Bedtime Shenanigans

I have a feeling I've used this post title before. Knowing my children, it wouldn't be inconceivable.

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!

Just More Bedtime Bedlam

Josiah always wants to "fight Dad" when bedtime rolls around and we herd into the bedroom. The girls love to join in, too, and all three usually take a stint at hiding under one of the cribs while we sing the nighttime songs. After we pray, everyone gets in bed (or Mom and Dad put them there). 

Nowadays the girls each request a song, so my post-prayer singing time is a bit more child-directed. Lately Abby often wants "'Cheus" ("Zaccheus Was a Wee Little Man")--or she pats her hand in the air to indicate she wants "Only a Boy Named David." Lydia still likes "My God Is So Big" but sometimes requests others. Josiah sometimes chooses an ornery track and loudly opposes all his sisters' choices; other times he eagerly joins in with the singing and hand motions (and sometimes is carried along in spite of his initial objections!). He has often asked for "Jesus, Priceless Treasure" lately. Sometimes he wants to recite Psalm 1 with me at bedtime, too.

Abby on top

Happy Abby squishing everyone else

Nowadays the girls each request a song, so my post-prayer singing time is a bit more child-directed. Lately Abby often wants "'Cheus" ("Zaccheus Was a Wee Little Man")--or she pats her hand in the air to indicate she wants "Only a Boy Named David." Lydia still likes "My God Is So Big" but sometimes requests others. Josiah sometimes chooses an ornery track and loudly opposes all his sisters' choices; other times he eagerly joins in with the singing and hand motions (and sometimes is carried along in spite of his initial objections!). He has often asked for "Jesus, Priceless Treasure" lately. Sometimes he wants to recite Psalm 1 with me at bedtime, too.

Micellany from a Month Or So

With the long, exhausting, discouraging weeks of sickness around here, I've tried to jot down the kids' funnies but haven't had time or energy to write up a real post of them. So with a month or more of sayings and doings saved up to share, I should probably move past the "saving up" and get to the "sharing" . . .

Hugging sisters

1. Twenty-month-old Twin Talk

Abby adds new words more quickly than Lydia. She says "yesh" or "esh" in just the cutest possible voice. I ask her questions just to hear her say it. She also says "hot," "amen," "Poo-doh" (Pluto--Josiah has watched some old Disney cartoons on youtube lately), and "bee" (applied to most flying insects). Last week Abby said "gin-ky" when Daddy called Josiah "stinky"; she enjoyed repeating it over and over.

Abby

Abby also likes to count. She intones the numbers without clearly enunciating the words. Anytime Josiah wants to play hide-and-seek, Abby kick-starts the counting!

Both girls said "no no" to each other last week. (Lydia also tried saying it to me--the little stinker!) They say "pee-pee" (sometimes "bee-bee") and "poo-poo," usually to let me know what they did that requires a diaper change, but also as a request to use the potty. Abby actually went poo-poo on the potty for the first time a couple days ago! Unfortunately, at the same time, her sister was playing in the bathtub and did her business there . . . Scooping poop out of bathwater? Not my idea of a good time.

Lydia

The girls have caught onto Josiah's dear love of dough, so whenever I make bread, all three clamor for a taste. Abby and Lydia crowd together at the gate and chant the word: "Dough! Dough! Dough! Dough!" (Josiah did this around a similar age, too.)

 The girls love wearing helmets like their brother

But the buckles are sometimes frustrating

Lydia threw up her hands and said, "Hurray!" when I brought an egg to the table for her at breakfast the other day. (Josiah often rejoices in this manner about food--he also makes a slurping/smacking noise of anticipation or especial relish for food he particularly likes.)

Lydia also likes to try out Josiah's shoes and bike

The girls play hard and fight hard. Often when I hear them hollering, I ask, "What's wrong?" Invariably the injured party will answer with her sister's name--Abby says, "Lilla!" and Lydia says, "Abby!" [or "Babby," as she still sometimes pronounces it].

 Lydia

Abby

2. Our Funny Boy

Just a couple funnies from Josiah . . .

