Bedtime Battles

Beckett has slept through the night since he was 4-months old. It was amazing and wonderful for a sleep deprived set of parents like us. Over the last 2 years and 4 months, we've had our ups and downs (sitting in his room until he fell asleep, waking up to find him asleep in our bed, and even night terrors) but nothing could prepare us for what started a couple of weeks ago. We have been at our wits end at bedtime. We have a pretty good bedtime routine - bath, PJ's, brush teeth, read books (or watch 1 show) and then bedtime. However, when we put him down for bed now, there is inevitably a tantrum that occurs. At first, several weeks ago, he only asked for extra things - a glass of water, rub my back, etc. Then, it was getting up every 5 minutes. Now, it's screaming. We've tried a number of tactics - take away privileges (i.e. the door being open, the music in his room, etc.), not engaging him when he has a fit, putting a baby gate in his door, closing his door, allowing him to fall asleep on his floor on the hall. And every night, it's the same thing - screaming and tantrums. It really can wear on a person after awhile. I'm also quite sure that it's affecting Katie and me. We went to visit Candyce's class today. She's a local parenting and child development expert. We just wanted to listen to other parents of 3-year olds and make sure we weren't alone. Thank Goodness, we're not! Normal or not - night after night it gets really draining and I hope that it passes soon. However, from talking to other parents, it sounds like that's just part of having a three-year old. Yea for us!

A New Year

Haven't posted anything for a while and I have a few minutes so I thought I'd say a few things... We had a great Christmas and actually rung in the new year for the first time in several years. Its was really a great holiday. Grandma Darlene came out from Iowa after a few cancelled flights and got to hang out with Beckett for Christmas Day. He had a great time with all his grandmas (and Papa)! We had close to 2 feet of snow over a couple week period around Christmas. It was pretty at first but the fun wore off pretty quickly after being stuck at home for more than a day or two. It was during my break and I was hoping to get a bunch of things done around the house while Beckett was still in daycare, but that didn't happen. Oh well, it was fun to be home and play around with the family for a few days. We've also had a sinus infection/cold bug going around the house, probably since school started in September! We've all been on antibiotics and Beckett is now on his second round with an ear infection added in... The runny noses and coughs and crankiness have well worn out their welcome, not to mention we're dealing with a really close to 3-year old who's tantrums can beat anyone's anyday!

So I know it doesn't sound like it, but things have actually been really, really good. Lots more to say, but it will wait for another day. Take care, I'll talk more soon!