I fought this day long and hard.
She no longer naps.
She no longer talks in jibberish.
Potty training starts next month.
Her third birthday is fast approaching.
Sippy cups are sitting collecting dust in the cabinets.
But she is a baby I tell you what.
As long as that girl remained in her crib I could still call her my baby and kind of, just kind of believe it.
But to be brutally honest this girl from day one has been a nightmare of a sleeper.
Lance was pretty good, he would sleep through the night at around eight months and before that only woke maybe once a night if that and always went right back to sleep with the pat of my hand.
Loubird slept through the night one month after we brought him home from the hospital, he was an angel.
But Katelynn holy crap she has been naughty.
The first six months of her life she would wake probably four of five times a night.
I was exhausted and finally gave a little tough love and let her cry it out.
It lasted until she was a little over a year old and then we were back to her being a nightmare.
She hates our bed and tosses and turns every time when out of pure exhaustion I would bring her in with Eric and I for my sanity to get some sleep.
She wanted her crib, so back we would go, but she would want to be rocked or sing songs or whatever.
Once she turned 2 she got better, she slept for most of the year on her own in her crib.
Then fall happened and she learned to climb out of her crib.
And she started having nightly four am parties in her bedroom.
And I would ignore her and hope she would go back to sleep.
Until one night she cried for a good hour only to find out her foot had gotten stuck in the slat on her attempt to climb on out of there.
Yep...the time had arrived big girl bed it was.
I convinced Eric to let me get through the holidays before we began our shopping around for a new bed.
Let's face it January can be a little rough and I knew a project like this would cheer me right up and help me get through the dreary months of dead winter.
December was rough, she woke up nightly and out of fear she would climb out of her crib I would bring her into our bed.
She hates our bed.
We hate having her in our bed.
Nobody got much sleep in December.
So come January 2 we were ready.....bed shopping here we come.
And we found the perfect bed for our princess at Down East Home.
Pottery Barn original $700.00, they had it marked down to $400.00.
Not to mention that weekend they were having a sale for 30% we walked out that door with the bed of my dreams for $250.00.
Oh yes we did.
Oh and a matching night stand....perfect.
Because I saved so much on the furniture I let myself splurge a little on the bedding.
My two favorite kid stores are of course Pottery Barn and Land of Nod.
After many days of hunting for just the right fit for her new big girl bedroom I found the one.
The one!
Eric was not a fan of the price of The One but boy does that guy know me.
Once my heart is set on something there is no changing my mind.
So he agreed and Land of Nod it was.
It's so perfect I love every bit of that bedding.
The only other new thing I bought for her room was this sweet little pink lamp for her night stand next to her bed.
Everything else still worked from the nursery, just needed a bit of rearranging.
I think we arranged every bit of that room trying every combo of furniture arrangements.
On our last attempt to make everything fit because I refused to give up the rocker in her room.....she's a baby you guys! She needs that rocker, I need that rocker, we read a lot of books.
Rocker stays.
But it was tricky finding a spot for it along with everything else.
But I think we made it work, I love the rocker next to her bed, such a cozy reading nook.
I was hopeful she would love her new bed, we talked it up for weeks in advance.
She is obsessed with princesses right now and thinks her bed is a princess bed.
She was so excited when I told her her best buddies and cousins Elle and Keldrie both had big girl princess beds and both slept great in them.
I was also adamant about the bed being a full sized bed.
I have dreams of laying in bed with my little girl reading stories, braiding hair, back tickles and lots of snuggles.
Plus I just love the look of a tiny little girl all snuggled in a full sized bed, it's just so cozy.
Her "friends" sleep right next to the bed in a basket.
Favorite books within easy access.
And best baby all snuggled up in her bed next to her mommy.
We were set to give this new bed a try.
The big night came, she was excited.
We went through our routine.
Story time with daddy reading the usual "Pinkalicious".
Her dream light up and ready to be turned on for the night.
Can I just say I love the dream lights, such a grand idea.
All three of my kids use them every night, and it has helped tremendously in helping little K to not be scared at night.
Prayer time and then a good night kiss to dad.
After that us two snuggle up in her bed and sing our five songs together.
Always the same, always in this order.
I love to see the temple.
I am a child of God.
Elmo's song.
C is for Cookie.
and Jesus wants me for a sunbeam.
I kiss her good night, turn off the lamps, get her all set up with three books, her pig pillow pet, two blankets, her baby, her doll, her princess and her kitty.
Uh yeah thank goodness it's a big bed, she has a lot of friends.
Remind her to stay in bed and she will get to add a fuzzy to our jar (another story for another time, the fuzzy jar).
Leave her door open "just a little not a lot".
And good night princess.
I must say it has been a really really smooth process.
She loves that bed.
She loves getting fuzzies in the jar.
She does wake up once or twice a week around 4 am.
But it's a big bed.
It's a comfy bed.
And I have no problem snuggling with her once a week if she wants me to.
We are all pretty happy around here with all the sleeping going on.
But she is still a baby!!!
