Saturday, January 05, 2008

Saturday Night

The past couple of Saturday nights we've let the boys eat their dinner in the family room while watching a video. They go to bed so early (anywhere from about 6:15, to 7:00 at the very latest), and we're usually out and about on Saturdays and don't want to take the time to make a family dinner, and we don't let them watch videos on 'school days' so Saturday videos are a big deal for K & O. Plus-- Braydon and I like to eat together on Saturdays after they go to bed. ;) So we let them do this a couple of Saturdays in a row... and for K & O, once something happens twice in a row it instantaneously becomes set in stone forever as a beloved ritual. For better or for worse, this Saturday-night-eating-in-the-family-room-while-watching-a-video is now something we seem to "do." They like to sit very close together, so that they are touching, whenever possible. It is really cute. Tomorrow we will take down our Christmas tree, Kyle's much-loved-lawn "blow up", and all of the other Christmas decorations. This is very, very sad for K & O. I'm ready to get it all cleaned up, but at the same time, I am sad about it too. Tonight right before Owen got into his bed, he looked out the boys' bathroom window at our "blow up" and our "Hallelujah lights" and whispered, "Night Nights Blow up! Night Nights Hallelujah lights! You are so beautiful! Tomorrow you go in a box in the basement! I love you! I can't wait for next year! Night Nights!"

3 comments:

KJ Family said...

I love seeing pictures of them so close together. It's so neat.

Kristi said...

How do you get them to go to bed so early? I am incredibly envious!!

Heather said...

Hi Kristi!
I know, isn't it amazing/ridiculous how early they go to bed?!?!! This started in late August when they started their new school. The school is just wonderful, and totally exhausts them physically/mentally (in a GOOD way). The other thing that happened around that same time is that we completely stopped the afternoon nap. Over the summer we were sort of weaning them from the nap gradually. But when they started school we no longer ever put them down for an afternoon nap (with the only exception being if they're sick or coming down w/ a cold, etc.). By about 5:30 they are totally completely exhausted (cranky, fussy, hyper, at-each-other). We try to go up to get ready for bed around 6:00. They object to bedtime a little, but it isn't bad. We do our whole routine (brush teeth, books, prayers, etc) and by sometime between 6:15-7:00 they are in their beds. We tuck them in, etc. and then walk out. We try to walk out absolutely no later than 7:00. We never hear another peep. From what we can tell, they fall asleep within 5 minutes most nights. They sleep rock solid until 7:00-7:30 the next a.m. It is glorious!!! HOWEVER... it has *not* always been like this! Believe me!!! We went through sleeping HELL with K & O from the time they were about 18 months until we finally separated them and put them in their own rooms when they were about 2.5 (that's when we started to see things start to go much more smoothly at bedtime). But even before 18 months they were NEVER easy to get to go to sleep. Once they were asleep, they would sleep pretty well... but it was GETTING them to sleep that was the problem. They were always hard to handle at bedtime- starting from when they were about 10 months old. We've pulled our hair out about it, cried over it, read every book we could get our hands on (sleep books, twin books, everything), even at one point consulted a toddler sleep expert! It was HORRIBLE. But now we're getting the opposite extreme end of the deal: awesome awesome sleepers. And we are SO grateful! And every day we just keep our fingers crossed that it lasts!!!!!!!!!!! ;0 Thanks for checking in Kristi!
Say hi to Kenna and Michal! :)
Heather