He's a Growing Boy

Matthew has officially outgrown his last piece of baby furniture. After a month or so of sleeping diagonally in his crib (the only way he would still fit), we decided that he was ready for a big boy bed. We found one on super clearance at Pottery Barn Kids and they just happened to have twin mattresses at Costco that week. Done and done.

Still, I knew that hardest part would be convincing Matthew to actually sleep in his new bed. Why? He loves his crib. He sleeps in it. He plays in it. He chews on it. He has a little ritual of running his hands back and forth along the rails before bed. But, the thing that has me the most concerned? When we got Embry her big kid bed, she loved it immediately. And everyone knows that if Embry likes something, Matthew will hate it. If Embry does something well, then Matthew will resist that same thing for weeks. They are opposite in every way possible.

So, in preparation for la resistance, we decided to keep the crib up in his room, so that we could ease him into the new bed gradually. We were totally prepared to go back a forth a few times before making the switch permanent.

Well, we have finally found something that Embry and Matthew have in common. Yes, they both like to prove their parents wrong. Matthew jumped into his new bed on that first night and slept like a champ. For the last week, when bedtime rolls around, he runs into his room, climbs up into bed and lays right down without so much as a whine. And did I mention how cute and small he looks when he's asleep in such a big bed. It still makes me say "Awww," every night.

On the same subject, Matthew has also outgrown his carseat. Well, it was actually Embry's carseat; the last one that she had before the booster. We stupidly assumed it would be the last non-booster seat we would have to buy. (He's getting really good at proving us wrong lately.) It seems that the old seat, as huge as it was (especially when trying to fit it through the security x-ray machine at the airport), it has a weight limit of 50 lbs. And although the salesperson at Babies-R-Us didn't believe me, Matthew is dangerously close to that number, and will surpass it far before his 3rd birthday. For anyone who doesn't know, you're not supposed to put kids into a booster until they're at least 3. So, I had to shop for a special (read expensive) seat with a higher weight limit that still has a harness. Babies-R-Us had one, and it was a Graco which I know to be a safe brand, but it was $180! Yikes. Fortunately, the same salesperson reminded me that they were having a "trade-in" sale, where you could bring in an old carseat and get 25% off of the new one.

Now, I was planning on keeping the old carseat and selling it at our next yard sale. But, I decided to trade it in for a couple of reasons. 1. (selfless reason) You're actually not supposed to use carseats for much longer than we have because they start to become less effective with age. And I would hate to think that I sold an unsafe carseat to someone. 2. (selfish reason) I would never get $45 dollars for it at a yard sale, which is how much I would be saving on the new one. Plus, I would have to spend at least an hour getting it clean enough for a yard sale (yes, it is that disgusting). So, I dragged the old dirty one in and wheeled out the fancy new one. Matthew loves it because it has a cupholder like his sister's. Bonus: the new seat is convertible to a booster for kids up to 100 pounds. Now that sounds like a lot, but I'm sure that Matthew will grow out of this one before he is old enough to go without a booster. (Come on Mattie, prove me wrong on this one).