Ethan's new toddler room

And here's Ethan's new toddler bedroom. We chose a sports theme for him. He too gets excited about trains, especially train cartoons on TV - Chuggington and the Choo Choo Soul lady who sings on Disney. "All aboard the choo choo train..." So cute how he sings along. But even earlier than his excitement about trains, we noticed he would pick up various ball toys - toy basketball, small rubber balls, etc. Maybe he'll be an athlete. Maybe not. But we thought a sports theme would be fun for him since he seems to like soccer balls, basketballs, etc. And we want him to have his own special room - not a repeat of Bryce's toddler room. Again... this came from Target... We got it for him for Christmas, as well as getting Bryce his train comforter from Pottery Barn Kids. Ethan's bedding set alone was only $30. I think Bryce's toddler set was closer to $60. $30 is a pretty good deal for a toddler bedding set anywhere. Especially one that is this cute.

We chose red for his name letters. Thought it'd look good against the brown walls and above the baseball shelf. Bryce has the same 12-month frame on his shelf and they both have a small Longaberger basket with a baby tie-on depicting their year of birth. Also on Bryce's shelf is an engraved train pewter bank. We got Ethan a pewter soccer ball bank with his name and birthdate engraved. Thinking of saving that to include in his Easter basket. Or give to him for his upcoming birthday (March 5). The soccer bank will go on his shelf as well.

We'll eventually put books on the shelf (it is bolted to the wall so it won't fall over on him). Just want him to get used to a simple room without distractions from sleep first.And this was taken the day the carpet guy was still here. He was working on the nursery and finishing up Bryce's room after putting Ethan down for his nap. It was loud upstairs but a later naptime. Ethan had no trouble falling asleep. He has napped and slept at night really well in his toddler bed. When asked, he crawls into bed and curls up with his head on top of the pillow. The first night he did fall out. We heard a thud and went to him immediately - expecting him to burst into tears. However, he was soooo tired, he basically had fallen back to sleep on the floor where he landed. Other than that instance, he has done exceptionally well with the transition. Better than expected. Areas of development Bryce has done well with, Ethan has given us a run for our money. And Bryce did so-so with the toddler bed transition. We thought Ethan would be more of a challenge. So proud of him for doing so well with this! It is kinda bitter-sweet to see him in Bryce's old room. Sure, we started Bryce in the room even younger than Ethan is now. But Bryce has grown and changed a lot over the course of time he has used the toddler bedroom. So we were used to an older child being in there. Seeing our little guy in the toddler room now is a reminder of how our kids are growing up. See the following post about the transition and our empty nursery.

www.authenticallyabbie.blogspot.com/2011/01/mixed-emotions.html