a big girl room....

After Christmas, Kaz and I came back to Charleston, and Annie Rice stayed with my parents for a few days. We had planned to start on her “big girl room” during that time and just paint. Kaz asked to take things really slow[that’s not me at all! When I have a project in mind, I want it done ASAP]. BUT I agreed and we had just planned to paint the room while she was my parents. We started painting that night, and it wasn’t very longer after when Kaz asked if we could have her whole room done by the time she got back home:) He was just as excited as I was. I decided that with her big girl room we were going to do a complete makeover! New colors, simpler design, and less clutter. We still have 1 more project to do on one of the walls, and I’ll be sure to post pictures when we do that. Right now, her walls are blank, which is kind of nice considering how crowded they were before:) 

I bought the bedding at Target, the curtains off of Amazon, we repainted her old dresser from black to white, and I made the bow holder with a frame and ribbon from hobby lobby. 

Her big girl room was something that i have been thinking about for months...It was something I was in NO HURRY to do. My pediatrician recommended her being in a big girl bed by the time she started climbing out of the crib[she never did] or by the time she was 3. We honestly could have waited a little longer, but I knew that I didn’t want to start her in a big girl bed in a few months when wedding season starts up for me. 

I honestly didn’t know what to expect. Every person teaches their child something different. We have a lot of friends who have been apart of Growing Kids Gods Way, and we’ve really liked a lot of the ways they parent their children. Before Christmas, I read Todderwise and one of the things it recommends is having the child stay in bed and ask before they get out of bed. Loved the idea[we have friends who do this and it’s been great] so I definitely wanted to do that, but along with that I had ordered[and done a ton of research] on toddler clocks. I ordered My Tot Clock, to go along with Annie’s switch to a big girl bed. I was nervous and had no idea what to expect...We told Annie Rice several times that when she came back home she was going to have a big girl room! She was SO EXCITED! Since she didn’t pick any of the decorations out with me, I decided that I would take her the day she came home to pick out some “big girl pj’s”. Even though the pj’s are the same as all of her others ones, to this day when she puts on the pj’s we got that night, she calls them her big girl “jammers”[that’s a country word for pajamas]. 

Annie Rice LOVED her room and was so happy when she saw it! She climbed right up in the bed. It was the cutest thing. She took her bear, aka beer, and put him under the covers, pointed her finger at him and said “Go night night beer. Stay in bed and don’t say mine.” I couldn’t help but laugh:)

That night before she went to sleep, we went over several times this process of a big girl bed. We told her that while her clock was blue she was to stay in bed. We told her when she woke up the next morning AND her clock was yellow then she could call for mommy. When mommy came to the door, she could ask to get out of bed. My parents were here for that first night, and I know they were skeptical, but Annie Rice did amazing! She got out of bed 1x and since that first night she has stayed in bed ever since! It’s been almost 4 weeks since she started sleeping in her big girl bed. We put her down at 730pm and I set the clock to turn yellow at 730am. Most days she will sleep until 7-830 and the days she wakes up at 7, she stays in bed until it’s yellow and most days well past 730. I put a few books by her bed and she has a few stuffed animals and she will either lay in bed and talk or sing, or play with her books or animals. Nap time has been the same way. In the beginning, every time she would lay down we went over and over what she was to do, and would ask her questions so she could tell us how the process was going to work. Now, we usually go over it once a day and she does really good! This transition with Annie Rice has been a lot easier than I expected as a result of prayer, the Tot clock, and the wisdom from Toddlerwise. When we have traveled to my parents house, we pack the clock with us, and follow the same system. 

Below are a few pictures of her big girl room...

BEFORE....

 AFTER..

 I personally LOVE these curtains:)

 bow holder: I picked 3 different ribbons that I liked and staple gunned them to the back of the frame:)