Lydia on the left, Abby on the right
Overall, having the three big kids in one room (bunk bed plus toddler bed) has worked well for us. Everybody is content with his or her bed (L likes her bottom bunk "with a tent" [blanket tucked under Josiah's mattress] and A is happy with the toddler bed. Of course, Josiah loves the crowning glory of the top bunk. Lydia has her sights set on a top bunk when Clara moves into their room and we have two bunk beds in there--so she told someone the other day). We no longer have to sit in the room till they fall asleep to ensure they stay put. We do the bedtime routine (sing, pray, poems, Daddy creatively lifts each into bed, Mama sings some more, and the lights go out). They usually chat a little, fight a little, require parental intervention a time or two, and then settle down and sleep.
Trying on wedding finery before bed
Sometimes the shenanigans are exasperating. Now that the girls are potty trained (mostly), they sometimes request a second trip to the bathroom after lights-out. We're never really sure how necessary this is, so usually they get to go . . . with a warning to void entirely this time.
Often the shenanigans turn to sheer naughtiness. For awhile Lydia waited a few minutes after we left the bedroom and then climbed the end of the bunk to switch on the light. "It's mornin'!" she'd announce cheerfully. Once she did this after the other two had fallen asleep (causing waking and crying, of course). Josiah and Abby would sometimes put her up to it, though, asking her to turn on the light but insisting they were innocent of crime because she was the one who physically flipped the switch. Thankfully she (and they) have mostly quit this!
Lydia
The other night Abby's wailing summoned Jeremy to investigate. He discovered that she was distraught because Josiah and Lydia kept insisting that she was a sinner. "You're a sinner, Ab!" Josiah asserted. "We're all sinners, so you're a sinner!" Lydia added her agreement: "Abby is a sinner!" Even the next morning, Josiah remembered the argument and wanted to ensure Abby concurred with correct theology. "You're still a sinner, Ab!" he reminded her.
Abby
Recently Lydia's shenanigans seemed a little Calvin-and-Hobbes-esque . . . . We made cookies one evening a couple weeks ago. The kids helped me mix them together, and everyone got a cookie after dinner. Well, we went on with the evening, put the kids to bed, and cleaned up the kitchen--but we hadn't put the cookies away yet. They were on the counter on cooling racks. We had turned off the kitchen light and sat in the living room together. The kids had been quiet for a little while when Jer said, "Did someone just come out?"
I hadn't heard anyone and from my vantage point could see partway down the hall. Jer peeked around the corner to check in the kitchen--no kids. I didn't see anyone go back down the hall either, but he figured he'd check. Sure enough, when he went into their room, Lydia said, "I'm sorry, Dad! I'm sorry, Dad! I'm sorry, Dad!" Her guilty conscience pricked her into confession and she handed him a half-eaten cookie. I didn't know she was capable of such stealth!
Sorry the photos are just about entirely unrelated to the topic of this post . . . at least they include the kids involved!
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