Last month I shared our process of transforming our walk-in closet into a baby nook. Well, we finally (almost) finished the process, and I figured I'd share pictures.

The only thing missing is this poster, which is on its way from London.

Now, I'm not delusional here: despite the wide-angle lens, this is a small space. But I'm already envisioning how, once our baby is walking, we can unhinge the door, add a baby gate, and basically turn the little room into a padded toddler asylum filled with foam mattress flooring with pillows and blankets everywhere. And once he's a little bigger, a tiny bunk bed with a cubby space underneath. We'll see if we can milk this room 'til pre-school!

But for now, it's a perfect place to change a diaper, do a quick feeding (this isn't my nursing station, to be sure!), and store our impending son's clothing and supplies.

"But what about a yard?" is the constant response when we tell people that we have ditched our suburban condo in favor of our new downtown digs.

"What will the kids do without a yard?”

We lived in Issaquah (a suburb of Seattle) for two years. We had a little shared lawn that backed onto a greenbelt. It would flood when it rained and by the time the summer sun dried it out fall would be upon us and our soggy, spongy, little yard would turn to veritable swampland complete with swarms of hungry mosquitoes.

The only time we spent any time in our yard was when it froze over last December.

We were excited to share our news and thrilled that we'd found an affordable place in downtown Seattle with fabulous amenities. I was surprised by the negative feedback I received for moving our little family of four downtown.

"What do the kids do without a yard?"

Continue reading "Who says you need a yard to raise kids?!" →