Night 1

Audrey did really, really well in her new bed! She was so excited to get to sleep in her bed that it seemed we raced thru brushing her teeth and looking at Aunt C's wedding picture (She introduced that into the nightly routine, and I use it as a reward for cooperating!). She was offered the option of reading in her rocking chair or in her bed, and she chose to read in her bed. Eric had reading duty last night, and climbed in bed beside her. She had lots of questions in an effort to figure out this new bed, like whether she sleeps under the blankets, whether she could sleep on her belly, etc. She got the giggles halfway thru listening to her books, and she was so giddy by the end. There was silence for only a few minutes after Eric closed her door, but that is typical right now. At one point, I could tell that there was more playing than falling asleep going on. When I opened the door, I found her almost on top of her nightstand, trying to reach some things to play with in bed. We talked about how hard it is to not play with the stuff in her room, but that she could play in her room tomorrow. I think I fell asleep before her since I wasn't feeling well, but Eric said she called him in her bedroom a little later and asked him to talk to her, as it was getting dark. Of course new surroundings are always a little scary. She fell asleep though without much problem, and when Eric checked on her in the early morning, she was sleeping at the foot of the bed. She woke around 6:30 and was soooooo excited and proud of herself. "Audrey slept in her new big bed! Audrey's so big! Audrey wants to sleep in her new big bed again!" She slept with the unusual suspects for animals, but also had requested to sleep with her stuffed pig (I'll have to blog about this pig at a later date). I asked her if pig was a good sleeping buddy, and she said that he snores! When she saw Eric this morning, she said, "Audrey slept in her new big bed! How awesome!" She must have reminded us a half dozen times this morning of how big she is and how exciting it was to sleep in her new bed. What a relief! I'll be curious to hear how naptime goes today though...

Good-bye, dear crib

Audrey is spending her last night in her crib tonight. At least that is the plan. I was a little teary eyed when covering her with her blankets but I think seeing her in a real bed is going to be even harder. Her new bedroom is all ready for her, with a fresh coat of a robin's egg blue, beautiful furniture, and organized closets and dresser drawers. I only need to hang a few pictures and the mirror from Great-Grandma S. Her new room is my favorite of the house, without a doubt. Designing her room was so much more fun than her nursery since I feel I now have a really, really good idea of her personality. Sweet, empathic, bright, silly, and independent. Such a perfect little girl.

I think we've sufficiently built up how exciting her new room will be, to help with her transition. I really don't know how it will go though as she waivers from pure excitement (like tonight, when she said, "I want to sleep in my big bed NOW!") to disinterest. She very seriously told me a couple days ago, while holding my face with her hands, "Mommy, baby P can have Audrey's new big bed. Audrey will sleep in her little bed."

All we know is that SOMEONE is sleeping in the new big bed. Eric and I have decided to alternate nights ourselves if Audrey refuses. I mean, the bed rails are even perfect for keeping Fris out of the bed!

Sesame Street Live

Audrey had a fabulous time at Sesame Street Live this weekend. Eric asked her if she was going to say 'hello' to Elmo but she said, "No, Audrey's too shy." She did really well for the 1 1/2 hour show, but got a little upset when not all the characters were on stage ("Where are Bert and Ernie?" "Where's Elmo?"). All I can say is they all deserved a break given the temperature in the theatre, their heavy costumes, the amount of dancing required, and all those kids hyped up on cotton candy...

Stickers

Audrey has been earning stickers each time she willingly sits on the potty. This has been very effective as there have been few, if any, disputes since we started this. Her stickers are Sesame Street stickers, and they are now all over the house - on the counter, in the living room, even on pieces of mail (she uses these as stamps...). She likes to share her stickers as well, and is actually really quite good at sharing and taking turns in general. Eric seems to always get a really cool Sesame Street character, like Cookie Monster, while I ALWAYS am given Oscar the Grouch. I asked Audrey one day if this is because I'm a grouch, and she assured me that only Oscar is a grouch. I've noticed recently though that she has a certain affection for Oscar, wanting to find him in her Sesame Street book, asking if he'll be at Sesame Street Live, etc., so I have started to accept my Oscar stickers with pride.

The other day before heading off to school/work, Audrey offered to share one of her stickers, but I noticed it wasn't Oscar. I was excited that I was offered a little variety, and put it at the top of my shirt. I was met with the following response:

"No, that sticker is for baby Pierson! Put it on your belly! It's for baby Pierson! Not for mommy!"

That explains the Grover sticker. I can't say how impressed I was with myself that I remembered to remove it from my stomach prior to arriving to work...

Religion according to Audrey

-I told Audrey last week that we were heading to church. Her response? "We're going to church, AGAIN??" A flashforward to her adolescent years.

-At church, the priest was sprinkling holy water on the parishioners. Eric warned Audrey what was about to happen. When the priest sprinkled her, she shot him a dirty look. Eric asked her if she was mad at the priest, and she said, "Yes!" She later tried to remove the communion host from my mouth, in an effort to get a taste...

-Audrey was looking at her bible today and came across a picture of someone being baptized. She asked me, "Why is he pouring coffee on that guy?" I told her that he was pouring oil over the person, for a baptism. She looked at me as if this was no better explanation of the picture. She later tried to baptize Fris. Poor dog.

-During our prayers tonight, after we asked God to bless Aunt C and Uncle M, Audrey said, "And God bless their turtles!"

Outside!

Audrey has been loving the warm weather we have been having (until today!). She is really quite in love with t-ball, and loves to cheer for herself after she hits the ball. She's quite good, and I think she could play for an entire afternoon. She also loves blowing bubbles outside and is really good at taking turns between blowing and trying to catch the bubbles. I'm looking forward to getting her a tricycle, and hopefully that long-awaited swing!

Weekend

Audrey had a great weekend with Grandma and Grandpa P. She was so giddy when I arrived home from work on Friday and enjoyed showing off for her grandparents. She is excited to hang up in her new room her stained glass Elmo that grandpa made for her. She was sooooo excited to get to return to a restaurant we had tried out a couple weeks ago. I had heard a little about the restaurant, but we had no idea it would become such a favorite of Audrey's. Audrey loves the big airplane outside, but the highlight is no doubt the bears that growl every 20 minutes, and owl that hoots shortly thereafter. When the waitress brought out the dessert tray on Friday, Audrey leaned over to me and whispered, "They have surprises, too!" Audrey wanted to go to dinner again on Saturday to see "the big airplane". Of course she doesn't fall in love with a cheap restaurant! She looked out the window this morning and told me she was waiting for Grandma and Grandpa to come back. She wasn't too happy with my response!

Opening Day and Happy Easter!

We had a nice lazy Sunday for Audrey's third Easter. We had a fun-filled day yesterday with Eric's family and since we didn't get back until around 9, Audrey slept in until 7. She stayed in her pajamas until after her nap, after which time I dressed her in appropriate Opening Day attire. Eric was trying to get some work done but it's as if he has radar for when Audrey is wearing Cardinals gear. He popped his head out just as I was getting ready to take this video. She got upset when he asked her to say 'Go Cubs!' and started to tear up when he asked her why she was wearing what she was wearing. She's a confused baseball fan.We later blew bubbles outside
and decorated Easter eggs. Eric managed to get her Cardinal shirt off then, convincing Audrey that she would get it dirty if she kept it on during the process. That's ok, we've got another one for the Cardinals first game tomorrow!