Random January Fun

Here are some random photos of fun times in January.

 

Cory took Molly and Alex geocaching. Most of the caches are some kind of waterproof contaner hidden in a tree or similar, but the kids were thrilled to see this creative one. It was a monkey hanging from a tree! The monkey had a peanut butter jar glued inside of it, and it was hung up in a tree by a cord that you had to unwind to let the monkey decend. Molly and Alex loved it! :) Geocaching has to be the best family-friendly hobby out there.

 

Molly had her first school concert! It was really fun to see all the little ones and hear all the songs they had prepared. :) Molly is in the center of the first row.

 

We made it to the zoo a couple of times. Alex and his buddy Isaac posed for a quick photo on a tortoise. I'm so glad the MN zoo has so much to see indoors!

 

Alex hiding in some toy tubs. :) He's always trying to get a laugh.

Funny Stories:

Alex stopped napping in early September. He wasn't 3 yet, so that is pretty early for a child to stop napping, but he just would not fall asleep anymore. Also, on days when I successfully did get him napping, it would mess up his bedtime and he wouldn't be able to fall asleep until around 11. Not good.
Alex also has always hated being by himself and would pretty much have a full blown panic attack if I tried to get him to stay in his room for "quiet time". Even as a baby, when he'd wake up in the morning he would just start screaming hysterically instead of happily babbling in his crib like most babies. We just accepted that this is how he is, and for 6 months I've just had Alex with me all day long every day. There were a few days in the last few months when Alex was really overtired or sick, and I TRIED laying with him in his bed to get him to nap. He just screamed and would have nothing to do with it.

Then, everything changed last Thursday. It was the weirdest thing. Alex's friend Mado came to stay with us for a few days because her new baby brother was born early Thursday morning and her parents were at the hospital. Madeleine still naps, and on Thursday afternoon we were getting Mado ready for her nap when Alex announced he wanted to be like Mado and take a nap too. I doubted it would happen but played along of course. After Mado was settled, I went with Alex to his room. He had a CD he said he wanted to play and put it in his CD player. Then I told him he could climb in bed.

He looked so confused. It was honestly as if he had never even heard of the idea of napping before. He asked, "I get into my bed with my clothes on?" (Rather than putting on pj's) I said, "Yes, Alex. That's what we do for naps."
Then he asked, "It's dark outside?" I said, "It's nap time. Let me get that blanket on you. Good night Alex." He was still acting really confused, but he stayed in bed.

I walked out the door... and they NAPPED!!!

When we gave the bedtime warning, Alex again looked confused. He said, "Again???" He really couldn't figure out why it was time to sleep again.

Alex has now been napping consistently again. Crazy, huh? He still acts very confused and often asks about putting on pajamas or if he should eat his vitamins (which they do before bedtime) or brush his teeth. I am in shock that he actually stays in his room by himself! Wow.

We're still trying to play with waking him up after an hour so it doesn't affect his bedtime sleep, and he HATES to be woke up. It makes him really cranky and emotional. So I guess I'm not sure what he should be doing - napping or not napping - but for now I'll try letting him nap for a while and see what happens...