Movin' on up!

Before and After - Above-last nap in crib and below - first time laying on her new bed

We have reached yet another milestone here in the Munchin Household. A couple of months ago we said "bye bye" to the crib rail and started using just a bed rail for Hailey's crib and she LOVES it! Being able to climb in and out has been great and she NEVER once climbed out when she wasn't supposed to, even during those trying times. It was just this morning that for the first time she climbed out and actually WOKE us up. It was quite sweet I must say.

When we made the switch to the bed rail only, she was just starting to attempt to get her leg over the crib and I was paranoid that we were going to hear things go bump, or thud, in the night. My friend Julie (Chloe's Mom) was ever so gracious and lent us their bed rail and Hailey has been sleeping like a beautiful angel ever since the switch (only a few middle of the night requests for Mommy's bed. I have to admit though, I do miss my cuddle bug that I got for the 2nd half of each night but I am thankful for full nights sleep without the 3 am wake up call.

Another great thing that Hailey also received from Chloe was a desire to have a "big girl" bed and she has been talking about one ever since she saw Chloe's in November. Lucky for us we have Greg's old twin bed in storage that was only a few years old when we met so it was practically brand new. I was just indecisive about picking out a theme for her room. She received a quilt from my Aunt when she was born and I said from the moment that I saw it that I was going to decorate her room to match. Pastels, with cute insects, flowers and butterflys on it. This proved to be a much more complicated effort to match to a coral wall then I was prepared for though. Note to self... NEVER EVER PAINT A ROOM AND THEN TRY TO FIND STUFF TO MATCH!

I finally decided on an adorable set from who would've guessed, but Target last week. It is more purple with a bit of pink so it matches really well. It has every color in it and the colors are a bit richer then true pastels, great for matching a variety of sheets too as I know that we are close to the time where we will be going through a sheet set or two a night.

For Christmas she received the Rose Petal Cottage that is purple and pink and this was where I got the idea to go purple and coral with a bit of pink along with flowers and butterflys. I stayed close to my Aunt's quilt but all the bug patterns out there were more for a nursery-toddler then for a toddler-big girl. I want this to be a theme that she will grow into and love for multiple years, I am also really hoping to bypass the entire Disney themes by changing it now.

I know that I am rambling on but this is really the first time that I have actually picked out a true bed set for her. (so I have an excuse to get a little excited) I never did get the traditional bed set for the crib as I knew that we would be out of the crib and into a twin bed vs. converting the crib into a toddler bed. For her nursery I had a theme (teddy bears with brown, white and coral) but I never found anyting that I liked well enough that would match.

But... on to the big news of the day! We have moved her into a real big girls bed. A twin size bed that fits her and the entire "entourage" along with a full size pillow. She absolutely loves it! When daddy was moving the crib out of her room, both her and I did get a bit chocked up but we were soon able to get super excited about her new bed that we have been talking about for weeks. I was really surprised that she seemed to struggle with the move at first, she grabbed onto the crib and said "I want my crib, where it going?" I then handed her the first new piece of her bed set (the bed skirt) and she held on to it until the box spring was down and she could take it out of the package and help me put it on the bed. It has to be hard seeing a change like this at 2 years old to something that has been a comfort for almost your entire life. I have always moved her furniture around in her room so she is very well accustomed to change so I knew that I didn't have to worry about that. It is really funny though when I move a piece of furniture, let's say a bookcase to a different place, and she makes a beeline for it only to realize that it has not been replaced with something else. It is like the brakes go on right before she hits it.

After her bed was all made she climbed right up on it with no problem (it is really high) pulled a bunch of stuffed animals up with her, placed them on her pillow behind and said that "youk mommy, I am riding" I didn't really get it until I realized that she was in front of all her stuffed animals and she was driving them all in the car. Her imagination is unbelievalble. She also took the cardboard packaging from the sheets and first folded it into a square a put it on her said and said "a square hat" and then put the same cardboard on the floor and said that she was riding a boat by holding onto the front of it between her legs.

Bedtime was really fun too, I was able to crawl into bed with her and read her books laying next to her, it was great! This is what I am really looking forward to with this new sleeping arrangment. It is not about what the theme is, how her room looks, or if the colors match perfectly, it is about being able to share in the laughter, giggles, and cuddles each and every night. That is truely what bedtime is all about.

Sleep beautifully my angel