The Trouble With Toddler Beds

A couple weeks ago I walked into my daughter's bedroom to find her with one leg up over the side of the crib. Apparently she decided that I was taking to too long to come and get her so she was getting herself out of the crib. That was the moment I decided that it was time to move to a toddler bed.

Unfortunately, the transition has not been going smoothly. She simply will not stay in her bed. So every night we talk about staying in her bed and I tell her that if she gets out she has to sleep in her playpen. And every night, before I'm even out of the room, she's out of her bed. So I put her in her playpen. We tried this for about a week and a half with no change in her behavior.

My next effort was to keep up the routine I mentioned above, but after she was asleep I moved her to her toddler bed. You can see what I wind up waking up to. She simply loves being able to run around her room and play with everything. It's driving me crazy.

Does anyone out there have suggestions or things that worked for them? Right now I'm at a loss. Any help would be greatly appreciated.