Every night, once the kiddos are bathed, snack time is done, and their teeth have been brushed we head upstairs for bedtime. I cherish bedtime. The craziness of the day comes to an end as the kiddos are tucked into their beds. Our bedtime ritual is special. It is personal. It is ours. Yes, there are hugs, snuggles, and kisses. The following interaction also takes place between me and each child...
*Cue song..."Close your eyes, close your eyes, close your eyes little (Parker, Garrett, Ryder). Mommy loves you, Daddy loves you, so goooooo tooo sleep"
*Repeat song to stuffed animal of choice
*Me: You are the best (Parker, Garrett, Ryder) in the whole wide world!
Child: You are the best Mommy in the whole wide world (okay, this is what Ryder is thinking)!
Me: You are the best (Parker, Garrett, Ryder) in this house!
Child: You are the best Mommy in this house (again, I know Ryder is thinking this)!
*Hug
*Hug
*Big sloppy kiss on cheek
*Little soft kiss
*Me: Happy (January, February, March, etc)...don't ask!
Child: Happy (repeat what month mommy said or in Ryder's case right now "Baby")!
With that the doors are slightly left ajar and I walk downstairs. Within five minutes Garrett is standing in the doorway requesting more water, declaring he has pooped, and generally annoying Parker.
What makes bedtime special at your house?
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4 comments:
What a cute and fun post! Each of my kids is different.
Calvin is first, or he'll come and interrupt and climb on me with the others. He has a book with animal pictures and we go through the same "whats this" everynight. Then we sing Laurie Berkners "moon, moon, moon". He always sings the last verse "all by myself". Hugs, squeezes, loves and kisses are given. And I promise to come back with milk (its a nightly, broken promise. He has yet to call me on it.
Wyatt is next, in the next bed over because he doesn't like having his own room. He always has a story for me to read him. Then he reads it back to me. He snuggles me the same way everynight, with one arm under my neck and the other one over, in a relaxed hug. He tickles the back of my neck and gives me 100 sweet kisses. His eyes start to roll back and he gets his hugs, squeezes, loves and kisses, pillow butts and hips (where he sings "put your hand up on my hip when I dip you dip we dip). Don't ask;)
Rylee is last, in her room. Sometimes we read, sometimes we chat, sometimes we look at the journal we pass back and forth. We snuggle. Chat some more. Make plans for tomorrow. Hugs, squeezes, loves and kisses. Closet light on, door cracked.
And then mommy has silence. :)
Mindy, thanks for sharing! Too sweet...I love how personal, quirky, and special bed time routines can be:)
Well, a little over a year ago, my bedtime routine with Riley consisted of me getting out his jammies, him seeing them in my hand, followed by him screaming bloody murder as if I was beating him with an iron skillet. I'll save you from all details of the rest of the night, but suffice it to say if he slept for 45 minutes at a time I was soooo excited!
He's been doing so much better this past year, but only recently have we actually made any real progress with him concerning bedtime and being able to leave the room before he's asleep. And we recently moved Owen to the top bunk, so that has changed our routine a little.
After we get jammies on and brush our teeth, each boy picks a book to read and if there's time Eric and/or I will pick a book or two to read as well. Often times the boys pick books about sharks and other sea creatures and then will have a couple questions (How many eyes does a jellyfish have?). If we have the time, we'll get out the laptop and look it up for them (last night dh showed them a video of an anaconda killing and eating a capybara and last week Owen wanted to know why water is called H20). Then we say our prayers. Maybe sing a song. Give kisses. Turn out the light, and leave the door slightly ajar. If Eric is putting them to bed, they also get a cup of water on the dresser in case they get thirsty during the night.
How sweet! You HAVE to put this on a layout. You know that, right?
Lately Dylan has been asking for a special prayer that I do that helps him to sleep. It's not something we do every night but when he has a hard time falling to sleep hey says it helps. And apparently, I'm the only one that can say the "right prayer" so it's nice to have something special between us. =) With Jackson, he's usually too tired and cranky, we just put him in the bed, turn out the lights and say good night. LOL
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