Make Believe

Most toddlers like to make believe. It's a great kind of play for them - they are using their imaginations and learning how "the adult world" works. Any child development expert out there will recommend "make believe" play for children of all ages. And just like everything else she does, A has her own unique way of make believing. 

Typical make believe play consists of make believe cooking in a play kitchen, pretending school or house and sometimes "doctor." A likes to make believe nap time. Every day for the past couple of weeks, A pulls out all her blankets and pillows (which has become quite the collection, let me tell you,) brought out her favorite stuffed "animals" (Elmo, Abby, her owl and teddy bear, and occasionally Huckle Cat and a Dr. Seuss bird thing,) and laid them down on the pillows, tucked them in with blankets and read and sung to them. It's quite the process and it's absolutely adorable.

How does your child make believe? 

A-bug's Favorite Bedtime Books

If you have followed this blog any length of time, you will know that since birth, Aria has loved books. She loves the pictures, she loves being read to, she likes reading to her Elmo and Abbie dolls, and she loves making up stories to go with the pictures in her books. Some of the best memories I have are of listening to Aria over the monitor reading to herself and her animals. I can tell what books she's reading now by the words she says, and I love it. 

Getting A calmed down for bedtime is sometimes easier said than done, and reading these books helps calm her down and signals to her that bedtime is near. She gets quieter and sometimes we even get some snuggles for a few minutes while we're reading to her. Then, right before bed, J takes her to her room, turns on her sound machine and sings "Jesus Loves Me" to her... now she'll sing with him, which is just too sweet.

How do you signal to your kids that it's time for bed? Do you have a routine that you do nightly? 

Here are some of her favorite " bedtime bookies" and the words she knows from them. 

She actually can say "I love you to and to" and knows almost all the words just by seeing the page. It's a favorite of hers, and I love reading it to her.

She calls this one "much love you!" and usually makes up a story about the rabbits dancing and jumping and always throws something in there about the moon at the end, right on cue with the most famous line "I love you to the moon...and back."

I read her this one just about every night and many times right before nap time. She knows most of the key words like "mouse," "cow over moon," "hush" etc. As I read it to her, I get quieter and quieter, which is kind of a signal to her that bed is coming.

She adores this book about all the different things that everyone loves. And the rhymes always end, "Elmo loves you!" and she'll finish it with me. And she always gives Elmo a kiss at the end of the book, just like he asks for :)

I think the reason she loves this book so much is because it has the word "cookie" in it so many times :) She knows "mouse" and "nap" and at the end she always says "share with friend."

This one's self-explanatory. We have a lot of ABC style books, but this one is her favorite with all the flaps and the different animals. She always sings the alphabet song when she gets to the end, too, which is adorable :)

Watching her sleep...

No matter how defiant, stubborn, deviant or  irritating your child has been that day, there's no replacement for the innocence they exude when they sleep. Aria hasn't been especially any of those things today, or even at all for quite a long time, but even the little annoyances can wear on your after a while. The sticking-both-hands-in-her-mouth-while-eating annoyance, the emptying-of-my-drawers irritation or simply the I'm-not-happy-right-now-so-I'm-constantly-whining frustration can make an entire day seem cruddy. But nap time, oh blissful nap time. When it comes, I just love to sneak in Aria's room and watch her precious little angel face unconsciously kissing her pacifier and her little hands wrapped around her poor, faded blanket. Her gorgeous long eyelashes brushing her chubby little cheeks and her baby hairs swirling around her forehead.

 And it makes me thankful. 

My two babies sleeping

While it's still fresh...

I had to write down this story really quick while i could still see it vividly in my mind...

aria usually takes her shorter naps in her swing, and she knows when she gets put in the swing, it's nap time. usually she fights this - hard. but today, after i set her down and turned to get her blanket, she had already pulled the tray down and had her hands over her eyes, as if to say "i'm ready for sleepy time!" it was so adorable, and i didn't want to forget it.... :) after all this blog is mostly for me to use as a journal so i can keep track of how fast time is flying by ...

little toes sticking out from under her blanket during nap time at grandma's.