I took a couple of snapshots of Joe’s room as it looks now. We still have to find new sheets for the bed (which looks like it will fit in there!), plus shelves and artwork for the walls, but here’s what we’ve got so far:

The changing station/dresser: This is chock-full of clothes, all washed and ready for him. I need to get some shelves and a basket or two to organize all the doo-dads, but you get the idea.

The nursing corner. We’re going to get a rug to go under here — the floor boards are uneven and it makes for a bumpy ride when you rock.

The crib! I wanted to dress it up in all the sheets and bumpers right away, but Patrick made a very good point that we should wait until Joe’s almost here so it’s fresh. In the meantime, it’s holding all the stuff we haven’t hung up or put away yet.

Inside the armoire. Look at all those blankets!

We had an exhausting day. Just getting through Ikea is a feat unto itself (although I never get tired of looking around there). We found a dresser that will serve as Joe’s changing table and an armoire to hold all his hanging clothes.

The traffic on the way home was madness, and we ended up taking not-so-shortcuts through Fredericksburg to get home. Patrick put together the crib and the dresser, but we’ve got some rearranging to do before the armoire gets put together — there’s no room left! We may have to get rid of either a bookshelf or the bed to accommodate everything. The room has four doors (yes, four!) and two windows, which makes it really hard to place furniture.

We got a package in the mail from Natalie, a friend who lives in Tennessee. I have known Natalie since we passed notes in Mr. Eldridge’s 8th grade N.C. History class. (Our other partner in crime from that class, Lisa, is now a comedy writer with “Arrested Development” among her credits. Crazy!) Anyway, in the package was a sweet little outfit for Joe — and Pee Pee Tee Pees! Those will be going right next to the changing table …