Last week I asked Abby's teachers if she was sleeping during naptime and found out that no, she was actually not sleeping at all. Because she was just staying on her mat quietly and not disturbing the other kids, they didn't mention it to me. But this is without doubt the major cause of last week's mood and short temper. Abby is one of those kids who really needs her sleep. She goes to bed at 7:30 and sleeps until 6:30 in the morning. And on the weekends she takes a full 2 hour nap each day.
I hear of other parents who say their kids go to bed at 9:00 (or later) but my sweet little girl is just not one who can function on so little sleep. I feel incredibly fortunate that she is such a good sleeper! Today, in light of this discovery, one of Abby's teachers sat beside her at nap time and repeatedly told her to close her eyes. She said it only took 5 minutes before Abby was sound asleep. And she had a great day today! In fact, it was a two sticker day! Sometimes being a parent is also about a little detective work. :-)
We went on a long walk with our neighbors this afternoon. Francesco (or Coco as Abby calls him) is 3.5 years old and Luca is 20 months old. We have walked together regularly with them and their mom since the kids were babies but now it is funny when we walk because Abby and Francesco actually have conversations. I love to listen to what they discuss. Not quite world peace or how the Braves bullpen is doing, but they are pretty close.
We had a really good weekend. Saturday night we got together with other single mom families (all the moms had also adopted from Kazakhshtan). We ate pizza and then went to Chastain Park so the kids could run around. Sunday morning Abby helped me make banana nut muffins. She is the best little helper you could imagine. And she is also great at licking the bowl. That's my girl!
Sunday afternoon we had one of those rare days where we got to just hang out at home and play. We did some painting, built some castles, played with Thomas the Train, and read some books. Sometimes life is so fast, but these days always slow things down and help put things in perspective.
Today when we were getting ready for our walk, I had to change clothes to put on shorts. After I changed clothes, I heard Abby in my room. She was putting all my clothes in my clothes basket. It was the sweetest and cutest sight. I had not said a word to her, she just saw that my clothes were on my bed and decided to help me out. :-) I love that she likes to help out. I try to include her in as many daily tasks as possible and she is quite amazing what she can do (with a little help of course). She puts her dirty clothes in her clothes basket, feeds Lucy, puts her dishes in the dishwasher after meals, picks up her toys, makes her bed in the morning, and gives Lucy her daily treat. I'm sure I'm forgetting some things on that list too. I'm not a slave driver or anything but I do feel this is the best time to begin learning responsibility. Plus, now she thinks all this stuff is fun. :-)
So, that's about it from our house tonight. :-) Good night.