The Crib.

Tyler and I went to Babies R Us and found exactly what we were looking for. I have always loved white furniture for a nursery, there's just something about white that goes with the fresh and delicate nature of a newborn baby. The crib was a gift from Tyler's parents that we bought and shipped to Alaska, but there are more special things about this crib ... here we go:

Step Two:
When I got pregnant and started thinking about the bedding for the crib, I thought that it would be neat to ask my Grandma to make the bedding .. yes, make the bedding. She is an incredible seamstress, and I thought this would be a special way to incorporate her gift. Fortunately, she said yes and we began moving forward with Grandma making Caroline's special linens.

Grandma was super excited and she perused fabric shops from the beginning getting ideas for color schemes and patterns, but there was nothing we could do until we found out what the baby was. At 20 weeks, we found out that we are having a girl and a few days later a small, but beautiful fabric swatch appeared in my mailbox. I had nothing to do with the color scheme, fabric or pattern for the linens; as I said, this is my grandmother's gift and boy am I glad I didn't interfere! Grandma was finished with the linens by the end of June and she waited patiently for my arrival to North Carolina on July 17 to give me the most beautiful gift ever. Look below to see our gift:

Keeping my eyes closed to wait for the surprise.

Back in Alaska with my favorite crib putter-togetherers.

The crib and bedding.

A close up so you can see all the elements.

A view from above. Special surprise #1001 ... do you see that pillow? Do you see the pink stuff that lines the top of the case? That is called tatting, a stitching that my great-grandmother used to do. My Mom found some of this in pink when she was cleaning out a closet, and had my grandmother make a baby pillowcase with the tatting on top. I am fortunate to have known and loved my Great-Grandmother, so although Caroline will never meet her nor will Great-Grandma know Caroline has some of her tatting, it is such a special touch from my Mom.

Lots of lovies! These come from various loved ones both near and far. There is one in particular that is significant...the bear to the right of the pile sitting just behind the pink elephant. Tyler bought that in Peru for Baby Van Zandt #1 who was thought of, but not yet conceived. It is made of baby alpaca -- super soft!! -- and is the baby's very first gift. I think it is spectacular that her first gift is from her Daddy.

I hope this didn't overwhelm you .. that was a lot!! Stay tuned tomorrow for Step Three ... the dresser.