Big Girl Bed: Part II

Bed update: Katie slept in her "big girl bed" for the first time on Friday night. She said she wanted to sleep there but when the time came time to actually go to sleep, she wanted her "cribby." I knew we were so close to making this transition that I told a little lie. I said the crib was broken and needed to be fixed. So Katie, 5 stuffed animals, 4 books, 2 pillows and 1 baby doll named Owen all slept in the bed. There were a few tears and some staling but once we said she could read to her friends, she got comfortable and eventually went to sleep. I felt like she was 3 months old again and Chad and I were on you couch just hoping she would go to sleep. She's older now and we didn't have to agonize over letting her cry-it-out but we had the same feeling of relief when there was silence. Oddly enough, we can't get her out of the bed now. She woke up on Saturday morning, didn't call out for Mom or Dad, opened her books and started to read to her "friends." The bed she avoided, she now wants to stay in all the time. She doesn't want to get out. We are going back to the old philosophy we had when she was 3 months old: Try not to stress too much because everything will probably change in a couple of days. Here she is on Saturday morning...

President's Day Weekend

Thanks to the President's Day weekend we had some much-needed extra down time. Katie and Chad went to the playground and grocery store while I took a photography class on Sunday morning. Katie said she wanted to go back to the playground when we woke up on Monday and didn't need to go to work. I took her there and brought my camera to try out some things I learn. It might take me awhile to get used to the tips and techniques but between Katie and the soon-to-be-arriving Deuce I have two good subjects to work with.

Big Girl Room

We've finished preparing Katie's "big girl" room. Now we just have to figure out how to get her to sleep in it. She seems to think of it more as a playground. When it comes to sleep...not so much. Check out Chad and Katie trying to assemble the bed rail.

Here is Katie testing out the bed. Noticed her wide awake look.

Deuce Perusse

I've neglected to officially announce that 72 Cedar will have a new resident in a couple months. The newest member of our family is expected to arrive at the end of March. We are anxiously waiting whether it will be a boy or a girl!

I'm enjoying another easy pregnancy but, now that I'm in the home stretch, things like back pain and tiredness are starting to creep in. Keeping up with a two year old was one thing I didn't have to deal with the first time around. The baby is very active and is making itself known with swift kicks.

Katie told us for a long time that we should name the baby "Uncle Stephen" if it's a boy and "Girl" if it's a girl. Up until a month ago, she was adamant that this baby would be her new brother but I think she is warming up to the idea of having a sister now. Her baby dolls are getting alot of attention as she prepares to be a big sister. One doll, dressed in head-to-toe pink, is refered to as her "baby brudder Owen." Owen is the baby at her daycare. Stay tuned....more news to come!

Frosty the Armless Snowman

Katie and Lily (our neighbor) made a snowman recently with the new snowman-making kit Katie got for Christmas. They were very proud of themselves and their snowman (Chad and Nate, Lily's dad, were close by doing the heavy lifting. ) Abby was very excited too...to see some sticks to chew! Here is Abby coming in to steal Frosty's arm.

Holiday Wrap-up

We had a great Christmas this year. Katie's fear of Santa didn't subside but she now considers him a "good guy." She loved all of the holiday activities and is enjoying her many new gifts and toys. Chad and I enjoyed seeing her face light up at the simplest things: she would ask us all the time what our favorite ornament was on the tree, she was so excited that Santa wrote her a note thanking her for the cookies and she become an expert decorator of gingerbread men. She was a little disappointed when we took down the tree but said today that it was outside "taking a break." All in all, a great ending to another great year! Cheers to a happy and healthy 2010.

"Oh HOOOOLY NIGHT!"

We kicked off Christmas by getting a tree last Friday and then celebrated our choice by having hamburgers at The Old Timer. It was packed and they had just finished decorating so it seemed like a nice place for a post-tree-picking dinner. The piano player was playing Christmas songs and Katie stood on the seat of our booth and belted out the tunes. She didn't know many of the words but sang "Oh Holy Night" like an old pro. We decorated the tree on Saturday. Katie was not that interested at first. She did her States puzzle as we started with the lights. She wanted every ornament up REAL HIGH once she decided to help. On Sunday, we went to the Rotary Club's pancake breakfast with Grampa. Katie spent her time between bites of pancakes scoping out the room to make sure Santa was in her sights and preferably far away from her. We went to the Elks in the afternoon for their annual party. This is about as close as we got to Santa. Santa sent his best helper, Uncle Kevin, in one of his warm, red suits to help distribute gifts. I don't think Katie realized the Santa's best helper was related to us. It didn't matter. She was still not going near him. When I told her that Santa was going to give her a gift she kept waving her hands around and saying "YOU go get it!" I told her that she didn't have to sit on his lap but if she wanted the gift, she needed to go and thank Santa. When they called her name, we went up together and she said "thank you Santa" in a soft voice. As we were walking away, Katie swung her head around and yelled "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" to Santa. Now she keeps telling everyone that Santa is a good guy who gave her a snowman present.