So...it happened. Cooper was ready. Philip was ready. Mama
was not ready. Even though we weren't completely finished putting together or moving Cooper into his new room, the bed was ready, which meant, to Philip and Cooper, that it was open for sleeping. I was getting ready to put Cooper down when suddenly Philip asked, "Coop, you want to sleep in your big boy room tonight?" The next thing I know Cooper and Philip are emptying out the crib and carrying all of Cooper's sleeping goodies to his new room--blankie, Big Elephant, Gus, Ooh Ooh, cozy blanket, and, yes, a hammer. I was caught in the hallway between both rooms with my mouth open, completely unable to say anything besides, "uh...uh...wait...umm...what?!"
This is what Philip looked like carrying all of Coop's goodies into the new room.
Cooper was so, so excited about this new bed and new room! He instantly jumped into bed and went straight to his train buckets to pick out a book to read. He asked Philip to lay down with him and read and there was Mommy, still standing in the hallway, not sure what just happened. And then came the tears. I kept thinking...but I didn't get one last picture of him sleeping in his crib!
Cooper's nursery suddenly had a different feel. It felt empty. And it was hitting me that another little boy was going to have that room and sleep in that crib, which of course is a blessing and I'm grateful to have it, but it was just hitting me kind of hard.
Coop and Philip settled into the big bed to read books and I tried to dry my tears enough to snap some photos. They were as cozy as they could be.
After Philip finished reading, Coop said he wanted Mommy to lay down with him. Little did he know I probably needed that more than he did, so I was happy to oblige. I told him how proud I was of him for being a big boy and he said he was excited. And then came more tears. After laying down with Cooper for a bit, I told him I was going to do some things in the kitchen and I'd be back to check on him. I reminded him that he needed to stay in bed, otherwise he'd have to go back to his crib. As soon as I shut the door, I heard him crawling out of bed. He opened the door to see me standing there, but I just turned him around, put him back in bed and reminded him about his sticker chart (more on that later). I said good night and left the room again. He got out of bed only one other time, but after I tucked in back in for the second time, he stayed put and soon fell asleep.
I went in to check on him and saw this. He was peacefully sleeping under Big Elephant. I, on the other hand, was still a mess. Tears tears tears. And they just wouldn't stop. Thank you pregnancy hormones...right?
Cooper slept ALL night and woke up happy at 8:00 a.m. I was sure I was going to hear little footsteps coming down the hallway as soon as I heard him through the monitor, so I just laid in bed and waited. I could hear him talking, but didn't hear any signs of him getting out of bed. I wondered if this could possibly be true? At 8:30 a.m. I finally decided to go in there and see what he was doing. I found him completely happy and SO proud of himself for sleeping in his big boy bed. He had just been playing and reading in his bed, waiting for me to come in there.
I went on and on and on about how proud of him I was and what a big boy he was that he stayed in bed and slept all night! He was proud of himself, too. Cheering, clapping and jumping up and down! And then, I started crying. Again. Through my tears I said, "I'm crying because I'm just so proud of you." Cooper responded by saying, "Don't cry, Mama. I big boy!" Sigh.
And, we lucked out because there was a super fancy birthday party taking place at the resort one night we were there and just they happened to shoot off fireworks right in front of our villa. We sat on our balcony after dinner and couldn't have had a better seat for the show!
We had just gotten home from swim lessons when it really started coming down. I have the cutest videos on my phone of Cooper running from one side of the carport to the other saying, "Look! It's raining over here, too!" His amazement that the rain was not just in one spot was fabulous. Discovering that rain comes down covering large areas. Who would have thought it was such a eye-opening discovery? Love seeing that through Cooper's eyes.
5.11.2011
Twelve weeks to go and I can not wait to meet this little guy!!
When it came to surprise time, Coop climbed up on his bed, closed his eyes and waited for his surprise!
Coop loves Toy Story, and I don't typically like buying "themed" things, but Toy Story is different to me for some reason. Coop just loves those characters and he already has Buzz, why not add Woody, right? :) Coop was SO excited!!
Yee-haw!!
It's been one full week of Cooper sleeping in his big boy bed, and, knock on wood, things really couldn't be going any better. He is staying in bed without constant reminders, he is falling asleep on his own, and his sleeping pattern is right back to normal. He waits for me to come get him after nap time and in the morning. Each morning I wake up to him talking and singing in bed, just like he always did in his crib. It makes me so happy that he loves his room and his new bed so much. And still every morning when he wakes up, he is so proud of himself for sleeping in his big room! Tonight when I was putting him down, I asked him what was his favorite thing about his new room. His answer? "My big boy bed because I big!!"
Cooper was so, so excited about this new bed and new room! He instantly jumped into bed and went straight to his train buckets to pick out a book to read. He asked Philip to lay down with him and read and there was Mommy, still standing in the hallway, not sure what just happened. And then came the tears. I kept thinking...but I didn't get one last picture of him sleeping in his crib!
After Philip finished reading, Coop said he wanted Mommy to lay down with him. Little did he know I probably needed that more than he did, so I was happy to oblige. I told him how proud I was of him for being a big boy and he said he was excited. And then came more tears. After laying down with Cooper for a bit, I told him I was going to do some things in the kitchen and I'd be back to check on him. I reminded him that he needed to stay in bed, otherwise he'd have to go back to his crib. As soon as I shut the door, I heard him crawling out of bed. He opened the door to see me standing there, but I just turned him around, put him back in bed and reminded him about his sticker chart (more on that later). I said good night and left the room again. He got out of bed only one other time, but after I tucked in back in for the second time, he stayed put and soon fell asleep. 
I went on and on and on about how proud of him I was and what a big boy he was that he stayed in bed and slept all night! He was proud of himself, too. Cheering, clapping and jumping up and down! And then, I started crying. Again. Through my tears I said, "I'm crying because I'm just so proud of you." Cooper responded by saying, "Don't cry, Mama. I big boy!" Sigh.
Cooper entertained himself in the hallway by sweeping and eating a brownie, which he found in the kitchen and helped himself to the bag. I came around the corner just as he was biting into the largest brownie a two-year-old has ever eaten.
As we completed each step along the way, Cooper was so positive and encouraging telling us "ooohhh, it looks nice! Good job, Mommy! I like big boy room!" I kept reminding him that it's not finished yet, and it's only going to get better. His excitement has been so sweet and genuine and exactly what keeps me motivated to make the room perfect for him.
