Our Little Girl is Growing Up!

Abigail chooses which animal she will build and take home as her new Big Girl Bed Stuffed Animal
And the winner is...Monkey (let's be honest, the other animals didn't stand a chance against monkey)

Abigail helps to stuff her monkey by stepping on the pedal

Picking out the perfect heart for Ahh-Ahh

Time to make a wish...(if only we knew what went through their heads at this age)

Helping put the heart in Ahh-Ahh

Ready for a slumber party with her new Big Girl Bed Best Friend

A true shopper at heart...ready to retire with her purchases after a hard day's work at the mall

Abigail's Big Girl Bed

No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

Thanks Grammy and Grandpa for my new Dora PJ's

All smiles with her new Ahh-Ahh

Snuggled in and ready for her bedtime story

Monday marked a major milestone in the Smithon household...it was the day Abigail made the big switch from her crib to her big girl bed. I was a little hesitant and unsure of how the transition would go, especially since Abigail has always slept like a champ in her crib. With only a month and a half to go though before Baby Girl #2 makes her debut we wanted to make the transition far enough ahead of time so that Abigail would have time to adjust to her new surroundings without associating it with the arrival of sissy. We figure sissy's arrival will be a big enough shock to sweet little Abigail, especially once she realizes we can't return her.

In order to mark this special occasion we decided to throw Abigail a "Big Girl Bed Party". Abigail and I met Josh in San Antonio Monday afternoon after he got off of work. We then headed to the Build-a-Bear Workshop at La Cantera so that Abigail could pick out and make her very own Big Girl Stuffed Animal to sleep with. Abigail has been on a "monkey-kick" lately so it was no surprise to us when she chose to build a stuffed monkey. You should have seen the look on her face. I wasn't sure she would get into the whole "Build-a-Bear" process, but boy was I wrong. She loved every minute of it! From stuffing the monkey, to picking out a heart, to washing the monkey, after it was all said and done, she was enthralled by the entire process. Out of pure pride and determination she even managed to drag her Build-a-Bear box the entire way back to the car. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen! She has started to call monkeys "Ahh-Ahh's" after the sounds they make (oooh-oooh, ahh ahh), so when it came time to name her new friend, the decision was unanimous...her new friend would be named Ahh Ahh.

By the time we made it home, it was way past Abigail's typical bedtime...which looking back now I think may have worked to our advantage. Not only did she have her new friend, Ahh Ahh, to keep her company but awaiting her on her Big Girl Bed were new Dora pajamas from Grammy and Grandpa and a new bedtime book, "I'm a Big Sister". When the time came to turn out the lights and say good-night she was a little confused and intimidated by her new surroundings but after letting out a brief cry the exhaustion set in and that was the last peep we heard from her until 8am the next morning. In all honesty, I think mom was more of a nervous wreck than Abigail. Her new bed is quite a bit taller and bigger than her crib and even though it has a guard rail I couldn't help but imagine my precious little girl falling out of her bed in the middle of the night. We are now going on night #4 and I have to say, up to this point, naptimes and all, the transition has been pretty smooth (knock on wood). A word to the wise...one thing that I think has helped us in all of this are black-out shades. We put them in behind her curtains and let me tell you...they work like a charm. I think it helps that the room is close to pitch dark during both naptime and bedtime. I like to think it keeps her from wanting to get up out of bed and explore her new-found freedom within her Big Girl Room.

It truly is amazing how fast the time flies by. One minute you're holding back tears as you move them from the bassinet to their nursery and the next you're watching them climb up a step stool into their very own big girl bed. Although each milestone is an accomplishment well-worth celebrating, I'm not so sure I'm ready to let my little girl grow up so fast. One thing's for sure, we couldn't be more proud of her. She is going to make an incredible big sister!