Now that we’ve been back to reality for a month and the tans have worn off and the aches and pains from sitting on an airplane have been replaced by aches and pains from {insert all activity while 34 weeks pregnant here}, I figured it was time to do a little nostalgic hula down memory lane.

The flight to Kauai was just over six hours and it was rough. The crew was nasty, the plane was packed, and my body was not impressed with being confined to a seat for so long. Madelyn, on the other hand, was a total champ. She slept for two hours and managed to stay happy thanks to coloring books and 79283742 episodes of “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.” We bought her her very own set of headphones and she wore them very proudly and stayed entertained. There is no doubt that she was way better behaved on the flight than I was!

We arrived at our hotel to enjoy a great room with a pool and ocean view. Bryan and I stayed at this Marriott property on our honeymoon and it was great to be back, especially after some nice updates and renovations. We rested and cleaned up from our travel day, and then walked the short path to Duke’s for dinner, but not without Madelyn modeling for the camera first.

Madelyn couldn’t wait to go swimming in Kauai. We had told her that our hotel had a gigantic pool and she was so excited to wear her floatie and swim.

The water was cold in the pool! Bryan went in with her most of the time because I am a wimp when it comes to water temperature. But I was also her partner in vegging, and she very quickly got accustomed to resort life.

Bryan was also Madelyn’s sand castle partner. He showed her all the techniques and introduced her to proper ratios of water and sand. He taught her how to dump bucket molds properly and about accessorizing castles with sticks and seaweed. I loved watching my little architect become so passionate about sand castles. I was happy to let them have their building bonding time because I don’t like sand in my bits and sitting on the beach means getting stuck on the beach. #pregnantproblems

We also ventured away from the hotel pool and beach. The great part about visiting Kauai is that it’s small and with a car, it’s super easy to get around to see all sides of the island.

We took a drive to the very end of the road past Hanalei but made stops along the way to see waterfalls, burgers, boobies, and beach.

With two must-have burger joints on the road, we couldn’t go Sophie’s Choice on the meal and decided to have lunch twice; once at Ono Char Burger alongside the resident roosters and a few hours later at Bubba Burgers in Hanalei. Bubba is also next door to a pretty delicious shave ice place, so of course we had to enjoy our first shave ice of the trip. Madelyn had no idea what was coming. Her mind was blown.

Between our burger breaks, we visited Kilauea Lighthouse. The lighthouse itself is not that exciting, though it is a pretty structure. The real draw to this stop is the gorgeous views from the tip of the island and the sanctuary of boobies. Boobies are birds. It’s fun to talk about boobies in public and how they fly and swoop. Boobies boobies boobies.

We finally made it to the end of our drive at Ke’e Beach where the road ends and the Napali Coast takes over with its monstrous, lush jungle mountains.

Madelyn was so thrilled to be at a new beach that she tackled me with love and how could I resist? Bryan had the camera ready and I’m so glad he caught these moments of her love attack. On day three of our trip, she continued to be in the happiest of spirits, never complaining and always appreciating everything we showed her in our beloved Kauai. It was at this moment that I was reminded how lucky we are to be raising Madelyn who is so positive and delightful. She really seems to “get it” and we love that she has the travel bug, too.

Madelyn took in her new surroundings and ran around the beach before settling into the sand with Bryan for another creation.

Then, we spotted our first rainbow and Madelyn was pretty enamored with the sight. It was one of those perfect rainbows that disappeared as quickly as it came and showed vibrant colors at its pique. I was hoping we’d get to see a famous Hawaiian rainbow on our trip, and this day did not disappoint. This rainbow reappeared over and over again over the course of our hour at the Ke’e Beach.

We learned the day before at the beach at the hotel that Madelyn does not like going into the ocean. The waves scared her and the endlessness of it seemed to make her nervous. It took a little convincing, but she was finally OK with going in the water at Ke’e Beach because the water was calm and smooth like glass. I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to float in the Pacific Ocean with my best girl, so I got over my water temperature snobbiness and we bounced around together, singing and giggling.

After our fingers had turned into raisins, Madelyn relaxed on the beach while Bryan snapped a few belly shots. Apparently we wanted to remember what 28 weeks looks like the second time around. Then Madelyn wanted in so she could give kisses to her little sister. And I melted into a puddle that was bigger than the water we’d just come out of.

