Big Girls

Our little girls are growing up. They moved into "big girl" twin beds over the weekend. The first night (Friday night) actually went really well. Olivia and Violet helped us set up their beds (we just put the mattresses right on the floor as a transition) so they were pretty excited. We put a whole bunch of books and toys at the end of their beds, and when it was bedtime we put up a baby gate across the door of their room so they couldn't get out, but yet they could see out. They stood at the gate and cried "mama" for about two minutes, and then we heard some rustling around. I checked on them about a half hour later and they were both sleeping in their own bed.

The last few nights haven't gone as well for Violet. She cried really hard when it was bedtime but she eventually gave in and went to sleep in her bed. She also woke up crying a few times during the night, but we just went in and tucked her back in and asked if she was okay and she said yes and went back to sleep. Olivia did really well and actually slept in longer than normal. They did move around a lot though - they were every which way in their beds. They didn't fall all the way onto the floor, but they came close a few times so I'm glad we decided to put the mattresses right on the floor first as a transition. I can't believe how much they've grown up, but yet how small they looked even in a twin bed.

Jamie repainted the girls' room in honor of their move to beds, so it would be a little more grown up. He spent about 16 hours just on the paint job, but it turned out so cute. Some pictures are below. I am very impressed with his talents since he did not use a single piece of painters tape or a drop cloth. He also painted the black ribbon freehand. We don't have any curtains or other decorations up yet, which I look forward to finishing soon.

Olivia & Violet also had a blast spending some time with Granny Thronson over the weekend. Jamie & I went to the Gopher football on Saturday, so Granny watched the girls. They had a blast, and still talk about their Granny! Plus, we had a great time at the game with Terri & Aaron.

The girls are talking a mile a minute now. They are actually piecing together sentences, which is kind of weird to hear. The other day, I gave Violet a cup of milk and I just about fell over when she said "Thank you mommy." It was so strange to hear an actual sentence come out of her mouth! Right now, Violet is totally into an alphabet puzzle that we have. Each letter of the alphabet has a picture on it of an animal whose name starts with the corresponding letter (for example, A is an anteater). She will take all 26 pieces off and then put each piece on again, naming the animal and putting the piece in the right spot on the puzzle. She can even name which animal goes in which spot on the puzzle without the pieces on the puzzle. She doesn't know the letters yet, but she sure has the animals down pat! Sometimes she will sit and play with that puzzle by herself for half an hour.

Olivia is our mover and shaker. She usually doesn't play with one thing for long before moving onto the next thing. She loves to play hide-and-seek, and she loves to sing the alphabet song, "If You're Happy And You Know It," and the Hokey Pokey. If we try to help her with something, she still proclaims "my do it." She loves to look at books, and tells us to "sit down" so we can read her a "story." She loves to talk about her "friends" at daycare and has even started calling Jamie "Daddy-O."

The new paint job in the girls' room:

Violet in her big girl bed:

Olivia in her big girl bed: