Big Girl Bed

We've been talking up the idea of a "big girl bed" to Julia for a few months now. Whenever I see a character in a book or on TV who is sleeping in a bed instead of a crib, I point it out to Julia, and say - "Oh, look....she is sleeping in a big girl bed. Would you like to sleep in a big girl bed?"

So, after talking it up, she was really on board with the idea. Finally, two weeks ago, her bed was delivered. She was so excited. The probem? No mattress. For the last two weeks, the bed and the crib have been side by side in her room. She liked to use the bed as a jungle gym - something that I did my best to stop. I was nervous she was going to hurt herself on the hard wood or between the slats.

Today, R went to Costco to buy the mattress. It was a very, very exciting day for Julia. She was beside herself and proclaimed her new mattress as "Bootiful!!" It was hard to keep her off the bed as I made it up with the new mattress cover, sheets, and quilt.

When it came time for bedtime, our usual rituals were changed. Since Julia was born, I have rocked Julia before bed while lullaby music plays. I always put her down while still awake, but we both enjoy ending our day with this ritual. When Julia got a little older, we dubbed this, "Tiny Baby." We also added reading bedtime stories.

Tonight was the first time we have not done Tiny Baby before bedtime (aside from the occasional trip where there is no rocking chair.) R came upstairs with us, put Julia in her pajamas and kissed her goodnight. Julia and I crawled in her new bed and read books. I think it was about 8 books. I had only planned for 3 or so, but she's a pretty good negotiator. Julia got up to turn off her light, as she likes to do, and we snuggled in her bed.

I was rather comfortable and started to doze off. I never expected what happened next - especially after her usual pleading for one more book or more Tiny Baby time. Julia said, "Mommy, wake up. Mommy, wake up. You can go downstairs with Papa now."

That's it. Equal parts amused and surprised that I had been kicked out, I headed downstairs to tell R the story. (I may have been a tiny bit dejected as well.)

A few minutes later, we heard little footsteps, and Julia appeared in the doorway of the family room. She had an odd look on her face, as if she was thinking, "So, this is what you guys do after I go to bed." Then, she announced, "I not going to bed." We answered, "Yes, you have to go to bed." R said, "Papa will put you to bed." With that, she said, "I do it myself." She turned and walked back to her room, by herself.

We listened on the monitor as she put herself to bed. R went to check on her a while later and found her asleep in her new bed, clutching one of her babies, lying way up on her pillow (but under the covers). Her bedroom door was closed and everything. Sleep tight, big girl!

Pictures of the new bed (and the girl) coming soon.

Big Girl Diapers

Warning: The following post includes talk of pee-pee and poop.

I had no intention of starting the potty-training process before Julia turned 2, but early this year, I purchased a potty and some potty-training books to start her slowly getting used to the idea.

She was VERY interested in the potty. She liked to sit on it (fully clothed), stand in it, wear the cup part on her head as a hat, and put her dolls on it. She likes the books, too, especially the Where's the Poop? book.

Shortly after, Julia started telling us when she was pee-peeing or pooping (sometimes when she wasn't), and on March 18th, she said she was pooping, so Karina, our babysitter, whipped off her diaper and placed her on the potty. I was working from home, so I did not miss the momentous occasion. She pooped and pee-peed on the potty for the first time! We were so excited and screamed so loudly, I was sure we frightened her from ever using the potty again. She pee-peed on the potty the next day, so we must not have frightened her that badly.

I purchased some Pull-ups (or Big Girl Diapers, as they are known at our house), because at times, this is the way it goes: she wants diaper off, sits on potty, nothing happens, wants diaper on, walks around talking about pee-pee or poop, diaper off, sits on potty, nothing happens, diaper on, etc. etc.

Over the last two and a half months, she will have some weeks where she is very interested in using potty and some weeks where she is not. Last Monday, while I was distracted and doing something with the camera, she was standing right next to me. She pulled her pants down, pulled off her regular diaper, and handed it to me. So, I took this not-so-subtle hint that I needed to get her to the potty. Sure enough, she used it!

We visited her cousin, Scott, who is 3 1/2 and potty-trained this past weekend. When he went into the bathroom to use the potty, she took off her diaper and insisted she was next. Just this morning, she was talking about pooping, so I rushed her to the bathroom, whipped off her diaper, and popped her on the potty. She did both poop and pee-pee, and you should have seen the very proud grin on her face!

So, I had not planned to start potty-training until after August, but Julia had other ideas. I'm sure it won't be an entirely easy process, but she certainly has set her mind to doing as much like a big girl as she can.

Walking!

Julia is walking! She had been taking steps since the second week of August, but she put it all together on Sat, Sept 6th. On Friday, she took 13 steps in a row, and on Saturday, it clicked for her. She's more comfortable crawling long distances, but for a short distance, she'd toddle from one place to another. She gets a little nervous if Jake is close by, because she is concerned (and rightly so) that he might inadvertantly knock her over.

She's not confident about it yet, but she is definitely walking!

First Birthday Party!

Julia's birthday is the same week as two of her playgroup friends, Abigail and Megan, so we hosted a joint birthday party for the girls. It was a pool party, but the weather did not cooperate. The kids had a great time playing. Julia loved her cake (thank you, Carol); she took a big fistful of the cake and stuffed in her mouth!

3 Steps!!!

Over the last two weeks, Julia has taken *one* step on three separate occasions. I should have marked the date of the first step, but this seemed much more like the real milestone. She actually moved from one point to another. Julia was playing with Karina in the baby corral, and I went in to play, too.

Julia was turned towards me, let go of the side of the corral, and WALKED to me. Robert commented that it was a shame it was one of the few moments I didn't have a camera in my hand.

She Stands!

Over the last couple of weeks, Julia has started letting go after she has pulled up. Until this week, she would stand for a split second and collapse onto her cushiony, diapered rear. This past week, she has gotten more adept. She'll let go and stand for a solid few seconds (while grinning broadly). Sometimes, she'll drop onto her rear. More often, she'll sloooowwwlly lower herself down into the sitting position and start crawling. I'm keeping careful watch for those first steps.

She's crawling!

Over the last 4 or 5 days, Julia has gotten this crawling thing down. She is no longer *trying* to crawl. She's figured it out. She can be fast, especially when she is trying to reach one of her favorite things like a cell phone or a mirror.

Time to step up the babyproofing efforts!

Minor Milestone: Found Her Feet!

Julia found her feet today! She woke up from a record-setting 3.5 hour nap, she was lying on her back on the sofa, and she grabbed onto her feet for the first time I've seen!

I read my baby book and the baby books of my siblings with renewed interested while I was home in Georgia, and I loved the detail my Mom managed to put in them. (I was quite impressed she was able to get this done, especially since she has 4 children!)I'm going to try to capture more of these little developmental milestones.

Giggles!

In the last couple of weeks, Julia has made sounds similar to laughter. Today, it was unmistakable. Daddy was playing with her, and she really giggled!


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Minor milestone

Julia has found her hands and started putting them in her mouth. Those long fingers are better than a pacifier!