big girl bed!

So, Ryan and I decided to just bite the bullet and transition Elliott out of her crib this weekend.  The reasoning behind doing it so early was that a) I just read an article that once a kid is 35" tall, she can climb out of her crib and get hurt, b) we were anti buying a second crib, so Zoey would be forced to sleep in a play yard all the time, and c) technically, our crib was a recalled death trap because it's one of those dreaded drop-side models (not to worry...a free repair kit is on its way so we can stabilize the sides for baby #2, and in the meantime we weren't using the drop-sides.)  We also figured it would be best to make the transition sooner rather than later, so that Ellie would be used to the new sleeping situation well before her little sister's arrival.

We ordered a twin mattress and box spring (my parents still have my old bed frame, so eventually the bed will be "official"), made a special trip to Target to buy some cute sheets (on clearance), and yesterday, the bed arrived!

To make room for it, we had to break down the crib.  I got quite emotional at this point and started sobbing; after all, this was a huge step in my baby's growing up.  Then we moved her changing table into our bedroom, placed her dresser where that once stood, and in came the mattress (box spring to be added at a later date, so Ellie will have time to get used to not falling out.)  Needless to say, our little one was very excited by her "big girl bed," as is evident from this photo and video:

Of course, we still had no idea what to expect when bedtime came.  Would she freak out crying, wondering what became of her beloved crib?  Get overly excited by her new-found freedom and wreak havoc with her toys for hours on end?  Pound on the door and scream for us to let her out?

Not my monkey!  She curled up with Froggy, Kitty, and Owl and settled her little head down just like she did every night in her crib.  I left the room at 7:30 pm and didn't hear a peep until her usual 6:30 wake up call.  Never before have I been so proud of her!

So, nighttime was successful, but what of the dreaded nap?  Well, despite the fact that she was begging and crying for more books right before I put her down around 1:30 today, she once again curled up quietly and took a good two hour nap!  I'm left wondering, does she not realize that at any moment she can just get up and read, or at least throw her books all over the place?  Of this I'm not sure, but I do know that I'm in extreme awe of my daughter and her oftentimes remarkable ability to go with the flow.  Here's hoping that this big girl bed bliss will last!