big girls don't cry

... matilda hit a milestone... and so did, sort of.

see my beautiful 5 year old and i made a deal... when she was 4. the deal was when she started school.. she'd migrate into her own bed. now, her bed is 3 ft from mine because we have a 1 bedroom apartment for now... but she definently has her own space. this is actually HER apartment, i just pay the bills and pickup after her really. =) but nevertheless, the deal was 5 year olds sleep in their bed. did she? not really.

and that's my fault. i now this. i should have been more stern and adamant. but in all honesty, it was a comfort thing for me too. i had to grow up a bit and get past the comfort of knowing my sweet girl was right next to me. literally, right next to me. usually a foot jammed in my back to be exact... but this weekend we ventured out for her to pick out bedsheets because, now it was time to really get serious.

we went to our favorite sunday store... the one with the bullseye logo... and she got to pick any sheet set she wanted. now, naturally, i pushed for dora, little mermaid or the disney princesses... matilda would have nothing of it. instead, she zeroed in on a fantastic set of batman sheets. BAT.MAN. for a sweet little girl. BATMAN. i bought them. and i bought a pillow to match. and you know what... it was the best money i ever spent.

she was so excited to help me put HER sheets on HER bed. and she climbed into her bed all by herself. tucked herself in and was ready for lights out. it was quite different than i had expected. i was so proud yet nervous that she didn't need me as much as she had the day before.

until 11pm. she sat straight up in bed, called out 'mommy!' and i said, 'i'm right here sweetie.' she said, 'okay.' and down she went until 630am this morning. tonight, we'll do a replay. she's ready... i'm ready... and together we'll get thru this new big girl endeavor.