Transition to Toddler bed

the new bed

On Friday night, we decided to move Matthew into his new room. I went to target and bought a toddler bed and put it together from the box before his bedtime. The first night and subsequent nights were painful. I guess Andy and I were naive to think it was going to be a smooth transition. We knew Matthew slept on a toddler bed in Michigan for nearly a week without any crying at all so we assumed this would be the same.

Boy, we were wrong. Matthew cried the first night but Andy calmed him down to sleep and then Matthew woke up multiple times in the night and turned the door knob on his own. We were shocked to find out that he was capable of getting out of the room on his own. At one point, Andy put him in our bed to get him to finally go to sleep. But after getting kicked, Andy decided to put Matthew back in his bed. Matthew had a runny nose and he was struggling to breathe out of his nose so we were a little sympathetic to that.

Saturday night was worse with Matthew waking every couple of hours and then we would have to tend to him by taking turns. We woke up exhausted on Sunday and both of us were suffering with another sinus cold so we really needed our sleep. One night I decided to sleep in the same room with Matthew but he woke up 4 or 5 times in the night asking for "mommy, water" and once he drank a sip, he went back to sleep.

To even get Matthew to go to sleep in the new bed, we resorted to closing the door and letting him cry it out for a while. This really made Matthew upset and he threw the biggest temper tantrum we have ever seen. He would be in a good mood after his bath and reading books but as soon as it was time for bed, he would scream at the top of his lungs once we shut the door. He would bang on the door, run into the door, and scream until he wore himself out - typically 30 minutes.

The new room doesn't have a lock on the outside so we would have to hold the door for the duration of the crying fit until he finally gave in. I think we are making progress.

The good news is that Matthew's runny nose is cleared up and he seems to be over his cold. For the past couple of nights, Matthew eventually stops crying and simply talks "mommy, daddy, water" and at that point we go in there and make sure he has his sippy cup and then ask him to get into bed. He has water all along it's just the one thing that he could yell during the middle of the night that would prompt us to go in there. But Matthew only woke up once last night and he stayed in his room without us tending to him so I believe we are slowly making progress.

For the record, Matthew was waking up nearly every night when he was in the crib. He would wake up crying from a dream or some unknown reason and usually Andy would tend to him to get him back to sleep. Matthew would require water to get back to sleep. And we don't blame him for wanting water at night because the air conditioning tends to make the air dry.

Each morning, Matthew has been waking up in a better mood where he runs around the house in his diaper and squeals. So we know he is getting good sleep each and every night. He says "nap good?" and I say "yes, I slept good, did you sleep good?" and Matthew replies "yeah".

Matthew is expecting a baby sister in December

I went to the doctor on Thursday and during the sonogram appointment the technician wrote down the sex of the baby and placed it in an envelope so Andy and I wouldn't find out. We had a friend call the bakery and tell them the sex and then we cut the cake on Saturday evening at a small get-together with friends to unveil the surprise. And what a surprise! I was thinking it was a boy since I feel exactly the same as the last pregnancy. I was shocked when Andy cut the cake and it was pink in the middle.

Matthew called the cake "birthday cake" since it was my birthday on Friday and that's the only kind of cake he knows. He doesn't quite get the idea of having a baby or even a baby sister for that matter. But he has 4 months to warm up to the idea.

The party on Saturday included lots of other little friends for Matthew. They swam in the pool and jumped in the bounce house. Matthew showed everyone his train set and he was quite the social butterfly. Nanna and Papa came into town for the big surprise and he enjoyed playing hide-and-seek with Papa.

Happy 4th of July

For the independence holiday, we headed to Michigan to visit the family and enjoy the cooler weather. We were hoping for the typical 80 degree weather and it ended up in the 90s. Nonetheless, we had fun and Matthew enjoyed a lot of firsts. We went to the 4th of July parade in Adrian where Matthew couldn't stop talking about the "very loud firetrucks". He pointed to the equipment and he would say "tractor" or "police car". He also enjoyed the "drums" from the Adrian City Band.

On Monday, we went to "Pa Bru's" house and a farm nearby where Matthew rode a horse for the first time. He enjoyed sitting on top of the horse and touched the mane. He petted the horse when he saw him but then he moved back when Alex started to sniff him. Matthew saw alpacas, ducks, bunnies, and horses on this farm. Pa Bru gave him a ride on the golf cart and they toured the gardens, too. We all took naps and then Matthew rode on the 4-wheeler for the first time. He was smiling as soon as he got on there. They fed the horses at Pa Bru's house and rode around the trails.

On Tuesday, we took a trip to Ann Arbor and ate at the famous Zingerman's for lunch. As we were walking by a fire station, one of the firemen waved for Matthew to come inside to check out the fire trucks. Matthew was on Andy's shoulders at the time. Matthew got to sit in the driver's seat and turn the wheel. He was grinning ear to ear. We went to the hands-on museum where Matthew enjoyed all the exhibits. He was a happy camper and he didn't want to leave.

On Wednesday, we went to Cabela's where Matthew saw "bison", "polar bears", "elephants", and "caribou". He kept repeating it throughout the day. He also fed the fish and loved it.

Daddy time

I have been sick with a terrible sinus cold so most of the weekend Matthew hung out with Daddy. On Saturday, I took Matthew to the Aviation Museum at Love Field in order to get him out of the house and do something indoors to avoid the heat. He liked the airplanes and he really liked the bounce house and play equipment. It was his first time in a bounce house and he kept falling down. I think he would get frustrated and then want out of there but as soon as he got out, he wanted back in. There were lots of other 2 year olds running around because there was a birthday party. He really wanted to get some birthday cake but I had to tell him that we didn't even know these kids and we left at that point.

Andy played with Matthew the rest of the day so that I could rest. They swam in the pool together. Matthew is quite the swimmer and he enjoys going under water. Andy started doing a blast-off routine by counting down from 10 and then throwing Matthew up in the air. Matthew loves it. Ana Paula babysat for us on Saturday night so that Andy and I could celebrate our 6th anniversary. Boy, how time flies! We ate at Eddie V's (a new seafood restaurant in town) and watched a movie afterwards.

I was feeling worse on Sunday and decided to rest most of the day. Andy took Matthew for a walk to the park and then he kept Matthew busy with colors. At one point, they were running through the sprinklers in the backyard and I'm not sure who was having a better time - they both were squealing. In the afternoon, I finally felt energized to hang out with Matthew so I brought the fingerpaints outside. Matthew was having a good time with that.

During the bedtime routine, Matthew could tell that I was not feeling well so he kissed my hand because he thought it was a bobo and he said "feel better, mama?" And then a kissed a couple of more freckles that he thought were bobos and said "feel better?" It was really sweet. Every time I would cough, he would say "goodness". I guess that's what I say sometimes to him.

He's very curious lately and says "what's that?" often. It's amazing at how quickly he learns new words. He loves books so we make sure to encourage that. He likes to bring books to the couch area and read together. Andy has a new nighttime routine where he comes in and reads Barnyard Dance. One night he put on his cowboy hat and he was reading the book in full Andy-animation mode and Matthew was smiling ear-to-ear. Every night, Matthew asks "Daddy, Barnyard Dance?" so that Andy knows it's time to come up and read.