No more NAPS!

Jordynn has always been a good sleeper. She started sleeping through the night (7-8 hours) around 9 weeks. I've always laid her down awake and within 10 minutes she'd be asleep. Even when I moved her to a toddler bed at Christmas she never fought naps or bedtime. In the morning when she wakes up she calls for mom and dad and doesn't get out of bed until we give her permission. That is until recently. The last week she has fought me on every nap and especially bedtime. On one particularly difficult night she got out of bed over a dozen times and screamed ear piercing screams until after 11 pm. Bed time starts at 8. That's 3 hours of screaming. I decided maybe she was outgrowing her naps and that's why she doesn't want to go to sleep at night. So I vowed that the following day she wouldn't have a nap and I would test my theory. When nap time came around we went outside to play. I left her laughing in the swing to answer the phone. I came back out less than 10 minutes later to find this...

I laughed. Surely she won't sleep long in the swing. So I did yard work and waited. Brother opened her eyes to see if she was really sleeping. I laughed. Surely she won't keep sleeping with brother opening her eyes. An hour and a half later...

So much for my vow of no more naps. I'm not anxious for her to outgrow naps. But if I have to choose between 3 hours of screaming and not taking a nap I choose the latter. Let's just hope she sleeps tonight and I can continue having the best of both worlds.

Winter

I know winter is suppose to be cold, dark, and snowy. But I long for the days of warmth and sunshine. I long to send my children outside for more than 20 minutes. I miss the park and going on walks/bike rides with the kids. I'm ready for Spring. However, our forecast predicts at least another 10 days of snow and rain. So we are bundling up and preparing to enjoy more of this:
and this:
The only joys of winter are watching your kids discover the flavor of icicles and snow (Jordynn now LOVES ice), making snowmen that only last 10 minutes before being demolished, and hearing your kids laugh when their aim improves and they can now tag mom with snowballs.