The next day, we spent the day at the hotel pool and beach again to take it easy after our adventure the day before. We met an older woman from Mississippi on the beach who managed to tell me her entire life story and how her granddaddy built her Baptist church and that every Sunday, she and her husband sat in the pews named after her family and she sings the loudest during the hymns. She also blessed me a million times for my pregnancy and upcoming baby. She then kneeled down to Madelyn and gushed about how she reminded her of the angels in her Sunday school class that she teaches.

She followed up her friendly and kind conversation by asking Madelyn if she likes to sing. Madelyn confidently nodded her head. So the lady asked her if she knew the song “Jesus Loves You” and Madelyn stared at her like she had 50 eyeballs on her head. When she didn’t answer, the nice lady gave us her own personal recital and giggled to us that Madelyn must be shy for not singing the lyrics with her. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that not only did Madelyn not know the words to “Jesus Loves You,” but that we were also on a family vacation during Hanukkah and that the last song she sang at preschool was about a dreidel. This experience was one of the funniest and most bizarre moments of my life, but this lady was so nice with good intentions.

After she left, we blessed the sand with our own creation: a Madelyn Mermaid. She loved being buried and giggled about her sandy fins.

That evening, we got cleaned up to go see a Hula show in the same shopping center as one of our favorite restaurants, Roy’s. However, we were in lots of traffic going into Poipu, and we missed the Hula show. I was so sad because I wasn’t sure when else we would be able to go before our trip ended, so we let Madelyn run around to get some of her wiggles out from the long car ride before dinner and her silly antics cheered me up.

We went to the beautiful nearby Hyatt resort to walk around the property and ended up watching a Hawaiian singer in the lounge where Madelyn danced to his music and put on her own little show for us. We also learned we could come back to the Hyatt a few days later to take a Hula class and see a Hula show. I was so glad to have that final option and couldn’t wait to come back!

We bought a pineapple earlier in the week at a nearby market and it was finally ready to eat, so the next morning, I called for room service to bring up a knife and I performed major surgery on that gem so we could enjoy its juicy island flavor.

Madelyn was so excited to eat real Hawaiian pineapple and she loved watching me slice it up. It was a yummy way to start the day and it sure beat room service.

With our bellies full of pineapple, we woke up our appetites to grab some delicious Mexican food from a food truck I’d read about. We drove to Koloa Town to try Chalupa’s and it did not disappoint! Our food was delicious and was the perfect lunch before making the long drive to the other end of the island to check out Hanapepe and Waimea Canyon.

Hanapepe is an old little town and we went to show Madelyn the swinging bridge. We walked across the bridge 6.5 years before when we came to Kauai for our honeymoon, but we thought Madelyn would get a kick out of crossing a river on a suspension bridge. And then walk back. It’s very anticlimactic, but it’s quirky and kitschy and something you’ve just to go do when visiting Kauai.

And it must’ve made some kind of impression on her because every bridge we saw or walked on throughout the rest of the trip, including the bridge over the pool at our resort, was called a Hanapepe Bridge.

Plus, the photo opps were fun!

After a long and windy drive up to Waimea Canyon, we woke up a sleeping Madelyn to take in the miraculous view of the Grand Canyon of Hawaii. As many times as I’ve seen Waimea Canyon, it’s still a breathtaking sight.

No photo truly does it justice. The ropey red mountains with a cavernous valley below are so powerful to take in. The waterfall gives the perfect dose of Hawaii. The breeze is the only sound over the murmur of amazed visitors who exchange buzzes of conversation for photography trades. We also partook, and thank goodness, because it’s not often we’ll have a family photo with this landscape.

Back down the windy road, we stopped for a late lunch at the Shrimp Station, which was decorated for the holidays. Madelyn loves shrimp and was totally enchanted by the shrimp on a sleigh in front. Bryan and Madelyn also managed to polish off some shrimp platters, while I cursed the windy road that left me nauseous and totally unhungry. I was sad to miss out on one of my favorite eating experiences that I was excited to return to, but I could not force any shrimp into my upset belly.

I was too much of a wimp… for shrimp. Womp womp.

We drove back to the hotel and I spent the rest of the late afternoon and evening curled up in a ball, stewing over how mad I was for feeling sick on vacation. We called it an early night and I felt so much better the next day. We relaxed at the pool again and then got dolled up in repeat outfits for our Hula night back at the Hyatt.

