
I wanted to keep her curtains. My mama made them for me right before Selah was born. What can I say, I’m annoyingly (is that a word?) sentimental. I wanted the feel of her room to still be sweet, girly, and fun. We were waltzing the isles of Target one day, which we do often, and she HAD to have this unicorn. So I put it in the cart and figured we could find a place for it. It’s one of her favorite things in her room. And I love that she picked it out.
I left her monogram up above her bed, because I couldn’t deal if I walked in her room and it wasn’t there. The lamp was from Target and was also in her nursery, so it found a new spot in her room and matches perfectly with the comforter, that is also from Target. If you ever want to buy me something, I’ll take a Target gift card, mmkk? I knew I wanted to do something floral because flowers are happy. And girly. And dainty. And I could have floral in every room of my house and not be mad about it.
So we had this fabric mobile hanging in her nursery as well. The fabric didn’t match anymore, because her bedding in her crib was more pink and light blue, so I just found more at Hobby Lobby or Holly Lobby as my grandma says, and switched it out. The corner looks bare without it hanging over there. I found this basket at, take a guess… Yep, “the dot,” as Micah affectionately calls it. She loved having all of her toys in her crib. She would play with them during “rest time” if she refused to nap. I would come to get her up from her nap and all of her babies would be lined up and she would be reading them a story. She’s a little mama, that girl.
We put that little basket right beside her bed so she could still reach her toys without getting out. When Brandon and I told her “the rules” of her big girl bed, she started crying hysterically. The only rule is that she isn’t to get out of her bed. If she needs us, she just calls us, we will hear her in the monitor, and we will come to her. She told me she hated rules and they were ugly. And she was too afraid of them, because what if she couldn’t keep the rule? Talk about a parenting moment…we talked about how everyone has rules, including me and her daddy. We talked about rules at church and the grocery store and in the car. We even talked about how Jesus came because He knew we could never keep all the rules to get to Father. Thank you, Jesus. The Gospel, is woven into every part of our lives. Even when we move from the crib to a big girl bed.
I’m happy to report, she hasn’t once gotten out of her bed. I love her sweet heart and pray the Father will help her to walk in freedom. Obedience leads to freedom. It’s my prayer, we can shepherd her heart in such a way, she learns this now.
This is “Lambie.” And Lambie goes every where with us. Pretty certain Lambie is really a bunny, but whatev’s. She can sleep with Lambie until she gets married as far as I’m concerned. Don’t ever grow up, Selah Grace, never. I can’t take it.
Thanks to Monster’s Inc. we now have to check under the bed every night. So Micah gets down on all fours and says, “Nope, nofing, Sewah.” And I melt. Every night.
Can’t stop. Won’t stop. She’ll be 16 with this still hanging up in her room. Baby Selah, she was the sweetest. I really love toddler Selah, too. These years fly by, don’t they?
So thankful I have this picture of all of us. She always says, “Mommy, I grew in her tummy. But I was growing in your heart, right?” Yes, sweet girl.
So the chair doesn’t exactly match the “big girl room,” but I’ve rocked countless hours in this thing. Also, I still rock her every night. And I will continue until we don’t fit anymore or she won’t let me. Which I’m hoping is never.
This little nook is one of my favorite things in her room. The rocking chair fits perfectly in it and it has enough room for all her book baskets (I used to be a first grade teacher. We love books.) I made a {miniature} gallery wall because I still really wanted these hanging, yet have a little more wall space in the rest of the room. The tiny picture of her and her smash cake…. WAAAAHHHH. The “for this child we prayed” sign was given to us before she was even born, but perfectly matched the colors I wanted to use in her nursery. It was one of those things in the wait, when we were matched but wondered if her birth mom would place, that was like confirmation to us from the Lord. The poem in the top left corner is about having two women who adore her but with two different kind of loves. And then the puzzle was a fundraiser we did for her adoption. We sold puzzle pieces for five dollars each. Every puzzle piece has a name of someone who prayed for her and gave to help us bring her home. Such tangible evidence of God’s faithfulness. And hundred’s of names who loved her before she was born.
This dresser was given to us a by a dear friend. My sweet neighbor chalk painted it for me and I really love it. I’m not sure how I feel about the flower garland yet, but it was three dollars in the dollar section at Target, so I can afford to decide if I like it.
The tree behind the door, was from her first Gotcha Day party. Everyone painted their thumb print and signed their name. She has so many people who love her and have stood beside us as we waited and prayed her home to us.
Although it breaks my heart in half realizing how fast these years are passing by, I absolutely love the little girl she is becoming. I say it all of the time, but she really is my walking Ebenezer of the faithfulness of God. He’s written His goodness throughout the pages of her story. And I keep finding Him to be beautiful to me in her life. I’m honored she calls me, Mama. And so humbled she’s mine.
Her name means to “pause and praise.” That is exacly what she causes us to do.