The things that happen on Saturdays

Saturday's in our home are never boring. There is always something brewing, something new going on, or some project that is being worked on. Since yard sale season has started I have been busy getting my early morning shop on. This year has been full of purchasing goodies for Audrey. Seriously, almost everything I have bought so far has been for her.

I am not going to post about my yard sale goodies here. I am saving that for my other blog. This week's purchase is so special, and has so much more to do with Audrey becoming a big girl, than a simple yard sale purchase.

At a yard sale downtown I stumbled upon a toddler bed that matched Audrey's crib and dresser set perfectly. They are obviously from the same collection and I could not believe my luck! Not only was the bed only $25, it came with a mattress as well! Under normal circumstances a used mattress would bother me, however, since these mattresses are vinyl covered I figure a good disinfectant spray should put my soul at ease, I was right.

Before making the purchase I wanted to consult with my husband. In fact, I was not going to buy the bed unless he wanted it, because I was not ready for her to transition in to a toddler bed. Since he would not answer his phone I went home and asked him what he thought. He was really excited. I did not think he would care much, boy was I wrong! We went back right away and bought it. I gave it a good scrubbing and placed all of the bedding from her crib onto her new bed.

Audrey LOVES her new bed. She sits on it with several pairs of shoes to try on, she relaxes on it with a sippy and a few stuffed animals, she reads on it, and she covers the cat up in her blankets on it. I had no idea she would enjoy it as much as she does, she even tries to play on it. I have to be very diligent in disciplining her when she plays on her bed. She needs to understand her bed is for sleeping or relaxing, not jumping. She is doing pretty well.

So far sleeping has been a great success as. Tonight will be her fourth night as a big girl. Once she is in her bed for the night, she stays put. We have not had any issues with her getting up and playing or doing things she is not supposed to. I am sure things will not always be this way, but I am thankful for her being as wonderful as she is while in this transition stage.

Before you all believe that this milestone was accomplished with happy smiles and proud parents, I want to make it very clear how difficult this was for me! As I said, I did not really want to purchase the bed. I could not believe how lucky I was to find it, and though it seemed the right thing to do, I was trying my best to rationalize not buying it.

See, being a mother is full of bittersweet moments, this is one of them. I am very excited for my daughter to grow up and do 'big girl' things. I am so proud of her for doing so well with potty training, expanding her vocabulary, and mastering even more difficult motor skills, but I also miss my "teeny, teeny, tiny baby." I am excited for her to move into a toddler bed, but it is just one step closer to her being a big girl instead of my sweet baby.

I cried the first night she slept in her bed. I cried because I was so proud of her for falling right asleep. I cried because she looked so darling cuddled with her stuffed animals, but most of all, I cried because she is not a baby anymore.

And now I have nothing left to say because I am teary-eyed and seem to have lost my train-of-thought.