In The Hartland: Logan's Big Boy Bed!

This post might come as a shock to the entire world to learn that our four-and-a-half year old boy was still sleeping in a crib until two nights ago. Yes, you read right....but just let me explain! One of the greatest pieces of advice that I learned years ago from my sister-in-law, Susie, was not to move Lia out of her crib and into an adorable, toddler bed at age two. As cute as it looks, the events to follow are not! I mean, who wants a two-year old crawling out of bed a hundred times of day, making a mess in their bedroom, sneaking our of their room, and, worst of all, kicking their afternoon nap to the curb! I faithfully followed this counsel and did not move Lia out of her crib until she was three years and three months old. It was one of the best decisions I ever made as she took naps until she was almost four years old and I vowed to repeat this same process with any children to follow.
Fast forward a few years, and we have a three-year old Logan who is wild and crazy and all over the place. Due to the previously mentioned qualities, I needed him to take his afternoon nap as much as he did so that I could get a few hours of peace and quiet in the middle of the day. In addition, Logan needed boundaries more than Lia ever did to just help him calm down and follow the routine of the day...and the crib provided these boundaries for him. And although I put a stool next to his bed right after he turned three, the crib's bars just helped him to calm down and mellow out every time he layed inside them. Plus, Logan never minded being in his crib and every time I talked about moving him into his big boy bed, I was met with resistance. As much as other people thought I was crazy to do this, I have no regrets. I am pretty confident that my four-and-half-year old boy was still napping on a daily basis until a month ago due to the fact that he was sleeping in a crib. However, when the school year started a few weeks ago, I felt like it was time to make the transition. Logan was starting PreK and was finally beginning to act older. His tantrums have really started to decrease and he is doing really well in his primary class at church. He also is starting to sit for long periods of time to "read" books and work on a coloring project. Signs of Logan growing up can be seen every day. Plus, I knew that he would be meeting and making some friends in his PreK class who we might end up inviting over for playdates this year and I didn't want them coming into Logan's room and making fun of the fact that he was still sleeping in his crib. It was time to make the big change...
So, I had Ron buy Logan a new mattress and bunky board when he went to the furniture store at the end of August. I then broke out all of the bedding that I bought for Logan's big boy bed when he was a newborn (after my mom had discovered a bedding set at Target that matched the colors and theme of his room perfectly) and washed it all. Lastly, I got Ron to bring up the old headboard and footboard from the basement for me to paint. I spent four afternoons in a row this past week sanding down and painting three coats of white paint to get Logan's bed looking shiny and new. This headboard and footboard are identical to Lia's and were bought for my grandparent's Lake Samm cabin when they remodeled it in 1972. After my parents decided to take them out of the cabin years ago, they held on to them until I was able to take them to use for future, children's beds. I just love that these old pieces of family furniture are getting a second chance at life!
After getting everything ready, Ron helped me put the bed together yesterday. He attached the headboard and the footboard to the bed frame and put the bunky board and mattress in place before taking Logan and Lia off to the fair for the next several hours. While Ella napped, I worked in Logan's room and thoroughly vacuumed it, made the bed, and got everything washed and put away from his old crib and changing table. When it was all done, Logan's room looked so dang cute! I couldn't get over how perfect his bed looked tucked up against one side of his room and how perfectly his bedding matched the colors and jungle theme already on his walls! I was so excited to show Logan and Lia when they got home and their reactions did not disappoint! Logan loved it and was so excited to sleep in it that first night. I can't get over how much my boy is growing up....

On Sept. 12th, I let Logan skip his nap and help me paint the first coat of white on his bed. He had so much fun painting the headboard and footboard with me.

Logan painting away! We have similar pictures of Lia helping us do the same thing with her bed.

One more picture for Logan's sake!

On Friday night, September 16th, Logan slept in his crib for the last time. Here are some pictures of my boy cuddling in for one last night's sleep inside his "bars."

Since I washed the sheets, blanket, and bedspread for Logan's bed a few days earlier, Logan discovered his new, big blanket and immediately fell in love with it because it is so soft and cozy. As a result, he started sleeping with it in the crib a few nights before he moved into his bed. Here he is with his big blanket underneath him and his baby quilt that his grandmother made on top of him.