Big Boy Bed

Ok, believe me ... we are NOT trying to rush things. But as we think ahead to the long winter days indoors, we thought it might be nice if we took one of Matthew's outdoor slides, cleaned it up and brought it in for the winter. Hopefully, he'll then have a place to burn some energy when going outdoors to play is less feasible. Removing the crib will provide just the space we need to make that happen.

The transition has gone really smoothly. This twin bed has been set up in his room all along, so he is very used to it. Once we got out my old safety bar and started talking about sleeping in the "big boy bed," he became rather curious. Last Monday (9/29/08), when I asked him if he'd like to sleep in the big bed for his nap he said, "Yeh!" I told him "the rule" about not getting out of bed until I came in. To my excitement, he did very well. (I tip-toed in and snapped the photo above - he hadn't moved an inch since I left him!) When he awoke, he sat in bed saying, "Mama, c'MIN!" a few times until I knocked on his door. When I came in he was so excited that he had napped in his big boy bed.
By Friday (10/3/08) he was ready to sleep in his big boy bed overnight. Not only that, but this whole experience has seemed to cure him of his aversion to sleeping under blankets. (Up until last week practically he would scream when you layed a blanket over him for nap or bedtime. I would often sneak in and cover him in the night b/c I worried that he wasn't warm enough, but you couldn't ever cover him when he was aware of it)
Hmm... yeah. Saturday morning we woke up to a little boy who was soaked from neck to toes. Not only that, but the sheets, blankets, and THE MATTRESS were all soaked. How can one little boy hold that much liquid!!! (He hasn't had any sort of "pee thru" in months, the thought never crossed our minds when we kissed him goodnight and hoped for the best.) He had spent most of Friday evening at my parents, so we checked with them to see if he was getting free refills on his sippy cups, or what?! They said he didn't drink very much and the diapers they changed were mostly dry. It seems that somebody is getting much better at "holding it" until he wants to go, if you know what I mean. I think we might have to give potty training another go next month.
Thanks to some great cleaning tips from my mom (she can seriously clean ANYTHING and make it like new), we got the mattress all cleaned up. Sunday night we took down the crib, and moved the bed into it's location.

Also, I can't help but mention that we have the nicest neighbors in the world...In addition to keeping me supplied with wonderful produce from their huge garden over the summer months, our sweet neighbor Opal (wife of Cecil) handmade a personalized quilt for Matthew and brought it over just last Thursday (10/2/08). She kept the nautical theme we had going in his room and embroidered many of the squares with Matthew's personal information including birthdate, birthplace, birth weight & length, full names of parents, and adoption day.
This pirate ship is one of my favorites! And Matthew is now learning to indentify some of the boats she's put on the quilt. This is definitely one of the nicest gifts ever!!