Parker and Autumn graduated to bigger beds. Parker moved from the toddler bed to a twin size bed and Autumn moved from the 'Pack N Play' to the toddler bed.
We found a cheap twin bed at a garage sale and set it up in the kids' room. They were both pretty excited for their 'big' beds. I was a little nervous to see how bed time would go, especially since they are in the same room. It turned out to be pretty simple. Parker was tired (and a little nervous about being up so high) so he didn't move. Autumn was a little confused and followed me to the door when I left the room. (Luckily she doesn't know how to open the door yet.) She cried for not even 5 minutes before she retreated to her bed and went to sleep. The next night was much the same, but with no crying at all.
Since then, we have had our ups and downs with bed time. Some nights they both get out of bed and laugh and play together, (which is really cute), and other nights they both are crying, but such is bedtime, with or without new beds. More recently, they have started getting out of bed and getting into little spats, so we established a rule with Parker that if he got out of bed, he would get one of his animals taken away for the night. If he got out of bed twice, we would take Fuzzy, his favorite bear. This has worked quite well, because if Parker stays in bed, then Autumn stays in bed, for the most part. Although, I felt pretty bad the first night. In the morning, Autumn was knocking on her door from the inside, wanting to come out (which is also so cute, accompanied by 'Mama' or 'Dada'). When Paul opened the door for her, he saw that Parker was also awake in his bed. Paul asked him why he didn't get up and open the door for her, he said, "I can't get out of my bed or I will get an animal taken away." Of course, he now knows, there are times when it is okay to get out of bed, especially the next morning.
Overall, the new beds are a hit. Parker says he is no longer a little boy. He is a big boy with a big boy bed. He also is quick to correct us that Autumn is no longer Baby Autumn, she is Little Autumn. I guess we are now ready for the new baby in the family!
Here are a collection of pictures from our recent trip to Grand Junction to visit Paul's parents. We returned their truck that they were kind enough to let us borrow and got to have lots of fun with Granny and Pops. We made a visit to Chuck E Cheese, the mall, and the new Cabela's. Parker enjoyed making cookies with Granny and they both loved just playing with Pops and Granny's toys, watering the garden and eating popsicles.
When we first arrived at Chuck E. Cheese, Parker was nervous about the big Chuck E on the stage. I reassured him that he always stayed in the stage and just danced around. Unfortunately, they later decided to have big Chuck E come out in costume and greet the kids. Parker ran screamed and cried (and I looked like a liar). Sad, but funny.
