Moving on up

Earlier this year, we started discussing transitioning Elle to a big girl bed. She never tried to climb out of the crib, thankfully, but we knew that eventually she needed to be out of the crib, and as I got bigger and more pregnant, it was getting harder for me to put all 30+ pounds of her to bed without hurting myself.

One of her last times in the crib.

I started shopping around, and we picked out a bed frame that I really liked - something that I think will grow with her, allow decorating diversity, etc. Elle was excited about the whole process and was ecstatic when we found a bedding set with pink (her favorite color!) and a cute little owl pillow (bonus!). I was excited that we found almost exactly what I had in mind within two days of searching AND at a really good price. (And it's going to be super easy for me to semi-match the crib bedding and curtains while she and the baby share a room - score!) She kept asking when she could have her big girl bed. The problem was that the bed frame was out of stock and wouldn't ship for several weeks. We got the mattress a few days later, though, so I decided we'd just make the transition even more gradual while we waited for the frame to ship.

On March 15, I quickly deconstructed the crib and set up the mattress after dinner without her knowing. The crib will be put back up a few months after Wesley's arrival, but we don't have a lot of space and we don't need an extra place for the cats to nap, so it's packed away in a closet until then. She was sooooooo excited to sleep in her big girl bed. She kept hugging the mattress and telling me she loved it. I was terrified that she'd be hopping out of it all night, but we talked about things and she seemed to understand that she needed to stay in her bed until Daddy came to wake her up in the morning.

One of her first sleeps on the mattress.

We got a video monitor (an early "welcome baby #2" present from my brother and his family, woohoo!) to help with the surveillance of the big girl in the big bed, and she thinks it's funny when the "camera talks to me." When you ask her what the camera says, she responds accurately with "Elle Belle, it's time to go to sleeeeeppppp."

Crib ballet a few nights before we set up her mattress.
I freaked her out when my voice came over the video monitor,
and she immediately dove to the mattress.

But really, other than the first week or two - part of which she was in the crib and I caught her doing elaborate marching and dance movements from side to side - we haven't had to use the communication on the monitor much to remind her that it's time to go to sleep.

Several times, she rolled off the mattress, which was kind of amusing - I found her completely on the floor one time, and most of the other times I'd see her leaned on the mattress or on her pillows with the rest of her body partially on the floor.

Slipping out and sleeping on the floor happened a few times.

After about six weeks of being on the mattress on the floor, the bed frame arrived, and we made the next transition, complete with side rail to keep her from rolling out. She was even more excited for the bed that we'd been telling her would "be higher." She knew that the "new bed" would also turn her big girl bed white.

And it was another seamless adjustment.

The completed set-up (although we've since added a bed skirt).
Elle is in love.

Our little girl has crossed another threshold of undeniably growing up.

For all of the fears and hesitations I had, Elle has made me feel like a fool. She hasn't gotten out of bed once, and although there have been nights when she wakes up multiple times, she's made it easy on us. The reason for the wake ups have ranged from pooping to "uh, I need to go potty!" to "I can't find blankie" and my favorite - the night when she cried out to Tim at 5 a.m. because she couldn't find her stuffed sheep and followed up with a 5:30 call of "Daddy! I found the sheep!" She's done really well, though, and even on the nights when she wakes she goes back to sleep fairly easily. I watch her on our video monitor, and sometimes it takes her an hour or more to settle in to sleep, but she plays quietly in bed, and then she sleeps 10-11 hours.

It's also nice to be able to crawl in to bed with her and read, say prayers or cuddle - and MUCH easier than trying to fit her on my lap for bedtime stories and then heaving her in to a crib.

Trying out her new digs.

I figure we'll face some blips when the kids start to share a room, but I'm so proud of the way Elle has adapted and just rolls with the changes - I love how excited she has been about everything, and although she's asked a few times where the crib went, she seems to understand that Wesley is going to need it, and she's got her special big girl bed now.

I've been warned that she'll eventually figure out that she can get out of bed (maybe when night-time potty training starts?), which worries me only because all of her books and some of her toys are in her room. So far, though, I'm beyond impressed (and relieved) and figure we'll deal with those issues if the time comes.

Wordless Wednesday: Big Girl Elle

This past weekend, we headed out for our first spring training game of the year. Since it was a hot day (February in Florida is a joke) and Elle inherited her mother's sweat genes (I could be in a blizzard, see a photo of the sun and break out in an intense sweat), I decided to pull her hair back in to a ponytail. I've been trying to get Tim to style Elle's hair more (since he gets up with her and spends the first part of the day with her, Monday through Friday), but I fear that I may have just dealt a blow to my cause.

