Bedtime

When Noah was a baby I dreaded bedtime every night. It was always a ridiculous ordeal that often ended with him crying. Then he would wake up every couple of hours and we'd have to do it all over again all night long. Well, I'm happy to say that after that traumatizing experience, Noah is finally a fantastic sleeper who goes down very happily and easily (and rarely wakes up at night). Bedtime is now downright delightful. A typical night goes something like this. After dinner, Noah and Sam take a bath and we put them in jammies and brush Noah's teeth. Then it's story time. We all sit on the floor in Noah's room and read for awhile. Here's a picture of all my boys getting ready for stories (Sam is sometimes too tired to join us for story time so on those nights I put him down and then join Ben and Noah):


Old-time favorite books include:

Goodnight Gorilla
Hug
Yummy Yucky, Quiet Loud, and Big Little
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late
Olivia's Opposites
The Going to Bed Book
Clifford the Big Red Dog
Kiss Goodnight
Daddy Kisses
Sometimes I Like to Curl Up in a Ball
and of course, Goodnight Moon

Lately Noah has been exploring some previously-ignored books on his bookshelf. He's recently very into Harold and the Purple Crayon, Dumpy to the Rescue, and Dumpy's Apple Farm. He was so excited when he noticed the second Dumpy book - he held it up and said "Hey! I found another Dumpy!" He's very fun to read books with because he points things out on each page and sometimes tries to read along. It's funny to hear him recite books throughout the day. He has tons of them memorized, the little smartie-pants. He'll sometimes do some alone reading time and he'll pick up a book and recite the story as he turns the pages. He always includes the little extras that Ben or I will put into a story too. Like, when the camel comes up on Dear Zoo, he'll say "What does a camel say?" then he'll pretend to spit and then say "That's right! Good job." Oh, he also lately has been licking his fingers while we read because he noticed Ben doing that the other night to turn a page. Nothing gets by this kid. I think I'm in trouble when he gets older. I'm really going to have to watch myself! Anyway, here he is reading with Daddy:


After we've had enough story-time (we always have to give Noah the last-book warning) I kiss Noah goodnight and leave the rest to Ben (unless, of course, he's still at work). Ben picks Noah up and holds him for a few minutes while they recap the day together. Then Ben puts Noah in the crib and, if Noah asks him to "make a story" he'll recite Goodnight Moon while Noah is laying down. Last night while making a story, Ben had his hand on Noah's chest and Noah grabbed his hand and interlocked his fingers with Ben's. Noah then held Ben's hand up and kissed it. So sweet! Then it's time to say goodnight to everything - the blanket, the monkey, the puppy, the toys, his letters (a letter puzzle Noah loves). Last night Ben thought he'd be in there all night because when he said "Goodnight letters" Noah said "Goodnight R. Goodnight U. Goodnight V..." Fortunately Noah seemed satisfied when Ben finally said "Goodnight, bunch of letters."