Bunks

Kai's last night in his crib. He likes to hold one of our hands as he falls asleep, the sweetie. He also likes to have his blanket covering his legs as he falls asleep and this has gotten much easier now that he's graduated from baby blanket to big kid blanket. He also asks us to rub his back as he falls asleep, but then he gets mad when we actually do. We haven't figured out how to solve that one yet, except to just hold his hand. But enough of the crib....

...the bunk beds are up! For some reason I feel compelled to explain that they aren't typical bunk beds. It's really the reversible bed from IKEA, in the high position, with a mattress on the floor for Kai. We went with the reversible bed instead of a bunk bed for a few reason. First, it's awfully cute, especially with that canopy it comes with. Second, it's not as high as a regular bunk bed. The top bunk is below my shoulders, meaning I can stand next to the bed and I'm still taller than Jett. This is important because I like to assert my authority in every possible way. Thirdly, this small bed fits in their small room.

Charlie and Jett built the bed on Monday night. They built it from 7:00 until 10:00 at night, which was awesome, because Kai and I were having a great time running around them in circles, throwing the screws they dared leave on the ground, and picking up the wooden pieces and swinging them like a baseball bat. It was especially fun because Charlie had to build the beds in their bedroom, so none of us could go to bed even if we wanted to. It was fantastic.

Jett helped a lot. That kid can work an alan wrench. Have I mentioned on here before that once I gave Jett an alan wrench and let him take apart his kid-sized table and chairs? He can take them apart and put them back together again and all I have to do is hold the pieces steady. Anyway, what I want to remember about building the bunk beds is how proud Jett was to help. At one point everything was done except screwing in the wood slats that his mattress rests on. Charlie, the boys and I slid them all in to place and Charlie started screwing them in. That is when Jett realized that he could get his little chair, put it in the middle of the framed bed, stand on the chair, and reach the wooden slats - and maybe screw some in - himself. The look on his face when he stepped up on to that chair and stood higher than the slats - the look on his face was just super cute. His little lips curved up like a comma on one side, squinched together on the other side, trying not to smile. He was a proud little kid trying to play it cool and it came off completely charming. Three inconsequential seconds I hope I never forget.



So the beds got made and at 10:30 pm, 2 1/2 hours past his bedtime, Kai climbed in to the bottom bunk like he had been sleeping there all his life. Jett climbed up the ladder and under the canopy and laid down, and after about 27 books, backrubs, and made-up-stories, both of them fell asleep.

Two hours later they woke up, and they didn't sleep again for two days.

Yesterday I took stock of the situation. First I took off the flat sheets, since Jett had been waking me up multiple times a night to come and fix his sheets. They've never slept with flat sheets before, because they don't make flat sheets for crib/toddler bed mattresses. Secondly I took off that super cute canopy. Whenever I was in his room and attending to Kai, Jett would whisper/scream down from the top bunk, "Are you still here, Mom? When are you leaving the room, Mom? Are you going to rub my back again before you leave? Are you still here?" It finally dawned on me that if the canopy wasn't blocking his view he could see what was going on and maybe he could relax. Finally, I took the boys to Target and let them pick out their own comforters. This went against the design I had in mind, but I am a sucker for happy boys who sleep all night. Now we've got Spider Man on the top bunk and Buzz Lightyear on the bottom bunk and it really doesn't look that bad. It looks like two kids sleep there. And now they do.



Currently their little room is stuffed with the bunk bed and the crib. It's a bit packed. Once I get the room arranged to my liking I'll take a picture of the finished project.