You see, Elle With A Ponytail looks much, much older than Elle With No Ponytail. As we finished getting ready for the game, Tim would only refer to Elle as "Big Girl Elle." And if our baby girl is gone when we pull her hair back, perhaps we shouldn't pull her hair back until she's 18, right? Tim and I are on opposite sides of the "Elle needs a haircut" debate - he claims she desperately needs one. I say that she doesn't, especially since her "bangs" have grown out to the side and the length makes it easier to pull back. As a female, I think I will probably always win this argument, but Tim never fails to make his opposition known. Her hair is thin and has a natural curl, so it takes a minimal amount of detangling and maintenance.

 I've been pulling her hair back for dinner lately, too, because I like to minimize the chances for toddler mess whenever possible. The less hair hanging in her face equals the less food that might get in it, so I feel like my efforts are worth it.

Anyway, here are some photos of Big Girl Elle to file away in the "My Baby Isn't A Baby Anymore" department:

2.5

I'm big on half birthdays - love to send half of a card, or cross out every other letter on a "Happy Birthday" card, or even decorate half a cake ...  you know, normal (right?) stuff. And today is Elle Belle's half birthday! (It's also the birthday of one of my best friends in the world, so I'm pretty jazzed about the day in general.)

It's hard to sum Elle up at this big 2.5-year mark. It's also weird to not naturally refer to her age in months any more - it makes her seem so old.

Elle is amazingly sweet, clever, smart, perceptive and strong-willed. After dinner, she's either cuddly and subdued or energetic and fired up. (One night she might want to cuddle, the next night she spends 30 minutes trying to throw a blanket over my head. I much more prefer the cuddling.) She's artistic - she can outlast anyone in a coloring contest and demands that you draw ghosts and monsters for her. She's dramatic - she is big in to role-playing with her stuffed animals, taking care of them and having conversations about what they want for snack or what they want to play on the iPad. She can have a meltdown in the blink of an eye and recover in the next blink.

Elle is excited about her future sibling, too. She's pretty convinced that it is a boy, so if we're having a girl she will be extremely confused. She is still learning to be gentle with Mommy's belly, although in general she's a pretty loving and not a violent or physical kid (sooo glad we haven't really had issues with hitting or biting, knock on wood). I think that once she feels some kicks from the baby she'll be even more anxious for the little one to come out and play.

Really, Elle hasn't changed dramatically in the last two years in terms of personality or what she likes and doesn't like. She still LOVES books. She is still a little parrot and picks up on almost everything. She loves playing outside. She enjoys watching football, baseball and basketball with her daddy. She loves her blankie and the iPad. She enjoys grocery shopping with Mommy and eating snacks in the car and stroller. She likes singing and fake laughing. 

She's obsessed with all things Halloween - "ghostes," monsters (although she has this weird Boston-ish accent, so she says "monstahs), vampires, owls, jack-o-lanterns, etc. She likes to be scared, but only to a certain extent, at which she buries her head in your shoulder and begs you to protect her. Sometimes she'll feign bravery and offer to protect you, but you quickly learn the truth behind her motives when she asks where the ghostes/monstahs/owls are.

She is recently daytime-potty trained (a post in itself), but now we go to the potty all. the. time. And we tell everyone about it, because Elle is not shy. Now that she's not really in diapers any more, I feel like we're really past a big "baby" thing and she'll all the more "little girl" now.

She loves almost all fruits, beans and ketchup. She does not like veggies. She doesn't drink milk unless she's duped (like at daycare, where they add milk to her hot chocolate). She likes juice but still drinks mostly water. She loves dessert - cookies, candy and ice cream make this little girl extremely happy. She's recently started to eat more pasta, but that's mostly because she spends the meal trying to slurp her noodles.

 

Fake laughing is fun!

She's a big toddler - this pregnant mama feels it every time I pick her up, and I can't hold her for long stretches of time any more. Getting her in to the car seat is a movement that can be best described as a heave, and putting her in to the cart at the grocery store counts as my upper-body workout for several days. I took her out of the crib last night and realized I won't be able to do that much longer without hurting myself. I think she weighs close to 35 pounds. She's wearing 3T and 4T clothes (the 4T pants are a bit long, but the 3T pants are usually a bit tight unless they're super stretchy). She's between a size 8 and 8.5 in shoes, and her feet are on the wide side (baby got mommy's foot genes).

