Heavy/HGTV/YouTube "Home Town" stars Ben and Erin Napier
Longtime HGTV star and expert woodworker Ben Napier can build and fix just about anything, but he hasn’t figured out how to stop time as his little girls grow up before his eyes. It’s a reality the doting dad has been known to get teary-eyed over.
That’s likely why his wife and “Home Town” co-star Erin Napier encouraged her followers to “pray for Ben” in an Instagram Story on September 1, 2024. The request came as Erin shared a post from her husband about the fact their youngest daughter, three-year-old Mae, was growing out of the crib he built from scratch for her and her big sister Helen, who’s now 6.
“Y’all pray for ben,” Erin wrote in her Story, adding, “he is tore up about it.”
Proving her point, Ben lamented in his post, “Nothing makes you more aware of time than having children.”
Ben Napier Says He ‘Immediately’ Began Building a Crib When He First Learned He Was Going to Be a Dad
In Ben’s post, he shared a series of photos highlighting the life of the crib he built for his daughters, starting with a picture of him in the workshop when he was just beginning the project. He also included photos from Helen’s last morning waking up in the crib and a nearly identical image of Mae’s last morning, in which she was wearing the same pink-and-white striped dress her big sister had three years before.
“A little over 7 years ago, we found out we were going to have a baby,” Ben shared in his caption, adding, “I immediately started planning out a crib.”
Ben then shared about Mae’s transition out of the crib, writing, “Last night was probably the last night one of my children will sleep in the crib I spent so much time working on.”
“Mae is currently taking a nap in her big girl bed,” he continued. “It’s a beautiful antique cherry Jenny Lind. The crib will live in her room for a few more weeks in case she has some trouble with her big girl bed, but she’s ready.”
“The white oak crib will go into storage until my babies become mamas, then it will be used again,” Ben added. “Nothing makes you more aware of time than having children.”
Erin shared her gratitude to him in the comment section, writing, “Thank you for the ways you love us. Our babies always felt safe because daddy’s hands built it. ❤️”
Erin posted her own reflections on Instagram, too, including a photo of the finished crib in Helen’s forest green nursery, placed against the wall beneath six framed pieces of botanical art and two sconces.
She recalled Ben working on the crib, writing, “Minutes after learning we were expecting Helen, in 2017, @scotsman.co started drawing the plans for her crib. He built it from white oak with one tiny plug of heart pine in the top rail that came from inside the wall of our house so his daughter would have a piece of home that belonged to her. Mae slept in it for the last time last night so here, we can remember it.”
When someone asked where Ben placed the piece of heart pine from their home, Erin responded, “it’s the circle behind the brass plate”
Ben Napier Unveiled Baby Helen’s Handmade Crib on ‘Home Town’ in 2018
Ben unveiled the finished crib for Erin in an episode of “Home Town” that aired in 2018. Still awaiting Helen’s arrival, Erin burst into tears when Ben pulled a tarp off the crib to reveal it to her.
“Oh my gosh,” Erin exclaimed. “It’s so beautiful. It’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever made.”
“Our house is a craftsman style home, so I wanted it to be something that would match that style,” Ben then told producers. “That’s why I wanted the quarter-sawn white oak, that’s why I went with the rail and style around the bottom and the back. It’s gonna be a classic piece.”
Another excerpt from the episode was featured in an HGTV video about his “best builds,” during which he explained that he was choosing high-quality wood and materials because he wanted “nothing but the best for my baby.”
“It’ll be something that, the longer we have it in the family, the better it will be,” he continued. “One day she can give it to her baby.”
“It’s kind of a big moment for me,” the dad-to-be continued. “It’s a big milestone to be able to build this for my first-born child.”
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HGTV’s Erin Napier Asks Fans to ‘Pray for Ben’ Amid Big Family Change