transition. part one. thoughts.

on april 13th this year, my jackson will officially be two and a half. where has the time gone? this little baby is becoming a little man...right before my eyes.  he just speaks to us as if he's already a teenager and is full of sweetness and spunk. my heart is so very full. he makes every single day better.

alright. let's put all that mushy aside...

let's talk about toddler life.  as i said, this boy is literally growing up.  we have our next check-up with his pediatrician in april and i'm so excited to see his stats. he's starting to grow out of his pjs and continues to thin out.  he must really be getting taller. and heavier. my goodness. where did my baby go?!

with jackson growing up and getting bigger, a new topic of conversation in our house has been....goodbye crib, hello toddler bed.  and i am feeling clueless about it.

he has yet to climb out and he does an excellent job of "playing" quietly when he wakes up...either with the dinosaurs in his bed, or he'll ready a couple of books...play with his burp rags (he's cute...but a little strange!!) and i'm so afraid that if we get rid of the crib, he won't sleep. and that he'll be up playing. constantly. or...he'll bust out of his room and into ours.

these are all legitimate concerns, right? i cannot be the only parent with these thoughts and questions?

so now i'm spending my time searching the internet for tips on transitioning from crib to toddler bed....how to make sure his room is safe enough... (please, please do not climb up on the changing table!!) and how to encourage him to really sleep in his bed.

here are some of thing things i've seen so far.  not all of them are full of tips or information, but i like keeping them around for ideas or at least maybe something to try?

how cool would it be to get to sleep in a teepee? how would that not encourage him to sleep if he got to sleep (um..play...i mean sleep) in a teepee?

via Love Taza

it looks like those same little cuties are now in toddler beds. and because i'm obviously a blog creeper, here's what their nursery looks like now. with little tiny beds. i love everything about this room. everything.

found here.

what a happy little place that is!! (sidenote: now it kind of makes me want to paint some walls white. i love how they have so much toddler artwork and just colors everywhere. and that white paint makes it all pop. and now i want to paint a room white and redo jackson's room. oops.)

i've been looking around on pinterest too (because that's what i do) and i've found a few interesting and helpful reads. you can find them here, here, here, here, and here.

so for us, we haven't made any changes yet... so... i would honestly love to hear from other parents out there that have already experienced this transition. it seems like a such a big one to me!

please, please, please leave a comment and tell me some tips and tricks to making the transition smooth!  i have no idea what the future holds and i may be worrying for nothing. but the unexpected is what makes me worry :) and as much information as i can get my hands on can't hurt, right?!

i have so much more i want to write about. bedding ideas, ideas on making the transition go smoothly... i just think its just too many thoughts for one post. i'll be back. ;)