Dinner at Puka Dog was quick, but delicious. Kauai travelers will enjoy visiting this simple hot dog shop that’s anything but boring. The dog is wrapped in a cylinder sweet roll and there’s a variety of tropical relishes to use instead of the usuals. This is no ballpark hot dog. And as a picky hot dog eater who has the audacity to hate all condiments except for ketchup, even I like the relishes!

We arrived at the Hyatt for our Hula lesson and we learned a dance and a song. It was super fun and I appreciated learning about storytelling with my hands. Madelyn did a great job following along when she wasn’t being harassed by another little girl who had no interest in watching the teacher and only wanted to play with Madelyn. Poor Madelyn was so torn, loving the attention from a new friend, but also really wanting to Hula dance. She did the best she could and we ended up having a good time before heading down to the lounge to watch the children from a local Hula school perform for hotel guests. Madelyn ate it up. She loved watching little girls not much older than her shake their hips and use beautiful props to dance.

At the end of the night, we enjoyed a family walk and a cuddle on a hammock under the stars. It was a perfect evening and a wonderful memory.

On our second to last day, we took one more drive north to check out some other beaches with a shave ice stop on the way because shave ice. We enjoyed the beach at Princeville and then found ourselves at Lumahai Beach which is one of our favorites. It’s rarely crowded, easy to get to once you know it’s there, and the waves are fun! They are also huge and I’ve never seen anything like them. On our honeymoon, we went there and I wore a bikini (a bik-what???) and the waves at Lumahai left me without a bikini. So, there’s that. Needless to say, Madelyn took one look at those waves and ran away back toward the car. We promised her she didn’t have to go in, but Bryan enjoyed some thrashing around in the water while we watched.

There’s also a really cool river alongside the bottom of a cliff that feeds into the ocean. It’s super calm and like a wading pool. Madelyn much preferred that atmosphere. She chased floating banana leaves and splashed in the water.

We ended up eating dinner in Hanalei that was just mediocre. We didn’t feel satisfied after, so we did what any hungry people do after they’ve eaten a proper restaurant meal: we got burgers at Bubba’s. Shameless. Who says dessert has to be sweet??

At the end of the night, my depression sunk in that our trip was ending and we’d rest our heads on the pillows of our hotel only one last time. Madelyn loves hotel life. She thinks the little bottles of toiletries are a blast and being roomies with mom and dad couldn’t be cooler. We taught her about hotel etiquette and that we have to be quiet in the hallways since people might be sleeping. We told her this once. From then on, eery time we walked down the hall, she put her finger to her lips and whispered “Ssssss!” (she can’t say her “sh” blend). One morning, a horrible man was talking so loudly on his phone and we could hear him through the door. Good thing I was already awake or I would’ve ripped his ear off with the phone. Madelyn shook her head in disapproval and scolded him from inside our room. Already, such a savvy traveler.

She slept in a sofa bed for a week and did great. Better than great. In fact, every morning, she did something new that she’s never done at home. She would get out of bed when she woke up (sometimes before us), tip toe to the bathroom, pee, come back, and go back to sleep or get dressed and read her books while letting us snooze. She also woke up dry every morning even though she wears Pull-Ups to sleep and essentially nighttime potty trained herself on this trip. What?! I never imagined vacationing with a three-year-old would actually be a vacation for all of us.

The fastest week was also the best week we’ve had as a family. We had the best time showing Madelyn what we love about one of our favorite places and we loved watching her take it all in. Even a month later, back at home and back at the old routine, Madelyn consistently tells us she loves Hawaii and misses it.

But in typical Madelyn fashion, instead of harping on the vacation she had, she looks toward the future and always says, “Let’s go to Hawaii again, but with Baby Sister when she gets here.”

Sign me up, Big Sis!

Last December, Bryan and I went to Maui for a week sans Madelyn. It was really wonderful as any Hawaiian getaway should be. We hadn’t been back to the island since our honeymoon, and it was our first big trip being non-parents since we became parents. We felt young(ish) and it was liberating and, in all honesty, we went thinking we’d end up with a newborn 40 weeks later. The baby make-cation ended up being unsuccessful, yet here we are, almost exactly a year later, leaving the state of Hawaii again, this time, 7 months pregnant.

Obviously, we didn’t need Hawaii to get our pregnancy (as it happened six months later on the mainland), and in hindsight, I’m so glad it didn’t happen when we planned for it to happen. That was our big mistake: planning!

