Toddler Bed

I am big. I know it because this year I could ride the pony at the fair! I am getting bigger and bigger and bigger. If you ask how old I am, I will tell you that I'm two and I'm a big girl. I am not a big BIG girl, however, because big BIG kids don't use pacifiers. Let's not get crazy here. I can use the potty all by myself and make my own jelly sandwich, but me and my bah-bahs are tight. TIGHT. So that's that.

Proof of big girl status

Mommy asked me if I wanted a big girl bed and I said, "YES!!!" Then I waited politely for two minutes. When it did not appear, I got a little upset and may have kicked and said, "RIGHT NOW!" C'mon, this would be the biggest responsibility I've had since flushing my own poop, and I was eager. Everyday I asked for my big girl bed. Mommy enjoys my enthusiasm, and I have found repetition to be a great negotiating tool. Sure enough, it convinced her that I needed my big girl bed ASAP.

About a week later it finally happened. My moms distracted me with a visit to a farm where I saw my first bull. He was big and black and I think the nose ring was giving him a boo-boo because he mooed like he wanted his mom. I was still talking about the big black bull when all of a sudden we rolled up on a strange new house. When the front door opened, my majestic big girl slumber throne lay inside! I didn't know what to do! So I did what any of you would have done in this situation: revert to a previous developmental stage and steal the other girl's baby dolls. Whatever. Once we got it all sorted out and packed into the car, I wanted to sleep in my new bed right away. Instead, Mommy made me sit in my car seat. Lame! I made her pay for it by crying, "I want to hold your bag!" all the way home, for thirty minutes straight. It was decidedly not a big girl move, but I had had it with waiting.

Mommy and Mama arranged the new bed in my room, then hugged each other and made a lot of "ohh" noises. I LOVED my new toy bed---

--- yes, my new toy bed--- 

and put Baby Kia to sleep right away. It was perfect for her! Mommy loves it when I pretend, but I wasn't foolin. Now that Baby Kia had a proper cot, and my crib was gone, it was clearly time for me to saddle up with Mommy and Mama for the evening... that evening and every evening. YES! Co-sleeping was back! Big girls can make their own decisions, right?, and mine would be snuggling Mommy's face all night. This. Is. Great!

Perfect for my doll, right?! P.S. I picked out the sheets.

It's been about a week now since all of this went down, and overall it has been great. I don't sleep alone and I have a new toy. Mommy makes me fall asleep in my own bed, but clearly there is room for a Mommy or a Mama in here with me, so curl up and cuddle already! Besides, I can get up from my big girl bed and, judging from Mommy's yelp and breathlessness, she likes my nocturnal visitations. However, I am a little tired of hearing about my big girl bed. What's so wrong with co-sleeping? Furthermore, could you just stop saying "big girl bed" for one minute so I could make up my own mind about this new addition, please and thank you?

Yesterday I overheard Mommy ask her friend for advice about my big girl bed. Her hands were turned up in that, "I have no choice" way. That night she tucked me in and said, "You're going to sleep in your big girl bed all night until the sun comes up. You're such a big girl and I'm so proud of you. Then, when it's morning time, you can wake up and say, 'I'm awake Mommy' and I'll come and get you." So you know what I did? I slept in my bed all night. When I woke up at 7am I said, "I'm awake Mommy!" because I had decided to be a big girl.