Partly because of her size, partly because of her potty training progress, and partly because of the new little one on the way, we'll be transitioning her from the crib soon ... her next "big girl" change. She sleeps with a blanket over her head ... I really don't know why, but it makes her a sweaty mess when she wakes up. And leaves rings of sweat in her crib. So at least she can still leave sweat rings in her bed.

Our little baby is growing up, and I love the little person she's continuing to develop in to ... she can definitely push my buttons some times, but she's my favorite, even when she's driving me bonkers.

Postal persuasion

I used to send cards to people for every occasion, any reason. There was rarely a birthday, anniversary, engagement or birth that escaped my radar. I sent cards "just because" and for oddball reasons. I was recently reminded that I once sent a card to congratulate a friend on an eczema diagnosis (nothing says "Hallmark needs to make a card for this" like a friend getting a conclusive answer to her persistent skin issue). I would stock up on cards so I would never be without the perfect, snarky birthday card or a heartfelt sympathy card. I bought birthday and anniversary cards more than a year in advance and then would forget who they were originally purchased for almost half of the time.

But over the years, I've sent fewer cards. My stock pile fluctuates between low to non-existent, with a little bit of "lame, use-only-in-emergencies" thrown in. An e-mail, e-card or Facebook comment has often been substituted for a mailed greeting card, or I'll send a text instead of going to the post office. It's not that I'm not thinking of people on these special days, but it's often that I don't have the time to get the card, buy the stamp and stop by the mailbox. Or if I do, it's often days after the event and I feel like the gesture would somehow be diminished or less appreciated. The local Hallmark and Carlton Cards stores closed long ago, and with a child, there's not a lot of excess time to cruise the greeting card aisle and find the perfect card.

Thinking back, the stockpiles of cards reflected a lot about where my friends and I were at in life. Congratulations cards for new homes, new jobs and engagements quickly turned in to a bridal shower and wedding cards. Now I try to bulk up on the anniversary, baby shower and "congrats on your new baby/boy/girl" cards. Sadly, there have been more sympathy cards, as friends have lost grandparents, parents, even children, and "get well" cards, as there have been illnesses and surgeries. The "new job" cards have been few and far between, and I feel like the card need has been more in the "encouragement and support" realm.

In the last few months, I've made an effort to revive my greeting card fondness and send more "just because" cards. I've made more of an effort to make sure I'm prepared for the big life events. I know how much I love getting real mail - random cards among the magazines, bills and junk mail that clutter our mailbox.

And I know how much I appreciate getting cards for my birthday, half-birthday and our anniversary. I also love how happy receiving the cards makes my friends. One friend that I hadn't heard from in a while called and left me a voice mail thanking me for a "just because" card that I had sent. Another friend e-mailed a heartfelt thank you for an anniversary card I had sent her - one of only two she received from people who weren't related to her. And I am still amazed by the diversity of what is going on in my friends' lives. Just last month I sent out engagement congratulations, sympathy for the death of a friend's mother, anniversary and "just because" cards, all on the same day.

I was toying with the idea of sending Christmas e-cards this year, because when you think about it, the cost of stamps is not cheap and adds up quickly. But I love sending physical cards. I love getting the cards in the mail. Am I ready to let go of that joy for financial reasons? I don't think so. 

If I had all the time and money in the world, I would send cards to everyone for everything, year-round and all over the country. Since time and money are precious, I think I'll stick to just trying harder to do my best to be more aware of the big dates for the truly important people in my life and continue making an effort to improve on my "just because" sending.

Any one else a big fan of greeting cards, either sending or receiving? Have any methods/observations/resolutions to share?

Flipped.

About a week ago, Tim went out in the rain and worked on yet another sign that our baby is growing up: The flipping of the car seats. We've both had Elle rear-facing since we switched to convertible seats when Elle was about nine months old, but for multiple reasons, we both wanted to flip her around soon after her second birthday.

She had been fine rear-facing - no car sickness, no complaints, no abnormal fussing - but she LOVES forward facing. She rode with Tim for the first two times after we made the switch, and she actually laughed the first time in the car and exclaims "Daddy/Mommy driving!" each time we go somewhere.

Elle was coming down with a cold the afternoon
that she rode with me for the first time post-seat flip
and not exactly the most enthused individual ever.

Tim and I were both surprised that we feel self-conscious to have her watching our every move now, but I *do* love being able to check on her with a quick glance in my rear-view mirror or a look over my shoulder.

