The Dream Is Over

A lot of you everyones out there won't believe this, but: Up until about a month ago, Alina went to sleep without a fight - Every Night! One of us would sing her a song and we'd say Night Night and put her down in the crib. Simple. She'd roll over and just stay there. Quiet. Content. Drifting. We miss this so. For some reason, ever since we got back from my sister's house in Florida, nighttime has turned into a wrestling match. It may have something to do with the fact that she climbed out of her pack n' play (that's a portable crib to the offspringless) and onto the our adjoining bed while we were down there. I guess she thought, "Hey, I don't have to take this lying down anymore?!"

After asking around, people suggested it was time for a Toddler Bed. So, I took the fourth wall down from her crib and lowered the mattress. Alina's bed was meant to be convertible and even came with a curved slat of wood meant to stave off the rolley polleys onto the floor below. Sometimes she sits up and cries, sometimes she decides the fuzzy blanket on the floor is a better place to sleep, and sometimes she just runs into the living room and yells HI with a wide-eyed grin. I've spent at least one night on her floor using a stuffed duck as a pillow.

Chalk it up to teething, growth spurts, not exercising enough at daycare perhaps? Either way, I guess we're like every other parent now. Dazed rockings and careful escapes on the creaky floor. We didn't really brag when we had the chance. Coming out of her bedroom after three seconds and having someone gasp "She's asleep ALREADY??" was a point of secret pride between Katrina and me. Well, I can still say she can count to ten already. She's only two in February. Take THAT developmental pediatrician chart! Not that it matters that much. By the time she's old enough to go to college, they'll all be downloading lectures off YouTube - education pirating!