Toddler Room: Orange and Black; 4 Seasons

Since we moved Ryan to a "big boy bed", I thought I would post a few pictures from his room. We just picked up a black bedskirt and comforter, white sheet set, and mesh side-bar from Walmart.

Everything else was recycled from his old nursery. I like the color we painted his nursery a lot, but since the walls were white and in good condition, we decided to just leave them for now. If anything in the room catches your eye, see an extensive list of where we bought everything here.

Above his dresser, we hung the four seasons wooden cutouts I made, plus his initial. His dresser holds his cowboy hat, stuffed orange Kabota, and pictures of his cousins. He's getting a little big for his changing table, but it will work until he conquers potty-training (not anytime soon).

His clock and "R-Y-A-N" pictures are hung above his bookcase. His CD player is also one of the most-used items in his room since we put a CD on every night (and try to remember to put it on "Repeat All" so one of two things don't happen: 1) He has to yell "MOMMY! TURN MUSIC ON!" if he doesn't fall asleep before the CD is over. 2) He doesn't have to listen to the same 6-line song about Cats and Kittens if I accidentally put it on "Repeat 1". His favorite CDs are "Farm Animals" which has little sing-songy (read cheesy) verses about different animals, Guess How Much I Love You, and a certain nursery rhyme CD with a frog on it. He requests these by name and sometimes will request a change in the CD if he isn't feeling it right away.

The closet is nothing spectacular, but I thought I'd share a few tips: His CDs and other things that used to live down lower are now on an up-high shelf, but aren't a pain to take down to look through since they are in sturdy totes. I like the two levels of hanging space so we can separate shirts from hoodies/coats. We installed two 3M removable hooks really low so he can/has to hang up his own coat when he gets home. This was a battle the first week, but he's now fallen into the habit nicely. We only keep his boots in the closet--the rest of his shoes go in a dresser drawer so they stay within reach when getting dressed/undressed on the changing table. I know myself and if they belonged in the closet, I would throw them there from across the room and they'd live wherever they landed, so the drawer is much better for the shoes (and the wall).

Overall, Ryan's pretty happy in his new room. At night, he likes to lay in bed looking at books, even after we leave the room. We have to keep his touch lamp on high so he can "read" his books. So far, we haven't had trouble with him getting up out of bed, but he's pretty vocal when he needs something or is ready to get up.

So, that's your tour of Ryan's new room!