For some inexplicable reason, Anna, who has historically rarely had sleeping troubles, has been fighting bedtime with all of her will this past week and a half. We had probably only one or two nights last week when she didn't scream, cry, get out of bed, etc. for 1/2 hour to 2 hours (seriously!) before finally succombing to sleep. We tried reasoning with her; we tried conning her; we tried punishing her; we tried tiring her out, but nothing seemed to be working. Now we're trying rewards and so far so good. Last night she got to pick out the music she wanted to listen to, have two books in bed with her, and was told that if there were two nights in a row with her obeying the bedtime rules (in bed and quiet), then she and Matt would do a bikeride to a park just the two of them. Like I said, so far so good.
Part of this probably stems from the fact that Anna is transitioning out of her nap. She doesn't really need one every day anymore, but still needs to have some kind of rest time (and I still need that break in the middle of the day). The current plan is for her to have about an hour of quiet time in her room with some special quiet activities (puzzles, books, colored pencils and notebook). Again, so far so good, although she still falls asleep every second or third day.
The other reason we're all upside down and inside out is that Kate has had some kind of weird virus for about a week and a half. Early last week she had several days of diarrhea (which included several middle of the night diaper changes), which cleared up after a day or so on strictly bananas and toast. Then on Sunday evening she came down with a fever and has been just miserable since then. Stuffy nose, coughs, and the inability to sleep more than about an hour and a half (including at night) without help from Mom and/or Dad. We went to the doctor on Monday afternoon and he said that everything was clear (ears, lungs, and throat), and that she probably had a virus that started in her GI tract last week and then moved system wide on Sunday. Whatever the reason, we all hope she feels better soon.
So, combining a three year old who screams and cries until 10 or later and a sick toddler who has been up several times a night for the past week means that we're all a little out of sorts. Hopefully, life returns to normal soon!
Meanwhile, in the few days in between Kate's symptoms and before things completely fell apart with Anna, we had some fun days :) Friday night we went to a friend's house for dinner and then stayed to watch some fireworks. In retrospect, that may not have been the best choice to make since we didn't get home until almost 11 and Anna cried for about a half hour before she fell asleep, but at the time it was a lot of fun.
Saturday we went to a local fair for awhile in the afternoon/evening. The girls LOVED the animals and rides. I took both Anna and Kate on the carousel and then Anna and I rode a bear ride. That, including dinner and ice cream, was about the extent of what the family could handle at this point.
Sunday afternoon we set up a kiddie pool and rigged up the slide so both girls could slide down it into the pool before getting out some (pretty tame) fireworks. Anna loved the fireworks, but Kate was already feeling ill by then and didn't think they were too great.
This week we've been just trying to maintain status quo, even with Matt being off on Monday and Tuesday for the 4th of July. We hope, for everyone's sake, that things look up soon for everyone here.
Let me end on a positive note, though. Anna has thoroughly been enjoying being a big sister recently, to the point of feeding Kate her breakfast this morning (giving her a few pieces of toast at a time and talking to Kate the entire time ... "You want more? You need to finish what you have first before you can get more. Show me with your signs that you want more, Kate. There! That's good! Here's more toast for you." It was a lot of fun to listen to.) She also will lead Kate around and ask her to play with her now, too. Very sweet stuff.
Kate is pretty funny, too, at least when she's feeling well. She can indicate to us yes and no, now, and both are great to watch. An easy no is when she simply shakes her head, but she'll yell loudly while shaking her head if she really means it. Her yes is this full body bob with a great big smile. She doesn't quite have the muscle control to just nod her head yet so she kind of bends at the waist or twists her arms to show us she means yes. Maybe you've just got to see it; it's pretty cute.
Okay ... Anna's rest time is almost over. We'll see if she's alseep or not ;)
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