Growing Pains?

With Tommy approaching the 2-year (eek!) mark, I realize it's time to start thinking about when we are going to do certain things...like switch the high chair over to a booster seat.  Or convert his crib to a toddler bed.  I know he's growing and will soon be too big and/or will not be happy until he has more independence and control.

The crib I'm trying to hold off on as long as possible, because this kid will definitely climb out of a toddler bed if given the opportunity. However, both John and I have said he just looks almost too big for the crib.  It might be because a third of it is taken up by the menagerie of stuffed animals he insists on having in there with him. And don't think that I don't remove animals from the crib on a daily basis.  I do!  But come the next bedtime, he somehow can sense that something is off kilter and like tonight, demand, "Moo, Mommy," and point to the basket on the floor that the cow is in with several other friends.

The high chair is something I have been on both ends of the spectrum with several times in recent months. Our "space saver" high chair was something I picked out because it was supposed to be just that - a space saver.  No having to fold up a high chair and find a place to store it; no having a high chair take up extra room in your kitchen/living space.  The model we have goes right on your kitchen chair.  And while that's awesome, you can't push the chair under the table with this seat on it.  So in a sense, for us, with our kitchen set, it is a high chair taking up extra room in our kitchen/living space. I'm not even sure if converting it to the booster seat will allow the chair to be pushed in under the table.  But there are 2 reasons I am hesitant to convert even though I want more space:

1. I feel like the high chair going away means Tommy is officially out of babyhood, and I'm not sure I am ready for that.
2. The high chair is my secret way of getting Tommy to nap on the weekends for me.

Yes, Tommy falls asleep almost every Saturday and Sunday in the high chair while eating or just after finishing his lunch.  It relaxes him!  And then I just carry him to his mat on the floor or upstairs to his crib.

Tommy may end up being the one to make the decision on the high chair on his own if the past week and these pictures are any indication:

Sweet T insisted he sit on a regular chair and have breakfast with me last weekend

Even the chocolate donut with sprinkles could not prevent the TV trance

Insisted on taking his snack at the kitchen table while I had dinner. Bonus TV trance.

Smorgasborg of strawberries, pears and yogurt melts.

So we'll see what happens.  We'll watch for cues from Tommy to see when the timing is right to make adjustments with the crib and high chair. Last time we lowered the crib, we had actually talked about it, saying we would do it that weekend.  That very night, Tommy managed to climb/fall out at 5:30am. So we didn't wait until the weekend to lower the crib. My Smart T probably has a plan already in place to let me know when it's time to make the next step!