To think that THIS December, right now, we would have had a three-month-old if our Maui antics had worked makes me sigh in relief. This past week in Kauai with Madelyn, who’s three years old and four months, was the most magical and perfect week. Having an infant in our lives would have made this trip nearly impossible, and if we’d taken this “familymoon” before Maui Baby was born, Madelyn would have been just over two-and-a-half, and, well, not nearly as fun.

Timing and circumstances have a funny way of working out. This is hard for someone like me to understand if I wasn’t living it first-hand. As a planner and self-labeled control freak, the concept drives me bonkers. Strangely, though, motherhood has taught me to relax a little, and while that stick is still firmly planted up the rear end, being a parent has enabled me the power and advantage of ignoring it on occasion. Stick, be damned! So what that I didn’t get my way when I wanted it… or for five more months after that. So what that we didn’t end up with an autumnal baby, who would have been a blob to carry around for Halloween. So what that we can’t make bad wink-wink jokes with finger quotes about Bryan’s “COCONUTS” or that we did the (more finger quotes) “HULA DANCE” for the baby to start out life in Maui. The timing was not right. The circumstances were not right.

I’m not one to think about higher powers having any influence about how things have happened. I choose to believe that chemistry and biology were not BFF during our week in Maui last December or the months that followed. Then, boom, science yada yada. Also, maybe wine. But still, science.

And here we are, a whole year later and a whole lot of me knocked up. I am so thoroughly glad to have had this extra time with Madelyn. So fortunate that those months of frustration over not getting pregnant happened. So high off of our wonderful week away with our greatest treasure (so far) (Unborn Daughter: when you read this when you’re older, please understand we had a treasure before you, but then you get to show up 3+ years later and make the bounty grow, OK? Apparently, this is how it works with siblings. This is not second-child complex-worthy and I refuse to pay for therapy due to this blog post).

The opportunity of no-such-luck Maui Baby made it possible for us to have the most aloha-tastic time with our first daughter. Silver linings. It was hard to see them all those months ago, but now I am pinching myself with glee and gratitude.

I am also extremely thankful for my hard-working husband who made it possible for us to have this vacation of our dreams, our last one as a family of three (Princeton makes us, technically and currently, a family of four, but he’s not allowed in Hawaii, so for purposes of this vacation, we were a family of three) (Also, I shouldn’t have to defend this because my dog, while brilliant, cannot read and thus, will not incur therapy side-by-side with his youngest human sister).

I will write more about our week’s adventures, but for now, I savor these memories, our last collection of such before a whole new adventure await which will surely entail a little less R & R but a lot more sweetness and love. For all this, I say mahalo.

Halloween came and went and between Bryan’s work travels, weekend crowds, and uncomfortably hot temps, we never made it to our favorite local family spot for fun on the farm. In past years, we’ve gone to the Fall Festival at Underwood Farms in Moorpark to take photos with pumpkins and scarecrows, but every time we tried to make it work around Halloweentime 2014, it just wasn’t in the cards. Fall on the farm can be a magical time, though, so I didn’t want time to get away from us.

With a seemingly appropriate Thanksgiving harvest digesting in our bellies (and thighs and tush and chins), we decided to pick our own harvest during Thanksgiving weekend after the turkey had worn off. Visiting Underwood Farms after the rush of the Halloween/Pumpkinfest craziness was a huge relief — no crowds, nice weather, cheaper admission.

We hopped on a tractor ride that took us way out into the fields so we could pick our own vegetables. We weren’t sure yet what was out there, but decided we’d cook with whatever we picked in the days to come. Lennie and George would be so proud of us living off the fatta the land. If only Gary Sinise was out there with us to make it really cinematic (and sexy).

We picked some carrots straight out of the ground — dirt and all — and I already began seasoning them in my mind, ready for roasting. (Olive oil, Kosher salt, cracked pepper, 375 degrees for 30 minutes — you’re welcome). Then we found the broccoli and navigated our way through the rows of tall, flowering bushes/plants/trees. This was much more nature-y than the produce aisle at the market with the little sprinkler mist that comes on every 30 minutes. We knelt down and only Bryan was strong enough to twist — with two hands — the broccoli head off the bush/plant/tree. The rows were so tall with crops, we had to really climb through to find the perfect pickings. Even Princeton was not too sure about the leaves that were triple his size. We also ended up with butter lettuce, beets, and green beans, and already felt healthy and detoxed just carrying our loot, especially after three consecutive days of Thanksgiving meals and leftovers.

