No Naps *Sigh*

We are going through another stage of developmental change in our household lately, one that I have not been looking forward to....the out-growing of naps. Avery, for the past week, has refused to nap...Huston had already been hit or miss - so now with both his younger and older brothers not napping, he of course will not sleep either.

Isaiah was an awesome napper for a very long time. I remember when Isaiah was young and our only child, other moms would tell me how their children didn't nap. I would sympathize with them as I would think to myself (in a very prideful manner!) that those poor parents just don't have things figured out! (Isaiah was a "sucker" baby - sucked us into thinking that his "good baby" qualities were due to great parenting...)

When Huston came into the picture - he too was a good baby, very easy going, slept through the night the fastest of all our children, but he was a bit more ornery. He and Isaiah shared a room and Huston could often be found out of his bed goofing off after we put him down for the night! Of all the nerve. Isaiah had never done this - he was content to stay in his bed until mom or dad went to get him and tell him it was time to get up...(some of the initial cracks in our "great parenting" facade :-)

Now Avery is a different matter entirely. He has NEVER been a good sleeper. He has always been very loud (his cry would be so loud and grating it would immediately send me into a fit of irritation...) and restless. His sleep even now is usually fitful and he often cries - you could even call it screaming/yelling - and does it all while his body is sound asleep. After bing tucked in, he usually gets out of bed repeatedly - until it is well "past" his bedtime and usually arises very early - full of energy... The only comfort I had was to think he would be laying down in the afternoon for his nap and I would get my "break" from him then...well it looks like those days are winding to a close.

So admittedly these days are a bit hard. I require quite a lot of sleep, and with Lillie routinely waking up at 5, Avery staying up a bit later and a different child being restless or needing something on any given night, I feel like I am just napping my way through life right now. So my brain cells seem a bit fried and my disposition can at times be irritable and my communication terse with the kids...but really I think my body is starting to adjust some. And as the season of napping in this house lasted all to briefly....so will this season of sleep deprivation, right?

On the upswing, Grandma took Avery and Lillie home with her on Sunday and kept them overnight. The spoiling and lack of schedule they received actually has (on the surface) seemed to have done Lillie more good than harm...she "slept in" until 6:00 this morning...which was quite shocking!

And also the "no-nap" day allows for some fun Avery times - cause he is a kid full of fun (and mischief)...so I will leave you with some photos of Avery and dad taking a walk to the creek on a "no-nap" Sunday afternoon...