It's Official

C is growing up. Tonight, she is sleeping in her very own twin-sized bed. She was very excited about her new bed, it all started a couple of days ago when I took her shopping to pick out her new bedding, then yesterday she watched and played with her cousins while I spent 6 straight hours painting it white. She helped me paint and sand a little. At one point she said, "Wow! That's cool!" :) Which brings us to the assembly today. We took down the crib - which she helped with. By helped I mean watched every move her dadda made with much awe and excitement. :) Then we put Clifford on in the living room for her to watch while we assembled the bed and put all of the bedding on. Then I waited with both video camera running and my other camera ready to take still shots while D went and brought her in to see her new bed. She was excited to say the least.

It was successful, she loved it, was thrilled actually and couldn't be sleeping any more peacefully than she is right now. She climbed right up on it and we showed her how to lay under the top sheet and the comforter and then she promptly showed us that she could kick them off and would rather not lay under them. :) But it didn't all come together with no tears. After we each said our prayers and D & I said our "I love you's", then we gave her one last kiss before we walked out shutting the door behind us...our little baby all alone in the dark in a big big bed and the tears were inevitable...I just couldn't help myself! I came out to the living room and listened to her playing in there, all happy and excited and I just sat here chatting with my best friend online and cried...then got myself together...then cried some more. :)

I just can't believe she's big enough for a big girl bed. I mean, I know she's way too big for a crib but our doctor told us she could stay in one until she's three as long as she wasn't climbing out and well, she wasn't climbing out so we figured, why take the rails down and deal with that freedom of being able to get up when the crib is the same size as the toddler bed...but now, she's just getting longer and older and it was just time. She looks so small yet so grown up all at the same time. She was soooooooooooooooooooooo excited to share her new bed with her "guys" - the stuffed animals she sleeps with. Typically the last 6-9 months "kitty" has been her constant and a few others come and go. Tonight kitty had LOTS to say about the new bed and she had lots to say to him. They had a hilarious conversation, which I got on video, and now are both sleeping soundly. :) He is her favorite and I think will always be, the rest take a back seat to kitty...he comes to the store, church, out to eat, Target, Lynn's house, the mailbox, the post office, and anywhere else that involves walking out of the house...Kitty comes. So of course she had to tell him all about her new bed and he told her how much he liked it in that weird voice of his that she brings out often when they're talking. :) She was cracking up as she and kitty played.

Of course she had a round of stalling. She called us in probably 6 times. You know, the typical, I need water, scratch my back, I want a new blanket, I don't want a blanket...on and on. For a while we were patient and let her get out the nervousness she was feeling and the excitement. At one point I even went in and laid down with her...PRECIOUS! I just laid there for a few minutes and chatted with her about her new bed, then she said "I have a great idea!!! LET'S RUB NOSES!" So we did. I'm going to love laying in there with her and reading and chatting about anything and everything and sometimes even chatting about nothing. :) Then I got up and told her that was it, it was time for bed, no more stalling, no more calling us in. And she knows when it's done...and she slept. We peeked in on her, for one, D can hardly stand it if we don't look in on her when there is something new...and even sometimes just because he wants to watch her sleep but mostly tonight we wanted to see what position she ended up sleeping in b/c she was alllllll over the place during the stalling time...she was laying anywhere from horizontal at the foot of the bed to vertical on her pillow where she should be to diagonal with her head at the edge. lol We reminded her to stay close to the wall and to try not to fall off b/c we forgot to buy a rail...and maybe we won't need one but then she was asking for permission to fall b/c apparently the pillows on the floor look like tons of fun to crash into. :)

One of the first things she asked was, "Can I JUMP on it?!?" No C...no. She stopped almost as soon as she had started. She didn't want her comforter on so we folded it down to the bottom and she exclaimed, "HEY LOOK! This sheet looks like a blanket!!!" She's liking the sheet and her fleece that we bought that matches but when we peeked in on her she was completely out of the covers as always. She's quite the warm little tot. She's not asleep below, she's just snuggling in saying a precious little "hmmm" that she says when she's all comfy cozy.

So it has happened, our little baby girl has turned into a very independent, funny, excitable, smart, ornery, strong, tall almost 3 year old. Where on EARTH did those three years go? I was thinking last night as we put her in the crib for the last time...which also made me cry by the way, anyway, I was thinking about a family in college that we used to visit, Pam & Ernie Perry. They had two little girls, I'm really not sure how old their youngest was but she couldn't have been much older than C at the time...and now she's in high school. So of course I just think holy cow, C's going to be in high school soon!!! :) But really...that time from college until now has flown by so fast and these last almost three years have flown by so much faster...so yeah, I'll lay in her bed with her and rub noses anytime she wants. We love this girl!