Once out of Eden, we decided to enjoy some time with animals. Madelyn rode a pony named Candy and is ready to star in City Slickers III. She loved going around in circles, and I know Candy appreciated it when the official handlers stopped the wheel so she could take a dump. It was especially exciting when this happened in the first of 12 rounds so that all the kids could remark on the smell for the rest of the rodeo. Madelyn was like, “Whatever, guys. This is way more realistic than the horse you can ride for a quarter outside of Rite Aid.”

Once Hopalong Madelyn’s ride was over, we decided to take in more wilderness with the petting farm. It was a little weak on inventory; usually there are sheep and chickens and rabbits, but this pen was only populated with goats. It took everything in me not to steal one in my purse. I really want a goat. I hear they make great pets. How cute would Princeton and a goat be together frolicking in my backyard?

Madelyn loves to play Goat Beauty Parlor every time she visits the petting corral. She makes a dash for the brushes and then goes to town on their coats. The goats are so patient and tolerant, especially when she brushes their hair in the opposite direction — gah! Kill me! I can’t handle that! — but they really don’t seem to mind. Goats, like Candy, also happen to be extra poopy, so we had to watch out for the deceptive chocolate chips that piled out of them on the go. I’m always impressed by animals who can make doody while walking; no magazine or anything. Those guys are efficient. One little girl in the petting area wasn’t as swift about avoiding the poop avalanche. Thank goodness Madelyn has been well trained or she and her wardrobe would’ve been enjoying a spa treatment in a bucket of Lysol by now.

The sun was starting to set and the vibe was calm and peaceful at the farm. Madelyn played on a few more of Underwood’s attractions. Meanwhile, Princeton relaxed in the wagon and waited patiently for his sister to burn off her energy. He got lots of smiles and compliments from the people who passed by as he watched Madelyn play and his beard blew in the breeze. I swear, that dog is a constant source of happiness for me. I think he would’ve made a really good farm dog, but I’m so glad he’s with us in suburbia.

The farm folks began to gather the wagons that peppered the grounds and close shop on the various attractions as they prepared for their evening work. As we purchased our produce and wrangled our own fruits of our labor — our human and canine children — I was reminded again how thankful I am for my growing family and our special days of togetherness.

I’m happy to report that Madelyn’s final night in her crib and first night in her bed were the exact same experience: boring! No muss, no fuss. No tears, no fears. I am still pinching myself how easily she transitioned.

The day her bed arrived was a big day. It was Friday, her favorite day at school because of all the Shabbat fun she has in the morning. Then it was Halloween. Then it was bedtime. It was one of those go-go-go days when parents probably shouldn’t do things that are of the milestone flavor due to rushing around and a less-than-routine schedule, but we’re risk takers and like to play with fire like that.

Her bed arrived while she was at school, and we spent the last hour of her school day making the bed and decorating her room so that she’d come home to a mostly complete version of her new living quarters. It was so fun to set up the new bedding and decor I’d worked so hard to coordinate and we couldn’t wait to show her the final product after I picked her up. I took it so seriously, I was just one headset away from actually becoming a Pottery Barn employee.

We led her upstairs to her room and let her open her door. Her smile went from wall to wall, and she instantly declared that she loved “the pink bed with flowers!” We climbed into her full size bed and snuggled in the new sheets as she explored the new bed’s anatomy: pillows — two of them! — sheets, a duvet, a quilt, and her favorite “friends.” The girl who had insisted that she loved her crib and didn’t want to give it to her baby sister truly turned a corner, and she continues to declare that she loves her big girl bed.

After a fun night of trick-or-treating with friends, we weren’t sure what to expect for the new sleep routine. We grappled with the concept of teaching her about staying in her bed throughout the night and not to play with her toys during sleep time and how she can’t go downstairs and other rules that come along with new freedom. But it dawned on me that we should use the first night as our base, our foundation, and it would only possibly cause confusion or problems for my goody-goody daughter who never even tried to climb out of her crib. If there was a problem by the morning, then we would address it. But to put thoughts in the girl’s head when it might not even occur to her to run wild around the house, might just end up shooting us in the foot later.

So, we read a story, tucked her in, gave lots of kisses, and left the little girl in the big bed until the morning.

Then I stared at the monitor all night.

I haven’t looked at the monitor much since Madelyn was an infant. I’ve never lived in a big enough house that I wouldn’t hear crying without the monitor, and watching a sleeping baby is actually kind of boring. So, the monitor has always been back-up for comfort, but I’m not the mom who’s tied to it.

