It Began with a BBFT

So project 'big girl bed' was a success last night--for the most part.  Early in the evening, the girls said 'bye-bye' to their cribs which we captured on an adorable video and then the real work began. Ryan gets most of the credit since he had to tear down 2 cribs,  assemble 2 beds and clean up after it was all done. My part was to create custom made bedspreads, flat sheets and blankets since the beds we chose are 'junior' beds from ikea that are larger than toddler beds but smaller than twin beds and the only bedding that they sell is a fitted sheet that truly fits the bed--It really tested my very crafty side which is nearly nonexistent to begin with. The finished product from both of our efforts combined (building and sewing) was pretty darn cute (see pics below) if I do say so myself.

The girls loved the beds and were quickly climbing on and off and on and off their 'big girl beds'. About 1.5 hours after their usual bedtime we were finally tucking them into their new beds. They have never used blankets so that was new territory and frankly they didn't really get it. Also the standard orientation of how one is to lay in a regular bed was sort of lost on them too--I'm curious as to when they will start consistently figuring it out. These are things that you don't really think about--I mean, it's a bed, you just get in, get under the blankets and lay your head on a pillow, but apparently it's a learning process.

I just put them down for their first nap in the new beds which will be the real challenge. I threatened them multiple times with confiscation of pacifiers, blankets and sneetches (lydia's stuffed bff) but after that I really am not sure what I'll do to reinforce the 'stay in your bed' philosophy. So far things are quiet, but it has only been about 2 minutes :).

Ok, so I've been resistant to this one. We bought them 'big girl beds' a couple of months ago but haven't transitioned them yet but we plan to tonight. I have cited many reasons for waiting on moving them to a crib. Mainly because many a nap often begins by putting them in the crib against their will--how do you do that with a bed???  Also, with two in there I don't know what kinds of things they'll get into!
Anyhow, Baby #3 is coming and needs a crib so we need to move forward. So this is the 'ode to the cribs', written while they are taking their last nap in their cribs. I shouldn't be so sentimental about it because, A: It could be terrible and we might be putting them back up tomorrow night and just buying Baby #3 his own new crib and B: If we are successful the crib will be filled with a new little bundle in about 6 weeks--what could be better than that?  However, I've never done well with change and I can't say that I'm not a little sad about seeing the cribs come down. I can remember renting a truck and driving super fast to pick them up (we only had the truck for 1 hour) and then sweating through the summer heat as we put them together. Well, Ryan put them together, but I broke down and recycled the boxes which was no small feat with my bulbous twin infested belly.  When we brought them home from the hospital they looked so tiny in their cribs--I almost felt bad about leaving them in that big thing all alone. Over the last 2 years though they've spent a lot of time in their cribs--sleeping mainly but also jumping, laughing, babbling/talking with eachother, chewing on the sides (until we finally found some good covers), looking at books, snuggling with sneetches and blankets (see pics below) --and a little crying too :).  So tonight we start the big bed experiment--and in about 4 years when they outgrow their oh so cute ikea junior beds I'll be blogging and misting up about their transition to 'big, big girl beds'.