Some time ago I asked Josiah to take a pencil out of his mouth. He responded with the objection, "Mommy, it's my smoke!"

The next day at lunch I asked him to do something he didn't want to do--probably sit on his bum and eat rather than fiddle with his carrot. He said defiantly, "I don't want you! I want to smoke!"

Last week Josiah and the girls were setting up stoves and picnics with the play food. Josiah told me, "Lydia and Abby are tookers [cookers]."

"Are you a cooker?" I asked.

"No, I'm an eater," he said.

Doesn't he look like a little Jeremy here?

3. Josiah's Education

While we're not doing formal instruction this year, Josiah's curiosity and a few modest goals of my own drive some of our "lessons."

He continually asks questions about the world around him and beyond him (i.e., what we read in books). Almost every day he asks about a given animal's diet. "What do bears eat, Mom? What do bunnies eat? What do kitties eat? and dogs? Dogs like bones?" Since many of these questions are repeats, he corrects me or adds to my list if I miss something. He likes to compare similarities--"Bears and cats eat fish! We eat fish too!"

Josiah often asks me questions about how his body works or draws my attention to his growth. "Look, Mama! My legs getting longer!" or "I have bones in my nose, Mom?" Combining his interests in religion and biology, Josiah has several times asked me, "Jesus has bones, Mama?"

He's gotten the hang of riding his bike and loves to do it!

Family relationships interest Josiah as well. He likes to see familial order in groups of animals and is concerned when an artist of a children's book has left out a key member. ("Where's the mama bird? Where IS she?") He talks about becoming a "big, strong daddy" himself one day. He often says to Jeremy, "Someday I gonna be a daddy, and you gonna be a grandpa!" Once he clarified, "Not an old grandpa; a big grandpa." Usually he plans to have "seven little kids."

Josiah has taken more interest in letters lately. I've overheard him singing the ABC song (with some errors), and he knows what J looks like and that he and Daddy have names that begin with J. He sometimes mistakenly extends this to others, too, though--"Look! J for Lydia!" he has said to me (with a magnanimous intent to include his sister in what is clearly a desirable club!).

Josiah's "J" on the right!

He also likes to point out S--"S for snake!" he says. We worked on writing big A and little a a couple weeks ago, but he lost interest in trying to write it pretty quick. Instead, he wanted help drawing a picture of himself with a sword or slingshot.

My two main goals for this "preschool" year are (1) start scripture memorization with Josiah and (2) read lots of books together. So far so good. We practice memorizing Psalm 1 most weekday mornings. Josiah can say the first four verses; he's working on the fifth and looks forward to picking out a star sticker to put on our chart when he's completed it.

The girls can sit still a little longer these days for stories, so sometimes I can read a book to all three children. But Josiah and I spend a good half hour or so reading after I put the girls down for their nap and before he goes for his quiet/rest time (he only naps about half the time now). Recently we've read some poems from an illustrated collection--"Jabberwocky" concerned and intrigued him in particular (he sympathizes with the Jabberwock and believes the "beamish boy" is the bad guy), and he has repeatedly requested The House on East 88th Street (the first of the Lyle Crocodile series).

We had a cool, rainy morning the other day and Josiah decided it was time to pull out the winter gear

He loves Richard Scarry (especially the Sam and Dudley "detective mysteries"). He also loves any "new" books--from the library or the thrift store. I keep a stash of used books I've found and bring one out now and then. Lately he's enjoyed The Best Nest and Sam and the Firefly, along with some Barbara Cooney books from the library like Miss Rumphius.

4. Bedtime Sweetheart

A couple nights ago (after bedtime) Josiah heard the washer rumbling with its load of towels and came out of the bedroom, wondering if he heard thunder. I reassured him, helped him back to bed, and covered him up--and then asked if I could pray for him. "Yes," he said. "You please pray that I be brave?"

The last several nights at bedtime, Josiah asks me for a "big squish hug" before I leave the room. He likes to like his head on my lap when I sing, and he usually gives me kisses across the room when I leave, even when he's very drowsy (or even after a middle-of-the-night wake-up).