Except for the first night in her big girl bed. Without rails. And with lots of extra bedding.

But finally, my heavy eyelids gave out and I slept on and off all night, hitting the display button as ferociously as I hit the snooze button on my alarm clock every morning. “Is she?!” No. “Where is?!” In bed. “How is?!” Sleeping. All my light sleeping and frequent wake-ups throughout the night were unnecessary.

At 8:15 on Saturday morning, I woke up with a jolt half expecting to hear Madelyn banging pots and pans downstairs in the kitchen or her laughter outside riding around on her tricycle. I looked at the monitor and she was fast asleep. In the era of the crib, it wasn’t abnormal for her to sleep until 8:30, 9:00, so this this wasn’t totally crazy, but I thought her new surroundings would surely throw her off.

I was up-up for the day, so I relaxed in bed waiting for her to wake up to see what she’d do. 8:30, 8:47, 8:55, 9:10, 9:15… nothing. Still and quiet. No red light blinking on the monitor to indicate sound and no grayed out three-year-old thrashing around on the screen.

And then it happened. 9:20 and she started to stir. She sneezed a cute little morning sneeze. Then she sat up. Looked around her room. And I braced myself for the cry and the plea to be rescued.

Wrong.

She greeted her “friends” with a cheerful good morning not dissimilar from Cinderella to her woodland creatures who lived in her attic, crawled to the foot of her bed, turned her body over, and thumped down on her two feet. Then she went nose-to-lens with the camera on her dresser where I watched her up close and personal as she undressed herself, peeled off her Pull-Up, opened her drawer, fished out a pair of likely princess undies, and then she disappeared out of frame. I heard the rolling of her closet door slide open and the clanking of hangers and clothes swishing around. Then two soft thumps, one for each foot, and silence.

The echo of our floorboards signaled she was cannonballing down the hall and Princeton growled at the 37-inch intruder, completely dressed in a matching ensemble and ready to take on the day, who opened our door with, “Goooooood mooooooorning, Mommy and Daddyyyyyyyyy!”

And that’s when I died.

She was so, so, so proud of herself! She galloped into our bed and we snuggled and discussed her first night in her big girl bed. The reviews were in and they were two thumbs up and then some: “I love my big girl bed!” “My bed is pink!” “I didn’t have a bad dream!” “I loved sleeping with my friends!”

Bryan agreed and backed up her claims with, “Your big girl is so comfy and cozy!” to which she followed: “That’s what I always say! Comfy and cozy!”

I died again. Because I am a cat.

Our love fest continued as she managed to tell us every detail of her slumber, which was pretty dynamic considering all I could see on the monitor was a quiet little girl smushed among pillows and sheeting. She narrated everything we caught on camera, about how she got up on her own and dressed herself “in pink because I looooove pink!”

I keep wondering when this luck will run out (March 4th is the answer). There’s no way lightning can strike twice. Baby in the Utey, if you can read this: It’s A-OKAY to take after your big sister!!!! Madelyn always been such an easy transitioner. Her first day without a bottle of milk? Didn’t even flinch. Potty training: Diapers whaaaat? And now the big girl bed: She was Goldilocks on the first try and it was juuuuuust riiiiight.

I was so proud of her, but doubted the streak would carry on.

So when the second night came around, I held my breath, but bedtime was smooth again. Sure enough, at 3:21 a.m. I heard whimpers. Normally, I wait out the whimpers — I’m not a get-up-and-instantly-go mom. But with such a change, I didn’t want to play that game. So as I got out of bed to address the whimpers, I looked at the monitor and she looked distressed. As I ran down the hall, she was gearing up with more intensity, “Mommy!! Daddy!! Mommyyyyy!”

I rushed to her side and patted her head. Before I could ask what happened, her panicky voice told me: “PIGGY!!! PIGGY FELL OUT OF BED!!!!!!!!!”

Miss Piggy, my own childhood stuffed Muppet that she sleeps with, is… rotund… and had the end spot on the bed (bad call, parents). She rolled off. Pig down. I picked her up, placed Piggy between Madelyn and Rapunzel, and tucked everyone back in.

I got back to bed and Bryan asked what was wrong with Madelyn. “Piggy needs bed rails,” I said.

And then we laughed ourselves back to sleep.

