I've been waiting patiently for Everly's birth to share pictures of her nursery. I didn't want to edit out her name display I made and I didn't want to give away her name so I had to wait. Everly's nursery is a special place to me. I pieced it together bit by bit over the past 9 months. Watching it all come together has been wonderful. It's a tiny little room but I think we managed to make it cozy. Aaron built the furniture for her and I made or put together everything else. Her name display was probably my favorite project. I had pictured it very different in my head but I couldn't be happier with how it came out in the end. The rosettes above her bed (I made all 16) were my longest project but I love how they came out. The custom canvas quotes were another fun and easy project I really enjoyed. The curtains in the window I made myself because her window was such a strange size that I needed something custom. The color is a light pink and when the sun isn't glaring straight through them they're quite pretty. They also give the room a slight pinkish glow (as you can tell from the pictures). Aaron loves it but I'm not 100% sold. I'm going to give them some time and see if the pink glow grows on me. It was such a fun experience to put together my baby's nursery. Every time I worked on it I felt a connection to her and I loved the feeling of creating something special for my daughter. 

xo Sue

Everly Eden Crowder

Born 20 February 2013 at 5:20 pm

7lbs 9oz, 19.5 inches 

She is perfect

• His smile is contagious. I can't see it without smiling back, even if I'm not in the mood to smile.
• He never leaves the house without saying I love you.
• He gives me a kiss first thing in the morning and last thing before bed. Always.
• He works hard at his job to provide for our family.
• He's an excellent artist and takes pride in the work he does.
• He loves to make people laugh. And I love to laugh.
• He's already an excellent father to our little girl.
• He takes time out of every day to make sure that I get special attention and love.
• He loves to play and make the little things in life more fun.
• He makes every day of my life good, just by being a part of it.

To My Lover,

I am grateful for you every single day. I think of you as my better half because you bring out the best in me. You hold me when I'm sad, you laugh with me when I'm happy. You support me in my personal decisions. You always hold my hand. You are my favorite person in the world. I love you most.

xo Sue

I love Valentine's Day. The hearts, the love, the cuteness of the holiday. One of my very favorite Valentine's Days was one I spent single. I didn't wallow in my single-ness, I still spent the day with people I love! Remember that before you knock this holiday. Just use it to tell people you love them. 

This year it's sort of snuck up on me though. With my baby daughter due to come out at any minute (39 weeks, 3 days today!) I haven't put much effort into it at all. Aaron and I decided handmade/homemade gifts would be appropriate this year because I wanted to keep it simple so close to her birth. I have a lot of other things to focus my energy on! After debating between a few ideas I settled on a simple Valentine's. I'm making our favorite homemade pasta (if I get really ambitious I'll snap some pictures and share the recipe- it's amazing) and we're having a quiet night in. We're going to watch a movie without computers/iPads/iPhones/books/legos to distract us and spend some time snuggling on the couch with our puppies. It doesn't sound like much but to us it's pretty great. 

As for my gift to Aaron... I was really feeling stuck. I wanted to do something special for him. He's the easiest person in the world to shop for but it's not nearly as easy to make him something from the heart. Then I thought since his daughter is being born so close to Valentine's Day I'd make him something special as a new daddy. I searched online for all sorts of daddy-daughter poems, stories, and ideas but none of them quite fit what I wanted. So I took all the courage I could find in myself and wrote him my own daddy-daughter poem. It's a little bit cheesy, a little bit sentimental, and not at all professionally done but I think my husband will love it. He's a lot more cheesy and romantic than I am. 

xo Sue

{Photos by Taylor Ann Taylor Photography}

xo Sue