sweet dreams, bubba!

We are getting really excited about our trip to NY...a month from today! There is much to say about the anticipation of seeing my sister, hugging my folks, watching the kiddos play together, attending family graduation parties, coffee with old friends, etc. There will be posts for that, I'm sure. But as the day draws near, I've been wondering what we will do about sleeping arrangements for Nathan. Normally, we just throw him in the Pack-n-Play and we're good. A few weeks ago at Nanny's house, he looked up after I put him in for his nap and cried, "Mama, 'dis bed no works!" Yikes...maybe he's too uncomfortable, but he still sleeps. Then when we went for his well-child visit two weeks ago, where the doctor informed us that he is the size of an early three-year-old. Uh-oh! I began to think that a two week vacation in a P&P may not be quite a vacation.

So we geared ourselves up(really just me because Mike isn't home at bedtime and even if he were, would certainly not think about the details days in advance) for introducing a "big boy bed." After his nap today, we assembled it and added it to his room. My plan has been to do what we did for Paige, add the bed and allow him to get used to it before actually sleeping in it. That does nothing other than appease my Mommy heart a while longer that he is still a baby, hence leaving the crib fully assembled. This was his first introduction this afternoon around 4...

He was so proud!! I think he was mostly excited that he can now tell his sister to get out of his bed like she says to him! At 7:45 tonight for bedtime, I assumed we would put him in his crib. He had other plans...

Is it just me, or does he look TERRIFIED in this picture? Again, I assumed it would be a long battle of jumping out, putting in, jumping out, etc... I realize I'm jinxing myself here, but he never got out! Around 8:00, I thought I heard crying and walked back in to find this...Do you see the tears? I was a little worried and figured he was too scared. I asked him what was wrong. Apparently he had seen my camera on the floor. He kept saying, "I want pi-sher, I want pi-sher!" Once I took this shot, he was content. Sweet boy!
Then, at 9:00 when I went to check-in...SUCCESS!

I'm feeling something familiar tonight...that prideful, sad, roller coaster of a Mom who isn't ready to accept another step towards independence, yet so excited to see him attain it. I try to justify why he is just not ready for this, only because I'm not ready for it. Clearly, he's ready! And just to ease your minds there are layers of snugly blankets on the floor, just in case he topples out tonight...or maybe for me to snuggle into since he probably needs a little moral support to make it through the night, whichever you choose to believe!