Ella's Room

I've had a few people ask me to post pictures of Ella's Montessori inspired nursery/toddler room.  When Troy and I were going through the adoption process, we had no idea if the child God had waiting for us would be boy or girl--so the nursery started out traditional and gender neutral.  

Once we found out it was a girl, pink touches were quickly added

A personal touch (painting by mommy)

Daddy's rocker he was rocked in as a baby

After about five and one half months, I was sleep deprived, out of sorts, and looking for direction.  We had a nanny at the time, and she recommended the book, "Montessori From the Start." http://www.amazon.com/Montessori-Start-Child-Birth-Three/dp/0805211128.

After a quick read, Troy came home from work that day, and I asked him to please take down the crib. He looked at me as if I was possessed, but he did, and we never looked back.  That was the beginning of a whole new start for us.  I googled Montessori inspired rooms and found a wonderful site http://sewliberated.typepad.com/sew_liberated/2009/04/finnians-montessori-room.html that helped guide me through the process (and still does).  

We started with a simple 4" twin mattress on the floor, a homemade mobile (with bells), a shatterproof mirror, and some pull-up bars.  In the Montessori educational philosophy, the child sleeps on a mattress directly on the floor in a child-safe room so that once he can crawl, he is free to get up and explore the room. 

 My all-time favorite video of the little girl who could...

Oops...she's awake...details on her toddler bed introduced earlier this year will be coming soon.