I’m sure this is common with 2nd children, especially when both are girls, but little Ella is moving FAST on the development scale, thanks to big sister, Zoe.

Here’s the next phase:

The Big Girl Bed.

I remember when Zoe transitioned to a big girl bed, though we didn’t document that so well, and how she very much wanted to be a big girl. She was about 2 years old – Ella was 20 months when her big girl bed arrived.

Like other transitions, Ella is adapting quickly. The scoop:

• She fell out of her crib mid-December while we were watching on the video. In slow motion she put her foot up on the crib rail, then I ran like a crazy person to the back room to catch her but missed, so we moved her to a pack ‘n’ play. (FYI she was unhurt but I was determined to get rid of that crib)
• Just a couple of weeks ago, as we realized how soon she would be going to pre-school, Bart went to IKEA and came home with a cute toddler bed, the Kritter.
• First night, she woke up around 3 am, crying, and Bart went into the room and got her right back to sleep
• Since that night, she has slept in her big girl bed “all night long”, from nighttime to 5:30 or 6 am (though she’s not always easy to get to sleep…)

Every morning, Ella stumbles out of her room like a teenager, hair askew, with a gritty “Good Morning, Mommy” followed by a “I need a baba, please”.  Always with a hug, and she’s pretty affable  – as long as she gets her baba. Oh, and we’ve been rewarding her with a jelly bean, and though it makes her smile, she’s way more interested in the baba.

She is remarkably talkative, incredibly loving, super smart and annoyingly independent. She wants to do it herself, everything. She eats with utensils, which her sister STILL struggles to be interested in (she is almost 6), and is absolutely silly, often:

She has also already entered the WHY???? phase and is testing her tantrum (but I WANT IT!!) skills, though so far, she’s been pretty reasonable about that (most of the time). I honestly can’t remember when Zoe started her stubbornly contrary phase (which has not ended), but it sure doesn’t seem like it was THIS early.

She also loves to dance and sing, and if you leave her in her room for a little while in the morning, you’ll get a scrambled serenade (often with her name inserted in it) of Twinkle Twinkle, Wheels on the Bus, Amazing Grace or similar.

Though she’s quite interested in “changing her own diaper” and will tell you if she has pooped, she doesn’t quite understand what would happen if she took a poop-filled diaper off (though she gets the process started before we know what to expect…) And she’s still not super interested in the potty, other than to sit on it when Zoe goes potty but not actually GO potty.

And so, Ella is on her way to Big Girl status. Before we know it, I imagine she’ll be making breakfast and getting Zoe dressed for school. Stay tuned!