Bedtime Story

Daddy read tonight's bedtime story--Never, Ever Shout in a Zoo . . .

 Lydia loudly made monkey noises when she saw the apes

 Poor Abby has a bad bruise on her cheek from a hug-turned-tumble with Lydia

16-Month-Old Twins

You know what's just about the cutest ever? My curly-headed girls giving each other high-fives while tandem nursing . . . and then holding hands. 

They are such fun and such stinkers these days. They regularly scratch faces and pull each other's hair, snatch toys, steal books, pull the other off the rocking horse, fight over Josiah's chair, screech at each other, snitch each other's snack, and swipe the other's cup. 

But they also give each other kisses and hugs, trade toys and books pleasantly (once in a while), chase each other and play peek-a-boo under couch cushions, follow each other to each new activity, scheme together, dance together, crawl on the table together, perch on Josiah's bed to watch the other get her diaper changed, squeal and talk together during naptime . . . 

 Lydia is into stealing noses since Josiah started in on that game

They both--but especially Lydia--like to imitate Josiah and be with him. Of the three, Abby is the most content to play on her own. Lately Josiah has cried when I put the girls down for their morning nap. "I want Li-ya!" he wails (even though they were often just fighting fiercely).

They wouldn't pose properly for a picture . . .

 . . . and Abby wanted to hide under the cushion, so started getting upset

A couple days ago all three were playing with Duplo. Josiah built a helicopter, a bird, and then (of course) a gun, which he started to point at his sisters and then quickly turned on lions, tigers, and bears. He did try to argue that Abby was a bad penguin that he needed to shoot.

Lydia surprised me by coming 'round the corner with an L-shaped Duplo creation--she held it correctly and clearly made "pow pow" shooting noises. This she would not know but for an older brother!

 Lydia

 Abby hiding

Lately Abby has tried her tongue at many new words. She mangles "Lydia" but happily says it when I ask. Along with other words I've reported previously, she says "dis" (this) and came out with "guck" (duck) on her own yesterday. When Abby wants to nurse, she pulls at my shirt and nods emphatically as if to preempt any objection to her request on my part. I guess it's more of a command. She employs the nod-and-ask technique with other things, too, usually pointing and using words and tone of voice to convey her desire.

 Abby's little bum

When I ask Lydia to say something, she usually refuses (shakes her head or ignores me) or nods if it's something she wants. For instance, if I say, "Lydia, can you say peas?" she just nods because she wants to eat them.

Both girls persist in using the "all done" sign, but Lydia typically uses more sign language than Abby--especially "more" and "eat/food." They often use appropriate intonations and tone of voice when I ask them to say "please" or if I tell them to be kind to each other.

They both nod their heads when I ask them to say, "Yes, Mama" in response to a request or command. Jeremy said Lydia shook her head "no" when he asked her to say, "Yes, Daddy" to something she didn't want to do, though.

Both girls are under here--can you see which is which?

I think the girls enjoy being in a room with Josiah these days. I hear lots of growling and laughing from Josiah and Lydia after we leave the room--but we usually have to revisit them several times before everyone settles down and goes to sleep. We still catch Josiah flipping over the rail into Lydia's bed on occasion.

One night last week I went to check the cause of crying. "What happened?" I asked Josiah. He claimed that Lydia tackled him--only possible if he was out of his bed and on or in hers! (Though she and Abby can climb out of their cribs, they haven't done so since the first few instances.) His stock response lately to our inquiries about Lydia crying is that she's "crying 'cause 'Siah's leavin' her."

At bedtime, Lydia likes us to drape blankets around her shoulders like a cape rather than covering her up while she's lying down. Abby decided for a while that she did not want to be covered and would shake her head decidedly when we approached. Now she stands up, holds out the blanket, and asks to be covered with an "eh-eh-eh?" noise whenever Mom or Dad comes back into the room to check on misbehaving siblings.

All three like to give rounds of goodnight kisses to everyone. Josiah wails if we forget to let one of the girls kiss him goodnight. Last night we all got plenty of slobbery smooches--often on the lips!