BIG Girl Bed :)

So after much debate in my mind about making the switch to the "Big Girl Bed" I finally decided to go with it when I finished making a new rag quilt for Lena and it turned out to be just the right size for her new bed. I was inspired to make the quilt for her after Rosie gave one to Jimmy for his birthday. With a lot of help from Rosie I FINALLY finished it.

Lena has been pretty good at sleeping through the night and has only been waking up in the middle of the night when she is sick. When she DOES wake up during the night she cries until we come and get her and I was feeling like a big part of the crying was due to feeling trapped and not wanting to be alone... I don't know this for sure... but I was just deducing that maybe if we put her in a bed that she wasn't "trapped" in, she would wake up... see that she wasn't trapped and fall back asleep. :) Who knows if these thoughts ever REALLY go through her head. :)

Anyway, last night was her fourth night in her new bed and so far I have found her (in the morning) on the pad I put on the floor by her bed (in case she fell out of bed), over in the corner by her Big Teddy, still in her bed and still in her bed but laying horizontally with her feet hanging over the edge. :) It's kind of fun to see where she has ended up in the morning each time. Randy and I actually made bets on it this morning... I bet she was on the pad again and he bet that she was still in bed... he won. :)

As far as putting her to sleep goes it has been really fun for me. It's crazy how different it is to be able to sit right next to her while she lays in her bed. The first night I put her to sleep by rubbing lotion on her face and singing to her... the second night I put her to sleep by singing to her... Randy put her to sleep the third night and last night I rubbed lotion on her face and stroked her hair while singing. All of this was while she was laying in her bed. In just the past four nights I've come to really love bedtime and putting her to sleep. I love being able to sit right next to her and think of new ways to get her relaxed. :) She has been such a cutie. Last night I was singing a song to her that my Nonna sung to my dad and that my mom sung to me and my siblings... we call it "Nina, Nana". Now she sings it to her Kitty. :) After it looked like she was asleep I started humming instead of singing and she peeped her little eyes open and put her finger on my mouth as though to tell me to keep singing (instead of humming). :) Then she went back to sleep. It was adorable. I love that she has her ways of telling me what she wants. :)