Operation: Big Sisters Get Their Own Big Girl Room - COMPLETE!

Photos to come!!!

In an effort to make Emily feel as special as possible upon becoming a big sister, David and I decided it was finally time to transform her nursery into a full-blown "big girl room"... and we wanted to make it happen before baby boy arrived.  Yeah, we are crazy to take on such a huge project with less than a week until my due date.  :)

First up: convert her Lifetime crib from it's current state of Toddler Bed to Full-size bed.  The mattress only went up to 40lbs (she weights 38lbs) and she's just inches from being able to touch either side with her head/feet when stretched out.  It was definitely time to convert!

This part was easy and only required removing a few bolts to disassemble the sides of the bed and the mattress support to free the headboard.

Next up was the very important task of mattress shopping!  We decided our local Sleep Train had the best selection of "plush" Posture Pedic beds, as well as very competitive pricing, and delivery was free and same day (if purchased before 2pm!).  It only took about 5 minutes of Emily laying on every bed in the store that was in our price range to choose the bed she loved and we were out of there with a 5:30pm delivery time in under half an hour.  Something new we learned: you can get a "low" box spring that is only 4" thick instead of 8-12" thick and makes for the perfect big girl bed!  We also purchased a set of protection slip covers: a zippered cover for the box spring that is guaranteed to keep out bed bugs; a plastic waterproof zippered cover for the mattress, also guaranteed to keep out bed bugs and protect against stains; and a removable, washable, waterproof mattress pad to further protect the mattress from any stains (i.e. potty accidents).  These covers came with a 5-year warranty that guarantees us a new box spring and/or new mattress should they not protect against bed bugs and stains.

Then came the most fun part: shopping for new bedding and decor!  We headed to our beloved Target (they have the largest selection of Toddler/Kid bedding that we could purchase and have that day) and Emily immediately grabbed a Bed-In-A-Bag set that perfectly matched the curtains we already had up in her room.  It's a really cute set that is reversible: pink on one side, purple on the other, decorated with flowers and polka dots.  The BIAB came with the comforter and two shams, plus a full-size sheet set.  We also purchased a bed skirt, two new pillows for the shams, two new pillows for her to sleep on, and a set of wall decals to decorate the wall above her bed.

After lunch, David worked hard for about three hours (with me directing from a chair with my feet elevated, of course) to remove most everything from her room, relocate her armoire, sweep & mop her floors, organize her toys, bag up 90% of her stuffed animals, wash her new bedding, and re-hang her nightlights.  And he finished just in time for the mattress and box spring to be delivered and set up for us.  Emily helped me put up the wall decals above her bed, David moved her toy bin back in, and then, it was bed time.  She was positively giddy to sleep in her big girl bed for the very first time... and so were we.

We have a bookshelf/nightstand as well as a new toy bin organizer on order from Target.com to put her books within her reach and to have more space for the toys that are shoved in her armoire.  I would also like to purchase two more full sets of sheets as well as a new rug to give her a warm, fuzzy place to get out of bed on and play on... maybe after my mom arrives she can take her to pick these out herself.

She hasn't stopped thanking us for her big girl room and we both find ourselves peeking in on her after she's asleep in amazement at how big she looks in that bed.  :)

Huge bonus: her new bed gives my mom a place to sleep (instead of our air mattress) when visiting this month to help out with the new baby.  Emily has already declared the side closest to the door as "Gram's spot".

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