When you have twins, you have to buy everything in 2's. Which is cute sometimes, but mostly it's just EXPENSIVE. If you only have one child, imagine every time you go to the store to buy something (new shoes, new toy, new furniture) you have to DOUBLE your purchase. It's fun, but costly, which is why it's very nice to have companies like Graco around who make really nice, sturdy, affordable things for kids.

We moved the twins out of their cribs and into toddler beds when they were about 2-1/2 years old. It was a move we had been dreading, but it became a necessity when the kids were not only CLIMBING out of their cribs, but doing flips, twists, and curls to get out of them. It was either sign them up for gymnastics classes or buy toddler beds.

We initially considered just buying them twin beds, but their room is small and we would have needed bunk beds - a purchase we just weren't comfortable with safety-wise with their affinity for jumping. So off we went on what turned out to be a month-long hunt for toddler beds. After much consideration, we eventually decided on the Graco toddler beds.

The advantage of the Graco is it is made of plastic. Now, at first, this may seem rather cheap or tacky, but really it is an amazing advantage because those beds were SO easy to clean! Even if one of the boys wrote on them with a crayon or marker, or stuck a sticker onto the bed, it just took a couple of squirts of Pine-Sol and the beds were as good as new. The Graco beds are also extremely sturdy. The kids could jump on them and they didn't budge.

Another huge advantage of a toddler bed is you can use your crib mattress and crib bedding. Of course, when the kids turn 4 they start noticing you are still making them sleep on those Precious Moments sheets you got as a baby shower gift and they start insisting you buy Batman or Star Wars toddler sheets (eBay is a good place for this), but the compact size of the Graco makes it worth it to avoid moving up to twin or double beds as long as you possibly can.

Alas, at about 4-1/2 the boys' feet were hanging over the edge of the toddler beds and we had to pack them up and put them in the attic. They love their bunk beds, but for me they still remind me how big the boys are getting, and sometimes I sneak up the attic ladder just to peek at those cute Graco toddler beds and how darned cute they were. :)

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