I don't get the whole planking thing, although I've seen it across the Internet and on various blogs. And now, I guess the pose of choice (especially after yesterday's game) is the Tim Tebow prayer on one knee.
In fact, I think my favorite plank was performed by Missy's husband over at It's Almost Naptime!!: Just a Man and His Will to Plank.
But I digress.
In the midst of all the hype over poses, you have our daughter, who has made up her own sleep-anywhere-you-want-to-pose. It's going to be the rage, folks.
I shared a while back that we were venturing out of the nap time zone, much to my chagrin and sanity. She began to stretch her bedtime to later and later at night and would venture downstairs after being tucked in more and more. Her pediatrician broke the bad news to me that if she was up past 9 p.m., then I probably needed to do away with the nap.
I think I teared up in the office.
And it wasn't just that she was getting up, it was that we wouldn't know that she was up, finding her later, asleep, in the strangest of places. One night we got up to go to bed and she was asleep behind the couch. Another time, it was at the top of the stairs (which scared the be-jeezers out of me).
Here are some examples of our favorites...
But do away with the nap we did and while she isn't completely over the hump of not needing an afternoon snooze (seriously...who is?), she goes to bed much easier at night and sleeps through the night without a hitch anymore. And honestly, after being up with her all day, I'm ready for some parent time by 8 p.m.
So you can imagine my chagrin when, during the hustle of the holidays, she started falling asleep for a little cat nap in the afternoon. Don't get me wrong, I loved the alone time and ability to get things done, but I knew I'd pay for it later in the evening. And most nights, we'd keep the same routine with Scott reading to her in bed and turning out the light, and, like clockwork, she'd be outside the door when I got out of the shower or sitting at the top of the stairs, listening to the TV or in her room, singing and jumping off the bed.
Today, I could tell she wasn't going to go the distance. She was whiny and crying and laid down on the couch in her green leotard (*sigh*) and before I knew it, she was out. Even though I woke her up after an hour, I could tell by the bedtime rituals that she wasn't tired yet. However, mama was tired.
Scott wasn't feeling well, so he went to bed early and I got the girls to bed and came downstairs to finish cleaning the kitchen and sit on the heating pad for a while. Five minutes later, I heard the familiar thunder of her feet jumping off her bed and then saw her peek around the stairs.
Too tired to fight, I gave in. "Come here, Elizabeth."
Her hair was still damp from her bath and she was in her pink flannel princess pj's and she ran with her Juno doll up to the couch and scrambled up beside me.
"Are you watching your cooking shows, mama?" They love to watch cooking shows with me, which I find hilarious.
"No, I'm watching this one about some people buying a house," I answered. "Do you want to watch it with me?"
"Yes," she said simply, and snuggled into my side. I put my arm around her and felt both of us relax after a long day of parenting/growing up. She was quiet and content to sit there and steal heat from my heating pad and watch HGTV.
After about a half hour, I told her I needed to take a shower and she needed to go to bed, which she seemed fine with, so we went upstairs together and I tucked her back in and she was asleep when I came back out.
I fear that there's going to come a day that we won't be able to get her out of her room and that she wouldn't dare snuggle up to mom on the couch - but I hope not. And I'm thankful that, at these times, my tiredness allows me to relax just a little bit to enjoy her at the same time that her tiredness relaxes her enough to be lovable.
Because, Lord knows, they're growing up so fast and we'll one day look back and laugh at this stage along with the rest of them.
Have a great night!
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