I’ve been dealing with a challenge regarding the girls and sleep. Rachel is a terrific napper. I can put her down for a nap, and she is asleep within minutes, and can sleep for 2-3 hours. Gabi, on the other hand, is not a good napper. There was a time when she would cry for 2 hours, then sleep for 20 minutes. Now she doesn’t cry for long, in fact she falls asleep reasonably quickly, but still only sleeps for 20 minutes. I’ve tried to extend it, but it just doesn’t work.
At night it is a different story. We have a bedtime routine that includes brushing teeth, reading stories, singing songs, saying a prayer, and then kisses and we tuck them in. Gabi goes to sleep almost immediately, and sleeps just fine throughout the night. Rachel, on the other hand, gets her second wind, and entertains herself for hours, sometimes rather destructively. I knew I had to change things, meaning I have to shorten Rachel’s nap. It is painful (for me) but necessary.
Today was a beautiful day. It was sunny and warm, and fairly windy too. We went outside this morning to play, we went for a walk (Rachel rode her tricycle, and Gabi rode on my back – I guess I’m the only one who took a walk, okay, and Scout walked too), we played on the slide, and generally enjoyed a beautiful morning. Then I fixed the girls lunch, which they ate, then I put them down for a nap. True to form, Rachel fell asleep quickly, and Gabi fell asleep shortly after, but woke up 20 minutes later. I let Rachel sleep for about an hour and a half, then I woke her up and we went to the park. We stayed there for a couple of hours and she had a great time. She played in the sand, she swung on the swing, she climbed on the jungle gym, she made friends with other kids, we went for a short walk (when she wanted me to carry her our walk ended pretty quick after that). We stopped at the grocery store on the way home, and when we got home we were pleasantly surprised to see that Jeff was home from work early. I fixed dinner, we ate, then we went to visit Aunt Michelle at her store. We came home and put the girls to bed. It is now an hour and a half since we put them down, and Rachel is still awake. I know she’s tired, but she is managing to keep herself quite happy playing (and probably destroying her room at the same time).
As I am finishing this post, it sounds like Rachel has finally retired for the night. Because I woke her up early from her nap we started the bedtime routine early too, and so in truth she is asleep (I think) a good hour earlier than normal, so this is progress. I do so wish that Rachel would go to sleep as quickly at bed time as she does at nap time!
Here are a few pictures of the girls playing in the back yard this morning.
In other news, today was the 136th running of the Kentucky Oaks (a race for 3-year-old fillies). It was won in dramatic fashion by the favorite Blind Luck, who went from last to first, and won in a photo finish.
Tomorrow is the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby. Have a great Derby Day!