Our Big Girl!

With joyful Cora in our midst, Evelyn has really blossomed into a big girl.  Evelyn has always been the helpful type, especially when her curiosity is peaked.  She likes to help empty the dishwasher (and has for awhile now), throw things in the trash and help with meal preparations.  In the last few weeks, she's started to set the table and has attempted to dress herself.  She is using the potty with more consistency and we are doing our best to encourage potty usage whenever possible!

To help Evelyn with the potty training, we decided (over the weekend) to take off her crib rail and put the bed rail attachment in its place (hoping that giving Evelyn freedom to get in and out of her crib would also give her a chance to get to the potty in time).  In a matter of minutes Evelyn found herself in a big girl bed! Evelyn was beyond thrilled with the end result. 

Nap time on Saturday (the first day with the bed rail) took a little extra coaxing, but Evelyn did fall asleep after some knocking on her bedroom door.  In the evening, she had no trouble laying in her bed and falling asleep.  Sunday was also a good day for Evelyn in her new bed.  Yesterday's nap was slightly more challenging.

Evelyn jumped out of bed soon after I left the room and knocked on her bedroom door and cried for some time.  I let her cry and knock, hoping that she would realize that she needed to be in bed.  Eventually, she fell asleep.  I heard her stir after about an hour of silence and entered the bedroom thinking that she was ready to get up from her nap.  When I opened the door, I was shocked to see her empty bed.  I quickly glanced around the room, only to find Evelyn curled up in the fetal position in the rocking chair... priceless!  After a little rocking together, I was able to lay her back down for a longer nap on her bed!

She's come such a long way in just a few weeks.  Two weeks ago, when her crib still had all four of its sides, Evelyn had a legendary crying fit before her nap.  I was trying to get Cora down for a nap and Evelyn was upset that she couldn't have my undivided attention.  She started to cry which only made Cora cry louder.  Both girls were utterly worked up in the moment.  I put Evelyn in her crib and told her to take a nap.  I then took Cora out of Evelyn's room to try and soothe her to sleep.  I heard Evelyn screaming all the while and with each new scream, my heart broke.  I wanted to hold her too, but I just couldn't have both girls in my arms at the same time... both so desperately needed to sleep!

Cora did fall asleep soon after and I ran to Evelyn's room to check on her (I wanted to give her a kiss and tell her how much I loved her).  Evelyn had stopped crying and was asleep when I entered the room.  I just saw her sitting up in the corner of her crib with her head back, mouth open and fast asleep.  The position she fell asleep in was too adorable.  I went and grabbed my camera to capture the precious moment.  Sadly, Evelyn had closed her mouth by the time I had returned, but I still managed to get a pretty priceless image... look how peaceful she is when she sleeps!  Poor baby!