The pictures are a little busy, but this is the girls’ new bunk bed. It is their big Christmas gift from their parents. They got it a few days early because it wasn’t going to be possible for us to get it put together and remain a surprise for Christmas. They were thrilled with it.

Emily is sleeping on the top of the bunk bed. She has graduated to a twin bed. We got her the canopy for the top to help her feel comfortable sleeping so high. Blue is her favorite color so she thinks it is perfect. She has been sleeping really well in it. The first night was a long one because of the excitement of the new bed. But every other night she has slept the whole night with no fear or incidents. She had been in the habit of coming out to the couch to sleep part way through the night and that has stopped. Nap time has gone well too.

Julia is sleeping in the floor space below the bed. We opted to keep her on her toddler mattress. The smaller mattress give her extra space to have some storage cubbies and play space. When she grows longer we will get her a bigger mattress, but until then she can play in her own special area. Julia has been thrilled with her new space too. She struggles with the ladder to climb up to the top, but we are going to get some handles to give her some help. Since the new bed has come she has requested to nap in her own bed instead of the pack ‘n play. The girls have successfully taken naps together since then. They are highly motivated to go to sleep so that no one has to move to the pack ‘n play.

We chose this bunk bed because it was lower to the ground making it’s presence in the room less overwhelming. Because the girls are younger it makes the transition easier too. The new bed has allowed the play table to be put in their room which they have really liked. Sometime in the near future they will both get new bedspreads that their Mama is making for them.

(4 yrs) Emily is the sleeping nomad at our house. At night she wakes up and moves herself, pillow, stuffed friend, and favorite blanket out to the couch to sleep. The time varies, but it is usually around 3-4 am. She will come to her bedroom door and if she sees light on in the living room she goes back to bed. If it is dark she comes on out and finishes out the night on the couch. Lately, she figured out that she can turn her sleeping music on in her room and hear it through the monitor on the couch. If there is a noise that is bothering her sleep on the couch, she will get her Daddy to fix it for her.

Why she moves is still a mystery to us. We have changed her pillows on her bed to be more like the couch and that didn’t seem to make any difference. There is a chance that she does it just to see her Daddy in the morning as he leaves for work. For whatever reason she does it, it does offer her the ability to see him on his way out the door. Usually, she gets her morning milk and the TV turned on for her by Daddy as he leaves. I can’t imagine that her night sleep is of great quality if she is waking up every night and moving. This might explain why her naps can still be very long when she gets to take them at home.

As an independent, toddler bed sleeping, three-year-old we have found naps to not be a certainty. Somehow, when you mix the carseat and mid-afternoon, we get our naps in.

Julia doesn’t fall asleep at the table much, but it is so funny every time and we have to take a photo. This particular evening she was eating slower and slower and I was just about to take her out and see if she wanted to lay down. The next thing I knew was that Emily was telling me Julia had fallen asleep.

All Mamas have their own special tricks and sweet moments with their babies. So many I have forgotten because we moved on from them as the girls have grown and we don’t notice their absence, but tonight I had a sweet reminder of one. Julia doesn’t go to sleep in my arms much now, but as a baby when she would go to sleep in my arms and I would put her down to find out she wasn’t as asleep as I presumed. I would then have to pick her up to try again. I learned a trick to keep this from happening – I would kiss her forehead and if she stirred she was not ready to be laid down and if she remained still then it was safe to put her down. I love all those kisses . . . it worked again tonight like a charm!

Julia had been playing in her pack-n-play with her toys and gave out. I found her asleep among her toys. I have to believe that is a pretty good way to fall asleep. I quietly stole the toys from the playpen and left her to take a good nap. These are sweet days!

A classic photo of a Daddy with his child, both taking a nap together. Our lives have been ordered in a way that Robby just doesn’t get to take naps with baby Julia like he got to with baby Emily. So when I caught this moment together I had to take a photo. It appears that Robby makes a pretty good foot rest along with someone fun to cuddle with. These are such sweet moments.