Where has the time gone?!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Elle has been saying some pretty funny things. When you ask Elle how old she is, she replies "Good." If you tell her, "No, you should say 'I'm one,'" you'll get a reluctant but solid "I'm one!" This will likely be followed by a sly grin and the proclamation of "I'm four!" or maybe an "I'm two!" (Any number will do, thanks to a friend of Elle's at church who also thinks she is 1-5 at any given second).

But the thing is, she's one going on two going on 10. It seems like the majority of her communication these days is through full sentences, often with proper verbage, pronunciation and pronouns. Just the other week she started very purposefully looking for her "wasscloth" instead of her "cuppa" (don't know why it was a cuppa, but for many months, it was).

We went to Michael's a few weeks ago to buy some frames for gifts. As we entered the store, I saw someone I worked with when I was working my part-time gig there two years ago. When I was pregnant with Elle. I walked through the store, noting that there are many changes, but as I passed the bead department, I noted that very little had changed. I remember stocking those very shelves and rubbing my belly as I contemplated what the future would hold for us. I remembering rubbing my back as I had to stand up and down and up and down, and the belly grew, so did the effort to do "simple" things. I had just started working that job when I found out I was pregnant. My first pregnancy symptom - needing to pee every five minutes - happened on my morning shifts there. I told those coworkers our big news before I told many of my friends and family, because these people didn't know me well, but they needed to know why I wasn't lifting heavy boxes, why I looked sick much of those first few weeks, why my schedule changed from 5 a.m. starts to 9 a.m. starts (God bless my manager for taking such good care of me!).

And I worked in that store for six more months - right up until we left for our babymoon. I loved the people, still love the store and realized just how much of an emotional pull it has on me from that time in my life. Elle was oblivious, wanting to look at the plastic animals and summer toys, but I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone.

Sometimes I snap out of the Twilight Zone and come to the stark, sudden realization that Elle is almost two. I found out I was pregnant with her almost three years ago. We've been doing this parenting thing for almost 24 months. Worrying about childcare, learning about development, settling in to our own groove. And it has gone FAST. Ridiculously fast.

I wonder about future pregnancies - what kind of kid(s) we'll have, what my pregnancy(ies) may bring, everything from how I'll *know* to how fast I'll show to if we'll have the same OB and deliver in the same hospital. There's a certain exciting comfort to thoughts like this. But it terrifies me to think of how fast it will all go, too.

I was uploading photos the other day and accidentally clicked on a June folder from 2011. I gasped as I looked at the photo because not only was it not what I was expecting, but it seems like forever ago.

I had been expecting this:

I got something like this:

Even as I took photos for part of this year's Father's Day present to Tim, I remembered how it was a lot easier last year, when *someone* just sat there. Sure, at the time I was frustrated that she just sat there, but this year, we had to flip the letters around, pick up twigs, try to touch the camera, etc.

This little girl is growing up. She's got more attitude, personality, vocabulary and words every day. While I love watching her grow up, I can't get over how fast it is going and how quickly she's changing. I'd like a time machine, please.

Priness Elle Belle

This past weekend, I went through all of Elle's old clothes, from newborn to 12 months, and I sorted them much better than I did as she outgrew them, then packaged them up in those nifty vacuum-sealed bags to help free up some of our storage space. (Part of my third goal for 2012.) I pulled out the outfit she came home from the hospital in, lovingly folded the onesies she wore in her newborn photos and pulled out a few pieces of clothing that I can't picture any other baby wearing, like this sleeper:

Side note: How did my toddler ever fit in those adorable, teeny-tiny clothes?!?

I sorted out the gender neutral clothes from the girly girl clothes. And I found very random holiday outfits and accessories, from bibs to hats. Including this one:

Elle loves the hat, regardless of the fact that it is wayyyyy too small for her head. She grabs it and says "Princess?" all the time now, which I think is something she got from a headband that my sister bought for her - we called her a princess whenever she'd let us put it on her.

But back to the Christmas hat.

Tonight Elle was carrying it around, saying "Princess?" She then repeated what I said to her: "Princess Elle Belle."

This was followed by a definitive, rapid-fire string of comments from the little princess: "Princess Elle Belle. Ho ho ho. Santa? Ho ho."

I'm a bit bias, and my daughter might be a little confused in regard to hats, nobility and holidays, but Princess Elle Belle is a bit of a royal genius. AND super cute.