Samantha’s Big Girl Bed

I guess I need to be prepared for a no afternoon nap week.

Brian and I had debated about how to transition Sam into a big bed.  My thought was set up the bed, let her see it, talk about it for a few days, then move her over.  Maybe nighttime in the bed at first, but naps in the crib (for my own sake really).  I had been convinced to remove the crib after a few days, even if she wasn’t keen on the new bed.  Brian’s idea was put up the bed, take down the crib.  Boom.

Her bed arrived at our house (via Brian’s “awesome” new ride) on Saturday.  We had a lot going on that day already, so it sat in boxes.  We had been talking about a big girl bed for a while, but I didn’t know if she would associate herself with one.  She knows a few other kids with big beds, and even jumps on the babysitter’s daughter’s big bed.

When she woke up from her nap on Sunday afternoon, Brian arrived home with her new mattress (via Brian’s “awesome” new ride).  Sam was super interested.

We had talked about what kind of mattress pad we needed, but never actually bought one.  The time had come.  Amazon (where I buy most everything) had waterproof mattress pads for about $14.  Thanks – I’ll take two.  Brian wanted to leave the plastic on the mattress.  Ew.  Luckily for me, he bought a floor sample mattress so it didn’t have sealed plastic.  The salesman also convinced him that we needed a mattress protector (even fancier than a waterproof pad).  Thanks mattress man!

I got ready to go back to the mattress store to buy a protector.  Lately, Samantha is in a stage where it’s really hard if I leave her.  She wants me to be with her at all times.  So, she and I venture out in the rain.  The mattress store was closed, but luckily mattress man was still there.  I guess he felt sorry for a pregnant woman with her two year old in tow standing outside in the rain.  He cut me a better deal than the price on Amazon (even a put-it-in-your-cart-to-see-the-price deal) so I bought two.  Thanks mattress man!

When we got home, the bed was set up and the crib was gone.

For now, we’re using the bed stuff that I had in college.  I think that when we move into another house, we can decorate her room then.  Her favorite color is still blue, so I think it’s a great fit.

It took her about 2 hours to fall asleep last night.  We found her in various places each time we went in: sitting on top of her new nightstand, in the closet wearing slippers, etc.  Like I said, I guess I should be prepared for no naps this week.

By the way, did I mention how much Brian loves his new ride and talks about it?  It was raining all weekend during the hauling of the big items.  Nothing got wet, nothing was tied down, nothing was covered with a tarp (or tarpaulin, as my dad would say) and all arrived safe and sound.  Does someone else want to hear him talk about it?

And another by the way, I shot these pictures in manual.  It’s the first time I’ve ventured over to the “M.”  They didn’t turn out that bad!  I do stalk a few good teachers and mentors.

Christmas 2009

I feel like everyone has moved beyond Christmas.  I am running a little behind, so I’m just getting around to posting our Christmas pictures.

Christmas started with brunch at the Betbezes on Christmas Eve.  I really like this tradition.  We enjoyed brunch then the kids began opening presents.  Samantha got lots of great gifts, but the #1 score (in her eyes) was a new shopping cart from Great Aunt Mary.  She barely had the patience for her daddy to put it together.  Goodness.

After naptime, we headed to mass.  It wasn’t as crowded as usual, so we actually had a whole pew to ourselves.  Our friend Kris took this family shot after mass.  It’s one of the few times that Samantha has actually smiled for the camera.  Thanks, guys!

We came home, had Chicken Tortilla Soup (yum) then nestled all snug in our beds.

On Christmas morning, we got up and opened presents.  Samantha got a few books and some hand glove puppets from Santa.  The hit was the Abby Cadabby magic wand book she got.  I like this shot because it shows Sam in her Christmas PJs and slippers, inspecting her new book.

As we were packing the car and getting ready to drive to Huntsville, I went to feed the cats.  We didn’t arrange for anyone to stop by because we were only going to be gone for a few days.  However, I discovered that we were almost out of cat food.  As in, we didn’t have enough to last a few days.  Uh oh.  It was Christmas morning, and I was sure that no store was open that carried our cat food.  Luckily, the Grissoms came to the rescue.  Thanks for buying our cats’ food and taking it by the house to feed them!!

We drove to Huntsville in time for lunch.  The kids were getting ready for their naps so we hurriedly opened presents.  Wow, what craziness.  If I had to guess a favorite from that bunch, it would be the keyboard from MamaLinda and Pop.  Now Samantha can play the piano and push lots of buttons while her daddy is playing too.  She loves dancing to the beat.

On Boxing Day, my mom and I went out shopping while the boys and kids went to the Train Exhibit at the Botanical Gardens.  I think it was a hit.  Of course, anything involving Jackson is sure to be lots of fun.  See a previous post.

On Sunday, we traveled over to Florence to spend some time with Brian’s family.  We enjoyed getting to see everyone.  We opened presents that night then spent a few days relaxing and playing games.  Samantha’s favorite gift was the rocking chair from Nana and Papa.  She loves it!  She also loved Chloe’s skirt and playing with wrapping paper, tissue paper and boxes!

We had a great Christmas!  Whew.  We were glad to spend a few days at home relaxing before beginning the new year!  Here’s one final picture of us in front of our tree at home.  (And you can see my new curtain in the background, and Samantha’s new white dot outfit from MamaLinda!)