This past week’s To Do List Tasks was to transition…
my 2 yr. old from a Baby Nursery to a Big Girl Room!
My youngest daughter turned TWO during this past Memorial Day weekend and it was then that she also successfully managed to climb out of her crib for the first time, while it was set at the lowest setting. It was at that moment that it occurred to me, like a ton of bricks, that my sweet little baby girl was a baby no more. In anticipation of getting to this point, we had purchased a toddler bed set with her pals Anna & Elsa on it. It was because of my older 3 girls all transferring from crib to bed just after they turned two that we had planned to be prepared. She is the most petite of my girls so I was extra grateful to have a crib that converts easily to a toddler bed
We went from an overcrowded space with a changing table crammed between a nightstand and a bookshelf and a crib and rocker with ottoman under a full-size loft bed. You do what you must when it comes to fitting 4 daughters in across two bedrooms roughly 140 square feet each. Removing the side rail from the crib and turning it into a toddler bed made getting my little one into bed easier (keeping her there is a whole new process though). We took one of her bulky crawling toys out and decided the changing table and rocker with ottoman could go as well opening up more floor space to be used for play. The rocker found a new home in our living room and the changing table and crawling toy will be sold at a garage sale this summer.
With the new open floor space, I was able to create 3 different vignette play spaces with her most favorite toy sets, ones that she and my 7 yr. old enjoy playing with together so it’s even better!
We made sure that we highlighted some of their favorite accessories and decor items while putting together this Enchanting Frozen Big Girl Bedroom. There are a few elements that still need completing, I have made a glass block Frozen nightlight that is not pictured because it has not been given to my girls yet. I also purchased a set of removable wall stickers that will replace the aged and peeling Winnie the Pooh ones left from the nursery (3 times re-used). Of course, the new ones feature none other than Anna & Elsa and some of our other chilly pals!
My littlest girl’s souvenir from our last trip to Walt Disney World in Aug/Sept 2016 and boy does she LOVE playing with these chunky plastic versions of her Frozen Friends
Both of my girls who share this room were very excited about the changes and the new look of their bedroom. In the week since the bedroom has been set up in its new arrangement and revealed to them, my girls have had plenty of playtimes together and for the most part have been very effective at picking the room up before bed every evening allowing it to remain functional still! Yay for the small victories!
Getting my little one to stay in the bed for bedtime or naps has proven to be equally as difficult as it was with my other girls though. We have found her asleep on the floor more nights than in her bed because if she is able to get out of bed, she certainly will. Fortunately she is slowly warming up to laying in it for nap time (I do accredit this partially to the fact that when we find her on the floor after she has fallen to sleep I move her back into her bed so she still wakes up in her new “Big Girl Bed”!) I know eventually she will catch on, and how could I expect any different when her big sisters would still prefer to sleep on a couch, the floor in a fort or in each other’s rooms over their own beds at 7, 9 & 15?
So there you have it, my 4th completed transition, from Baby Nursery to Big Girl Bedroom! As exciting as this fun new transition is, I did sniff back some tears, and I was sure to rock her in that rocker one last time the night before the big transition so that I could savor it one more time. Savor the smell of her sweet freshly bathed & washed head, the tickle of her wispy hair on my chin & nose and the weight of her quickly growing body upon my chest, because I knew it would be the last time I would do that before laying my sweet girl into her crib for the very last time.
After 4 children, I have learned not only to cherish the 1st’s in our children’s lives, like their first words, first steps and the first day of school but also and maybe more importantly, to cherish every moment because we never know when they will be their last’s. When they will suddenly be too cool to come running to mommy to be swept up into our arms or God forbid not here at all to run to us. I consciously try to keep myself in the moments whenever possible when I am with my girls so that I don’t begin to take them for granted.
My girls are my reason for pushing myself to keep trying to be better than I was the day before. I don’t always succeed, if I’m entirely frank, I fail more days than I consider myself successful in this area, but I do still try to be better every day and I am guilty of getting distracted from time to time but thank the Good Lord for GRACE because He knows I will fail and He loves me regardless because He knows my heart. Every time I am blessed to lift my head off the pillow again in the morning I try to be better in my spirit and better in my flesh. Better for my girls, better for myself, and most importantly better for God & His Will for my family and I encourage you to do the same! Check back again later today for this week’s To Do List Tuesday (…hint, hint….I will be giving you my favorite tips for packing & prepping for a road trip), because I am doubling up today due to my technical difficulties last week! Now go forth this week and DAZZLE through whatever transitions you may be facing and remember, if you are reading this, you are blessed with another day to live intentionally, so go DAZZLE while you do!
As always, thanks for reading!
~Rebecca
The Dazzling Domestic Dreamer 