Hellooooo Out There!!

Just another quick update from my parent's computer. It's going to be a few weeks before I have great access to one again.... we need a computer, and my husband said something about being financially responsible.. doing appropriate research on big purchases... waiting until we've paid other bills... I don't know - I tuned him out after he firmly said we can't order one "today." It won't be too long though - I miss you guys!

We're doing well. Christa has transitioned herself to her big girl bed!!! She asked to sleep in it a few weeks ago, but kept getting up. So I braced myself for a painful move that would likely involve me sitting outside her door and physically placing her back in her bed hundreds of times. Until that time, though, the crib still suited all of us just fine. Then, last week, the night before her "school" pictures (and also a night Cline was conveniently working :), she insisted on sleeping in her big girl bed. I actually tried to talk her out of it - I wanted Cline to be there to reassure me she wasn't going to go tumbling down the stairs in the middle of the night or pull the office bookcase over on herself, or that whatever horrific image my mind conjured up wouldn't happen. I also wanted her to get a good night's sleep so she'd look great and cooperate for her pictures. I told her several times that we'd sleep in the crib a few more nights, and if she could nap in the big girl bed for a few days, I'd let her sleep in it at night. Well, Christa insisted that she wanted to sleep in the big girl bed that very night.

I decided to compromise with myself. I would put her in the big girl bed and explain to her that if she got up just one time, it was back to the crib. I didn't even bother grabbing the baby monitor - just put her in bed with her duck and blankie, and waited outside her door for the offense to occur, certain she'd be in her crib within 3 minutes. Actually.... 5 minutes passed.... then 10. No sign of Christa exiting her room. I started to panic because I hadn't put the baby monitor in her room, and how was I going to sleep "so far away from her" with her having so much freedom to roam about the house unsupervised???? After 30 minutes passed, I decided to risk this surprising progress and sneak the baby monitor into her new room. I don't know if she'd fallen asleep by then or not, but she was contentedly lying in her bed and gave me a big smile when she saw me. I told her I was so proud of her, that she was doing great, and I loved her. Then I went to my room where I got a great night's sleep, knowing the baby monitor would alert me if she woke up. The next morning, she was sound asleep in her big girl bed with many stuffed animals to keep her company. She's been sleeping there for naps and at night ever since!

If potty training is that easy, we're in great shape :) That is our next goal, hopefully to be tackled in the next 6 months.

Well, gotta run - have a great day!