I just put Madelyn to sleep in her crib for the very last time. Her big girl bed arrives tomorrow and Halloween night will be her first snooze in the full size bed. Let’s hope sugar and cheap chocolate are the missing ingredients to a successful night’s sleep.

We also read her final story from the glider and ottoman. It’s probably a good thing, as she’s having a hard time fitting on my lap since her sister is beginning to take up too much thigh real estate (never thought I’d get to say that my thighs are getting smaller). The next time we read a story before bed, we will snuggle together side by side.

It’s weird, this whole big girl bed thing. I am excited for her and looking forward to our family enjoying her new room, but I am also super nostalgic about closing this chapter. I remember all the sleepless nights I spent planning her nursery. Every detail was intricately imagined. I tossed and turned over the crib bedding and played Goldilocks on dozens of chairs in stores throughout Los Angeles: this one’s too glidey; this one’s too stiff; this one’s juuuuuust right. Some things don’t always go as planned and some things do. I always assumed she would be up all night in her crib leaving us exhausted — because that’s what babies do — and that she and I would spend hours in that chair nursing and cuddling — because that’s what babies do. Thankfully, the former didn’t happen — she slept soundly in that crib, and we lucked out in that department. The latter, well, that didn’t happen either, but perhaps I will get the chance to experience nursing and bonding with Madelyn’s baby sister.

It’s taken a while for Madelyn to come around on the big girl bed. She has always really loved sleeping in her crib. I tried to nap with her once in our bed, and she wouldn’t even close her eyes. She needs her own space and was always very attached to the security her crib provided. It’s so interesting how some kids are cut out for different sleeping arrangements. So months ago, when we presented the idea that change was blowin’ in the wind, she pretty much protested. We wanted to cut the crib early, around halfway through my pregnancy, so that she’d have time to adjust and it wouldn’t seem that the new baby was stealing her property.

I should’ve known she wasn’t going to drink the crib Kool-Aid just yet; she’s the only three-year-old I know who had never even attempted getting out. She can’t even climb in by herself. I always heard stories about the time I climbed out of my crib and my mom awoke to my face at her pillow. No such surprise ever happened because Madelyn never wanted out.

Even on weekend mornings, she will wake up around 8:30 and happily play for hours sometimes until 10:00 or 10:30, by singing songs, telling stories to her stuffed animal “friends,” and recreating the previous day’s events. Her crib has always been her spot for relaxing and her spot for creating; that crib knows secrets and the depths of her imagination.

It was only about a week ago that Madelyn finally got on board with the big girl bed. We went shopping for her bedding at Pottery Barn Kids and I was on a mission to find the cutest bedding. It was like nursery planning all over again, but this time, it had to last. Never did I think that she’d spend over three years in her crib, so I knew that this would be even more long term and hopefully take her to her pre-teen age. After about an hour of playing with all the overpriced magical decor at PBK, she realized how much she loved all the big girl items. When I picked out her bedding and showed it to her, she said it was “so beautiful, Mommy!” and I knew she had fallen victim to the wonder and enchantment of Pottery Barn.

Apple. Tree. It doesn’t fall far.

This past week, we’ve been busy building new furniture for her so that her baby furniture can go in her sister’s room. The poor child isn’t even born yet and is already getting Madelyn’s hand-me-downs. I plan to decorate the nursery with all new bedding and accessories so that Baby Girl Friedman #2 has somewhat of her own identity. Meanwhile, Madelyn gets a fresh start with a new dresser and bookshelf bench in addition to her new bed and bedding. Tomorrow, her crib and glider chair will move next door, and the adventure of her big girl room begins.

I’m crossing all my body parts — which is very hard to do when you’re 21 weeks pregnant — that her first night goes smoothly and sets the precedent for continued healthy sleeping habits for our lover of Zzzzzzzzz’s. I’ve heard of putting a pool noodle toy under the fitted sheet to help prevent roll outs. Any other nuggets of wisdom for keeping a kid in bed when freedom has suddenly been granted?

Since she never tried to go all Shawshank on me, I am hoping the lack of baby jail bars won’t tempt her to pull anything naughty.

I won’t worry myself too much with what-ifs and maybes. Instead, I will continue to savor our last night together in the chair, cuddled close as her hair tickled my chin between sentences of our book. And despite the minor hernia from lifting her, I will treasure the moment of putting my baby — no, big girl — into her crib for her final snooze.

Growing up is sad-cool.