a little bed

We've been pretty determined not to bother moving Avery out of the crib until she showed us that she could get out herself.  Didn't see the point of bringing on new bedtime frustrations if there wasn't any need.  Visions of little Avery pounding on the bedroom door (still unable to turn the knob at least), slumping in a heap on the floor to stretch tiny fingers under the crack, and falling asleep there late in the night had our minds set to leave the crib as is until necessity called for a change.  What was it that swayed us and had Levi happily removing the rails and adjusting her crib into a perfectly sized toddler bed right before nap today?  

She asked for it!  A few times this week she's requested to sleep in a big bed and today her sweet smile and excitement at the idea won us over.  With fingers crossed we took down the rails and decided to give it a test run.  She was so pleased while Daddy worked and thanked him several times, a funny excited smile on her face. 

She did really good over nap-time and stayed in her little bed right until I came to get her.  So far tonight, being a couple hours into bedtime, she's also been quiet as a mouse and we're guessing all is well.  It was so darling to tuck her into bed tonight.  We both knelt by her side, said a prayer and sung a song, and she smiled up at us the whole time looking like she had everything she could possibly want in the world.

Over her nap I spent some time in my sewing room and made up an Avery-sized pillow just for her.  One of our guest pillows was sacrificed in the making, but I think it was a worthy cause.  She loves it and was happy to lay her head on it tonight at bedtime.  It's just so fun to see her world growing and changing month by month.  So many things she learns on her own and we adjust her surroundings accordingly, but the few that we seem to have full control over seem more daunting to me.  This was one of them ... and today we've done it.  

We're also proud to report that Avery has used the potty twice this week in very legitimate ways.  We can see that something is starting to click and it seems like a good time to jump in and tackle this next daunting challenge.  Both times we cheered for her and praised her for her accomplishment and I told her to come get a little treat as a reward.  Each time I gave her two little candies and told her "the first candy is for holding your pee until you reached the potty, and the second candy is for going on the potty!".  Each time she took her prize and ran back to the bathroom where she popped one in her mouth and threw the other one in the toilet.  Perhaps a little re-wording was necessary?  But then, I suppose the potty deserves a reward too for being there for her when she needed it.   Onward and upward!  Perhaps it's a good week for a little growing up!