Bedtime in the Byrd's Nest

As most of my faithful followers know I have been sleeping with the girls since they joined our family. I still sleep with them because they both still wake up crying in the night, Emma has occasional night terrors still and Lottie is my little velcro baby, even at the age of 6 1/2. I think I am sympathetic to this because I LOVED sleeping with my Mom and would sneak in her room in the middle of the night and lay at the end of her bed. (hee hee)

Any progress our girls have made seems to come very s l o w l y but we HAVE made progress! After Christmas I told the girls that I was not going to lay down with them until they fell asleep but instead I would read them books, pray with them and sing songs and then they would go to sleep on their own. Their faces  looked like two little deers in the headlights of a huge mack truck! I told them that after I had my "Mommy time" that I would then come to bed to sleep with them.

Lottie is a girl of details and puts much thought into everything. She is a smart little stinker for sure....too smart! She was not thrilled about this new idea of mine but she has tried very hard and she has succeeded....except...that she gets up about six times before she finally falls asleep. Here are her normal reasons for getting up which are completely logical to her:

*I need a yogurt drink Mommy because I am hungry and that will fill up my tummy so I can sleep and you can have your Mommy time. (always looking out for me...ha ha)

*I need Ella (our dog) to sleep with me because I can't sleep unless I am snuggling with someone and since you won't come and snuggle with me can I have Ella? (guilt trip!)

*I counted all the hugs you gave me today but I need one more. (okay, that one is hard to resist!)

Or she may have questions that need to be answered:

*Does God really know all the names of the stars in heaven?

*How come thunder is so loud?

*Why didn't Adam and Eve obey God?

*How do the stars stay up in the sky and how come they never fall down?

(and so on and so on)  So the other night she came in with something new:

Lottie:  Mommy, I think you better come in our room, Emma's arm is broken. (insert rolling of the eyes here)

Me:  (after walking into their bedroom) Emma, what is the matter with your arm?

Emma: I don't know.  Lottie said she thinks it's broken.

(after much examination of her arm, her arm was fine)

Me:  Girls, you need to go to sleep, it is after 10:00 and you will be super grumpy tomorrow.

Lottie:  (using a frustrated tone) "Mommy, I can't help it if Emma won't get up out of the bed to tell you that her arm is broken. That is not my fault. I always have to talk for Emma. It is always my responsibility to take care of Emma. I am just a little girl, how come it is always my responsibility to speak for Emma?"

See how that mind works? She even had Emma believing her arm was broken! Sometimes it just too hard to keep a straight face around here:)