Big Boy Bed!

We interrupt a chain of posts on our recent vacation for breaking news... No, not the impending hurricane; nothing to do with Sprout, either.  Well, maybe a little to do with Sprout.  But mostly to do with Asa.

Because Asa now has a big-boy bed.

We got a lovely hand-me-down bed from Auntie Sarah's parents.  It was, in fact, both a crib and a toddler bed for Sarah and her brother... um... several years ago.

A couple of minor changes had to be made: this style of drop-side crib/bed is now illegal... not to mention that it's not as needed on a bed as it was on a crib.  Besides, despite having slept on something similar as a kid (as did we all, in the 70s), this hardware made me nervous.

(Yes, I know.  Modern first-time overly-nervous mother.  I admit it.)

Also, new models of mattress are slightly shorter than the old ones, so that had to be taken into account.  With all that in mind, I took off all the hardware, removed the lower-leg section so that the footboard would be lower than the headboard, and began to prime the wood - most of Asa's room is white or cream, after all.

(The imprint of the mattress texture.  It had been in a hot attic for a while, after all.)

After a fairly short while, it became apparent that the easiest thing to do would be to make a new platform, to replace the metal side supports.  So after a couple of days in the basement with power tools and primer, we had this, ready to paint:

Which meant that today, it was time to take apart the crib.  I had a good helper - and he had a hammer.

Now, originally, we were just going to bring in a new bed.  But a trip to Ikea yesterday added a couple of fun touches... like a big bed net and a new play rug.  Asa calls the new net his "castle".

Yes, I let the pregnant one hang the net.  What can I say?  She's taller.  Doesn't the room look empty?

It took a little finagling to get the bed into the room, and then I had to reattach the rails and do a little paint touch-up.  The bed was supposed to be white, but the color we actually got was a good match for the walls.

Then we made the bed...

...and stood back.

A lot of rearranging, on the assumption that we'll have to fit the crib back in here soon enough, but it does look bigger.

And I think Asa likes it.

Thanks, Mr. and Mrs. C.!  We love you!