Night Owl

Where has the sleep gone?

  No question, we are a family of night owls. Before having kids, Gregory and I would regularly sleep until the mid-afternoon (if I didn't have to wake up at some hideous hour for work), go about our day, and then stay up until nearly dawn watching TV, hanging out, having dinner. When we had jobs that kept us working until midnight... that was our "normal" time to unwind and spend time together. We never really felt that we missed much by skipping the morning entirely.

When I was a little girl, my parents used to joke that "Uh-oh, it's 11 o'clock... now Alexis is gonna get crazy!" It was as if my body only recognized the late hours of night and I was always pumped up with energy. I remember many nights in my bed, lying awake and wondering why I wasn't tired. It's my personal circadian rhythm, which is more in sync with the likes of raccoons and vampires rather than the human race.

 Ayla is quickly following in our footsteps... with one major difference. She doesn't sleep late in the morning! Isn't it an unspoken agreement that if I, as your parent, have to stay up late with you... that you'll continue to sleep the usual 10-11 hours later into the morning? Maybe it's the summertime, maybe it's part of her maturing - but Ayla is sleeping less and less.

  Last night, after Gregory had fallen asleep, I retired to bed to read my book. Ayla had been roaming around the house, getting Berenstein Bear books, putting on Band-Aids, playing with her toys. If she is quiet and enjoys herself... there is no reason to force her into bed. However, all of the lights had been turned out downstairs and I heard a rustling at the kitchen table. Ayla was sitting there in the pitch night, attempting to draw! Now that is desperate! I turned the light on for her, and after about 45 minutes of drawing princesses, she came to say goodnight. This was well past midnight.

 Of course, she woke up bright and spunky at 8 am!! I start to panic a little, as this is the onset of summer. All day, every day, all of the kids are with me! We try to exhaust them with playing in the sun, running in the sprinkler, trips to the zoo, walks around the neighborhood.... but every night it seems they are more and more energized instead of depleted (like I feel!).

 The point of my story - we need to teach these kids the beauty of sleeping in. Right now, they are happy in the mornings, crazy at bedtime and super grumpy in the afternoon when they should be taking naps.


 In other news, Ayla just had her preschool graduation on Tuesday and it was the most precious thing! Dressing 4 and 5 year olds in cap and gowns might seem unnecessary - but it was adorable. Her class put on a presentation, songs and introductions. Ayla was so proud and happy, and of course we were too! It's an understatement to say that we will miss her teachers very much - as much as it was difficult to leave Pittsburgh, I think it was fate that Ayla ended up in that exact classroom with Miss Harris.

Poor Eli, the boy next to Ayla, was scared of being on stage. So Ayla held his hand and when it came time for his introduction, he couldn't do it... so she said it for him! What a friend!

So happy!

Jackson getting some love from his sister: these hugs are rare!

Miss Harris!

Thumbs up for education!

  On her report card, Miss Harris wrote, "It's been such an honor to work with Ayla this year! She is one of the most creative students I've ever worked with. With her kind heart she's a friend to all of her classmates. I know for certain that Ayla is going to have an incredible Kindergarten experience. I just wish I could keep her here!" The feeling is mutual, Miss Harris! We love that Miss Harris nurtured our little "weirdo" and has encouraged Ayla to be herself. And Gregory was commenting that kindness and compassion are two of the biggest attributes we can hope for our daughter. The ABC's and algebra will all happen, but a good heart and ability to make friends: that's so much more important in the end.

 So now it's the beginning of our summer and we're kicking it off with a trip to Virginia for a wedding. A few days in Pittsburgh, maybe some Mexican food from Azul and lots of time with family. This will be the first time that many people will be meeting Elliot... it's hard to believe he's been here for almost a year!

Elliot is starting to figure out that we are ALL WEIRDOS.