Two Big Boys

Both boys got "new" (to them) beds today!  They are both very excited about their new beds, and I only pray that they both sleep very well in them.  Leeland was bumped up from a toddler bed to a twin size bed and Hayden was bumped up from our bed crib/pack & play to a toddler bed.

The toddler bed that Hayden will hopefully now be sleeping in was Leeland's.  The hand me downs have definitely been one of the joys of having 2 little boys so close in age.  All of the major expensive baby gadgets that Hayden has had have been passed down from Leeland.  We bought this toddler bed and all of the bedding at Ikea when we were pregnant with Hayden.  For reference, Leeland stayed in a crib until he was 2 years old-- Hayden is currently 18 months old, so I'm curious to see how this will go, but I've noticed that he doesn't sleep well in the crib or pack & play.  We co-slept for a really long time and so he always pretty much had free reign of our queen size bed, so I'm hoping the toddler bed will feel a bit more like the open space of our bed and that will help him get a good night's sleep.  Another reason for the early transition is that Hayden can be difficult to GET to sleep at times, he requires patting or rubbing his back or laying down with him, and I'm so incredibly sick of breaking my back and leaning down into a crib, it's exhausting.  The hope is that we can just lay down with him in the toddler bed and sneak out like a ninja once he's asleep.

Leeland's new bed on the other hand was actually my bed when I was a kid.  It's been at my Grandma's house for years and when she heard that we were looking for a twin bed for Leeland, she insisted on bringing it over.  (Such a wonderful lady!)  The bed wasn't looking the greatest, years and stickers (yea, I put stickers all over the headboard, some residue was left behind) had taken it's toll so we opted to paint it.  My first thought was to paint it white to match his dresser, and then my Grandma told me that people don't do matching sets anymore.  (She's more trendy than I.)  So we opted for something a bit more fun, and went with light blue.  Between all the sanding my hand, priming and two coats of paint, it took about a week to finish the project.

Leeland's 1st time sanding.  His excitement didn't last long and Mommy was stuck with the task.

Fresh coat of primer.

The bedding is by Dream Factory and we bought it here at WalMart (.com)  They also carry it at Kohl's for twice the price if you're in to paying more.  Leeland is pretty obsessed with all things transportation and this has pretty much everything on it-- tractors, trucks, blimps, airplanes, cars, and the added bonus was the police cars.

I don't think I remembered how high up this bed is.  It takes Leeland a minute to climb onto it, and Hayden can't get up there by himself at all.  He has NEVER rolled out of his toddler bed, so hopefully he doesn't start falling off the bed now.

He's one excited little 3 year old!  All of the sanding, priming and painting for a week was SO worth it to see that big smile.  He says that he loves his new bed and that it's "cozy."