Sweet Sleep

I've been catching a hard time about what time my emails often get sent out at night...and I don't blame people. It's pretty ridiculous sometimes if I must say so myself. I'm a night owl, always have been. However, the problem is...three little people now force me to also be a morning person. The two don't really go hand-in-hand. It's not that I don't like sleep. Quite the contrary. I LOVE sleep. Left to a quiet house, there really is no telling what time I might awaken. Just ask Matt. Really, I just enjoy my quiet time at night. I enjoy the peace and the uninterrupted time to myself. And, often times, after the kids go to bed, it really is the only time that I can get things done. All of this got me thinking about one of my most favorite things though..and that's watching my kids sleep. They are so peaceful, so angelic, so worry-free, so innocent, so perfect.

Lainey still takes a nap after lunch. It's usually an hour, but she will ask to lay down. She'll crawl right into bed after lunch or for bedtime, cuddle up with her lovey, Mr. Bear, and snuggle in for her sleep. She needs it too, or she can be a grouch. She's so good though, staying in bed and laying there until she falls asleep (quickly if she's really tired...not so quickly other nights)...but never getting out of bed unless given permission (even when we try to tell her it's OK)...our little rule-follower.

I just had to take this picture of Sophie the other night when I walked in to check on her before going to bed because it's just so typical. Sophie does not take a nap during the day. She does go into her room with the expectation that she should be taking a nap, but 98% of the time that does not happen. Instead, she runs, jumps, plays, hoops and hollers, pretends, and does...well, honestly, I don't know because I have taken out just about everything that was in there because she was destroying her room otherwise (those are stories for another time). So, at night, when it's time for bed, this little girl crashes hard. She crashes so hard that once in awhile, we will hear her fall out of bed, and she will not wake up. When I walk in to check on Sophie, there just is really no telling where I might find her. She probably had to check on something or was "talking" to someone before finally giving up for the night. I guess, I'm probably most like her in this department. We push it to the max, and when we finally give up...we're gone!

This is rare for Sawyer to be asleep anywhere other than his bed, but when we came home the other day from playing at our friends' house, he was just too exhausted to keep his eyes open any longer. So, when I put him on the floor to get his bottle ready before I took him upstairs, he simply rolled over and went to sleep. He is a good sleeper for us though. We don't need to rock him to sleep...although I do get to rock and cuddle him. But, I can just lay him in bed, and he will grab his blanky and go to sleep. Often, if he is really tired, while I'm trying to burp him, he will reach for his crib and just want to be put to bed. However, if he is not in his bed...forget it. He will not just fall asleep anywhere. If there is anything going on...this little guy will stay awake to see it. He is not going to miss a thing!

As I'm approaching another late hour, I'll sign off this post and head to check on my precious little ones...and treasure the quiet peaceful babes they are right now. Then, I'd better hustle and jump into bed because morning will approach all too quickly...and those peaceful quiet babes will have recharged their energizer batteries throughout the night. Thankfully, I find I really love that side of them as well...