Big Girl Bed

Friday night, while getting ready for bed, Catherine hiked her leg over the rail of her crib, said ready, set, go!, and climbed right out like she'd been doing it for months.

Uh Oh.

So, Saturday, we made a little trip to Buy Buy Baby for a toddler bed rail; and last night, I installed it while she "helped" by pretending parts were musical instruments and by jumping on the mattress in the middle of her room.

A couple last pics in her crib

We talked all day about how special this new bed is and what a big girl she is. She was genuinely so excited about it. After I removed the foot board,  I hadn't even installed the bed rail yet before she was in the bed.

In hind sight, I probably should have waited for Husband to come home from work and help me (that foot board is heavy); but I'm stubborn and I wanted it done last night, so instead, C learned how to use an allen wrench.

She climbed right in once everything was finished. I had to pry her out to put on pajamas (she refused to take a bath); and we snuggled to read a couple books she had chosen.

She picked Love You Forever (she calls it Back and Forth). It's like she wanted to make me cry. So, I read a tear jerking story about growing up and then my big girl climbed into her bed all by herself and went to sleep.

I watched her on the monitor until she was really asleep, then cracked her door open and left ours open as well.

I slept terribly. I woke up every hour and checked on her. I knew the gate at the top of the stairs was locked. I knew I had closed all doors besides hers and ours; but I was so worried she would wake up and feel scared walking in the dark or not know she could get out. 

Clearly, my worrying was for nothing, because at 6:30, I heard the pitter patter of little feet run into our room and felt little eyes staring at me on my side of the bed.

Big girl bed success!

The Boss of Me

C is a bit on the bossy side. Let's call her "opinionated" or "persistent" or even "driven"-it sounds nicer. She spends her days telling me what to do. 

Sit down, Mommy.

Stop it.

Mommy, try this.

Tonight, we were playing in the backyard. We have a steep hill on one side which Banks climbs so he can pace back and forth and bark at the neighbor's dog. C, of course, wants to go with him. I usually help her, holding her hands, trying to keep her (and myself) from tumbling back down. But tonight, she took her hand from mine, pushed me away, and said, "Mommy, go swing."

Seriously?

Excuse the dark iPhone pic. It was 8:00.

Then she climbed the scary hill all by herself. But, just as I was sitting on the swing, licking my wounds of rejection, she reached out her little hand and said, "Mommy, I help you" and I held her hand on the way back down.

Watching her gain independence is both exciting and heart breaking. I want her to have the courage to try things on her own; but, a part of me still wants her to run to me for help. Can't I be her best friend forever? No. No, I cannot. But, for a little while at least, I still hold the BFF title in her little world. 

I will simply cherish the moments when she grabs my hand, points to the sky and says, Yook (look), Mommy. The Moon!

I will love the moments when she climbs in my lap and says, Mommy, snuggle; but I will watch with pride as she loosens her grip on my finger and climbs mountains all by herself. That's my girl.

Bath Time Chat

While playing with her cow bath poof

Me: What does a cow say?

C: Mooooo

Me: What does a cow eat?

C: Bubbles!

Hooray!

C has a new expression and it is cracking me up. She says, "hooray!" with her hands raised over her head Rocky-style whenever something excites her. More often than not, it's food related.

"Hooray! French fries! I love French fries!"

"Hooray! Breakfast time!"

"Hooray! Banks eat!"

"Hooray! Baseball!"

I have no clue where she learned this expression. It's not one I typically use (Hooray! Nap time?); but it is so funny to watch her get so excited over the tiniest things, little arms raised in jubilation.

Chewy Granola Bars

Remember those old Chewy Granola Bar commercials from the nineties? It was a series of kids repeating things their parents probably wished they didn't like "my sister dresses like a floozy" and "my daddy lost his paycheck at the race track." 

Then, the narrator's voice would say, "does your kid need a chewy granola bar?" and showed all of the kids chewing instead of talking.

I think about that commercial a lot lately.

Like last week when I drove through Starbucks on our way to a play date and she raised her hands above her head and cheered "hooray! french fries! I love french fries!" because, apparently, fries magically appear through all windows while in the car (and obviously more often than they should).

So after handing her chocolate milk and explaining that they don't have french fries, which was not met with understanding, I drove next door and got Chick-fil-A fries at 10:30 am.

Or the other day when I told her she was being too bossy and she looked at me and said, "I bossy."

I know this will only get worse. She already repeats everything we say and mimics everything we do. There is nothing like a toddler to keep you in check.

I see a lot of chewy granola bars in our future.

Cinderella

It's unseasonably cold outside and rainy and gross, so we are winding down from a fun weekend with a little Cinderella. C is holding her baby Cinderella, in a complete Disney-induced trance.

Then, I hear her talking to her baby.

"Calm down, Cinderella. You okay? You alright? You sweepy?"

She then rocks her and gently places her down in front of her, covers her with a blanket, and pats her.

"Night night, Cinderella."

Then she put her to bed in a bowl.

Sometimes, I am overwhelmed with her sweetness.