Sweet dreams

No matter what time Ian wakes up in the morning (and usually it is early, very early), he'll hang out in his dark room and wait to hear or see some movement from our bedroom across the hallway. The minute he does, he grabs his lovey, Gymbo, and heads straight inside our room. We keep our door 3/4 of the way shut, but he can still get a bird's eye view to see if we are awake.

The other day, he woke up at 5:45am and proceeded to talk non-stop about how much he disliked his bed. Due to the hour it was in the morning, I laid very still in my bed and listened to him speak. And, yes, he was the only one in his room, talking to himself. He discussed how his bed is too small and very low to the ground. He said his pillow itched. He started listing all his friends who had bigger beds than him. He compared his bed to the one Papa Bear uses on the show "Bernenstain Bears". He spoke for more than an hour and didn't run out of things to say about his toddler bed.

Yes, we agree it is time for him to get a bigger big boy bed. Fortunately Jeff and I have a plan of action for upgrading Ian's toddler bed. The toddler bed has served him well and it would be nice to do something to reward all the magnificent behavioral changes we've been experiencing. We told Ian we would get him his new bed for Hanukkah. However, the mattress set is already in our shed (it used to be in the guest room before Sam took over this bedroom) and I ordered online the CARS bedding he has been requesting.

Ian thinks the bed transformation will not take place until December (when Hanukkah occurs this year), but Jeff and I have planned a surprise. As soon as the bedding arrives, we will keep him occupied and do a quick switch - out with the old, in with the new. We won't say anything to him about it and just wait for him to discover it on his own....mostly likely when it is time for him to go upstairs and get his bath. Or, the worst case scenario being (and I could see this being just the way it goes down), he is sent for a time-out in his room and discovers this wonderful treasure during a punishment. Ha! What kind of time-out is that going to be?!!?!?

I am looking forward to this surprise and will have our video camera ready to record his excitement. Who knows, maybe this will be just the trick to get him to sleep in a little later in the morning?