No More Naps

Naps. 

As kids we despise them and as adults we desire them. Wouldn't it be nice if our mentalities could flip flop? I feel like it's completely acceptable that as a 30 something there are days I wish I could remove myself from the current situation and take a quick snooze and I know I'm not alone. 

No one in our house is a "morning person." We all love our sleep and tend to be classified as "late sleepers." Nothing like our college days where you'd catch the first glimpse of light at 11am, but typically on the weekend we're up around 7:30am - which I believe is considered late with children involved. 

Both of our kiddos are great sleepers, but it took us a while to get there. When Harper and Emmett were infants, they never slept through the night. I always envied those parents who told me, "yeah, my 6 week old is already sleeping through the night." I'm sure I gave a little eye roll since that was unheard of in our household. I think each of our kiddos finally started sleeping through the night after 6-9 months old. Part of that is my own fault for enabling their nightly habits. By the time Emmett came along, I started the whole process a little earlier. Since then we've have wonderful sleepers for the most part, who nap regularly and sleep peacefully at night in their own bed in their own rooms - until this week.

At 4, Harper was still taking daily naps (key word, was). She started referring to the daily rest as "quiet time" a few months ago, insisting she wasn't tired. We'd go in her room to check on her only to find Sleeping Beauty cuddled up and snoozing. 

Over the last week, "quiet time" has turned into literal quiet time. She's been content laying in her bed (sometimes for an hour or more) just playing without any shut eye. We try to make it as boring as possible, telling her quiet time means there can't be any noise - but that doesn't seem to bother her imaginative mind. She follows the rules, not making a peep - but somehow manages to keep herself entertained. 

I knew this day would come, where naps would be a thing of the past - but there are still glimpses of exhaustion which sometimes equals epic meltdowns. This week has been a transitional, learning experience for me and our new non-napper. Extra reminders of listening ears and good manners have come into play. I have patience and extra deep breaths to thank for getting me through a few meltdown moments. Together we're learning and eventually we'll have our new nap-free routine down.

Besides the nap situation, we've been busy with other fun stuff. 

We had a blast Easter weekend. Lots of egg decorating, egg hunting and candy - holy candy! We had an egg dying party with the Donahue's which was a ton of fun. Harper did a great job dying eggs for all of us and surprisingly they weren't all pink and purple. 

This year we also signed up for a breakfast and egg hunt at Rush Creek. It was fun to get the kids dressed up and get pictures with the Easter Bunny. Both kids loved him. Because of rain, the hunt was moved indoors. Each kid was assigned a number and numbered brown paper bags filled with eggs were hidden all over the place. The four of us marched around searching for bags 85 and 86 - which took us longer than I'd like to admit. Finally we found both and each kiddo had a basket full of eggs. 

That same afternoon we did the annual egg hunt at Lord of Life. Emmett was excited he got to participate this year. A tiny circle was blocked off for kids 2 and under. He was so precise picking up each egg and carefully dropping them in his bucket - nothing like the older kids running around grabbing anything they could find. Once again - both kids walked away with a bucket full of eggs and treats. 

We decided to go to church Saturday night, which gave us all time to sneak in everything we wanted to on Sunday. The kids woke up to a note from the Easter Bunny and baskets fully of goodies. That morning we went to brunch with my parents, Austin and Sarah which has become our Schumer side tradition. Afterwards we headed to Tim and Tracy's to visit with the Helleen crew. 

As always, holidays are such a fun time to get everyone together. It's great catching up with those you don't see often, and it's a constant reminder that we should make a point to see them more - not just for special occasions. 

 

Over the last few weeks we've had some fun adventures too. 

The Medfords were passing through town and gave us a shout to meet up. Since we don't see them nearly enough, we loaded up the car and headed to Cold Stone Creamery to meet them for an ice cream date. Melissa and I reminisced about our days as Cold Stoners but none of our kiddos seemed impressed. The ice cream was delicious as ever and I was shocked to see they had my favorite flavor - Amaretto! 

We also took the kiddos swimming since Harper has been begging us to to go the pool for months. It was Emmett's first time in the pool since last Summer. He was unsure at first, but by the end he was strutting around refusing to hold my hand - thinking he's older than he actually is. This is a characteristic of his all the time. We're going through the "Mr. Independent" phase. Harper still refused to dunk her whole face or go underwater. It's a battle we've had for the last 3 years. Goggles are her new best friend and seem to give her a little more confidence in the water. As time goes on she's getting a little more comfortable and a little more brave. During our last pool visit she managed to run under the waterfall - which was a giant step forward for her. We still want to keep swimming "fun" and not something she's scared of, so we don't push too much. I assume eventually she'll naturally want to learn. 

After a long hiatus, we've brought back our Play-Doh sessions. It's messy and the color mixing drives me a little nuts - but Harper LOVES it. She can sit and play with it for hours, Emmett attention was not held as long. It's become a daily activity, especially on the weekends. We sculpt animals and insects and Harper has recently started to hide her Shopkins inside a ball of Play-Doh. She will then open it up like it's a mystery pack. It's as hilarious as it sounds. 

The weather continues to tease us with hints of Spring. Any time we can, we venture outside. Whether it's digging in dirt, playing with chalk or checking out our new favorite park - we've been soaking up as much fresh air as possible. We're sick of gray skies and chilly weather, bring on the sunshine and coatless temps!

 

Until next time…
The Helleen's