Barnes Family: Big Girl!

Well... I am mourning the loss of my baby today- because she is now a BIG GIRL!!!!! This all seems so strange to me. Today I am walking around in a fog of disbelief and harsh reality. Let me tell you how it happened...

It all started with my little princess using the potty. She really likes to use the potty. The only problems we've had with potty-training are a result of how frequently she needs to use the potty (it's insane!) and how much time she wants to spend on the potty making "a big one" (seriously?!). Otherwise, it's a done deal. She wears pull-ups at bedtime because she sleeps very hard and does not wake up for each of nature's calls. It all happened rather quickly, and at first, I was excited for this milestone in our lives.

Also, Embree just finished getting her 2 year molars in!! So we are done!!!!! Stupid teeth!! Those little terds better be super useful because they hurt my baby, err... big girl..., and allowed me to hang on to her nap and bedtime "need" for the paci. But, I'd always thought that once the teeth were in, I'd be out out of excuses, and that Paci would be trash.

Although I haven't updated this blog in a LONG time, you probably already know that my baby is speaking in full sentences (VERY adult-like conversations are happening over here). I cannot express how strange it felt to have a grown up conversation with Embree, watch her use the potty like a big girl and then put her in her crib and hand her Paci. It was time.

I decided we had to celebrate Embree becoming a big girl, so we very quickly threw together a "big girl party"! Uncle Lincoln and Aunt Casey came to visit on Monday. Aunt Casey and I were in charge of making Em's favorite cake pops (Casey is super crafty, so the cake pops looked AMAZING!). We also helped Em pick out a lovie for the Paci Fairy to bring her in exchange for Paci. Uncle Link and Aunt Casey got to watch Em do ballet while I raced over to pick up balloons (another MUST on Embree's list). The Paci Fairy came while Embree was in ballet class (thanks, J.Brandon!), and J.Brandon attempted to put Em's toddler bed together. Pizza was ordered, pre-packaged salad was thrown into a bowl, wonderful friends came over, and walaa! We had a big girl party!! I had to spring this on myself because although I knew it had to be done, I was having a difficult time ripping the band-aid off. The day before, I was still questioning whether or not I should even get rid of Paci!

So how did it go??? Good question! It went... pretty well. She had a tough time falling asleep. I expected that because her Paci was like a switch. She could be going a hundred miles an hour, but once she was given her Paci, it was lights out. Also, we'd just had a party, so she was still excited and giddy. I truly didn't know what to do to help her fall asleep. She wasn't all that upset, but she just couldn't flip the switch! I tried laying in the room with her, but she just wanted to talk to me if I was there with open ears. I tried to bring her a sippy cup of water, but there is no such thing as a leak-proof sippy cup! I had to change Em's clothes and sheets in the dark (I kind of impressed myself on this one). Aside from a few assisted trips to the potty, she didn't even attempt to get out of her big girl bed, so that was a definite plus. Finally around 10:30pm, I took her on one last potty break and re-tucked her in bed. She asked where her Paci was, and I told her that it was gone but that the Paci Fairy brought her a lovie and a new pillow to help her fall asleep. Then Embree said, "Ok, Mommy", closed her eyes and went to sleep. I watched her on the video monitor and could hardly believe that it worked!! She was ASLEEP!!

At 2:30am, we heard her cry out and panicked when we looked on the video monitor and couldn't find her in her bed. I ran into her room and found her on the floor. She must've fallen out while she slept because we said nothing as I put her back in bed, and she immediately went back to sleep. I then went to my room where I must've slipped into a mini coma because my heart jumped into my throat when I awoke to someone jiggling the handle to our bedroom door at 7:30am! I thought someone was breaking into our house!! But then the sweetest little girl stood in our doorway and asked, "Is it morning time?". Hahaha! Success I believe!

Our little princess just went down for her nap, and again, it went better than I expected. She did try to get out of her bed once, but I met her in the hallway and basically scared the crap out of her. Then it took her all of 6 minutes to fall asleep! YAAAYYYYY!!!!!

Here's a few pics:
Embree and her friends checking out her big girl bed