"...Back Soon"

C is definitely a child of routine. We have finally found a nighttime ritual that works. As long as we can follow the routine, bedtime, even naptime goes off without a fight. Without the routine though...ugh...scary thought.

Step 1) When C starts the bedtime fussies, we ask her if she's ready to take her friends upstairs. If we ask if she's ready for bed, she says "no", "no likey bed". If she's really ready,

Step 2) she'll gather up her 'friends' and go to the steps, and says "uppease". She has so many stuffed friends, she can't walk up the stairs by herself.

Step 3) Place C in the bed, and she asks for "bug on" and "house on". The bug is her nightlight that she picked out herself when she developed her darkness issues. The house is one of those village houses that lights up. This one is decorated as though it's autumn and has pumpkins and turkeys and such on it. F thought it would be a good nightlight until C could pick one out of her own. They've both stuck.

Step 4) Turn on the bug and house.

Step 5) Tuck into Thomas blanket and Mommy blanket {the blanket I made for her while I was pregnant}. Depending on how tired she is, maybe skip to step 8.

Step 6) Read bedtime books in whatever order requested: Goodnight Moon, called "moon"; The Going to Bed Book, called "cow book" (I'm not sure why); and one of the following: Kittycat Lullaby, Have You Got My Purr?, or Guess How Much I Love You, called "bunny book".

Step 7) Pray and sing "Jesus Loves Me" together.

Step 8) C says "Mommy back soon." This is my signal that she's ready for me to give her kisses and leave her room. She doesn't like to say goodnight. I think she just needs to know that I'm coming back at some point.

Step 9) Kiss one hand repeatedly until "full", switch and repeat with second hand. Kiss each cheek, nose and head.

Step 10) C specifies what she's going to kiss on Mommy and Mommy bends to facilitate kisses, for example: "cheek" -kiss- "orcheek" -kiss- "kiss hair" -kiss- "kiss nose" -kiss- Yes, she only says kiss before the part on parts other than cheeks. Very odd.

Step 11) I say "Mommy loves C". C says "I wuf you Mommy." and I finally leave the room.
As I discovered in the hotel with my folks, if I don't leave the room, C does not go to sleep, no matter how much of the rest of the routine is adhered to. I can come back after she's asleep, but she needs to go to sleep alone.

A Tale of Two Papas...

...and Christmas 2007.

For those who speak Army, today is the end of max/block leave, and for us, the end of "Christmastime". It's been an amazing season around our house. I can't believe the difference it makes, living this season alongside a child. C's catch phrase has been "I likey Christmas." It's so cute.

Our house seemed to have a revolving door. The Wong grandparents arrived on the 23rd, my sister on the 24th, and my parents early Christmas morning. C was so excited to see each and every one of them. One of the most priceless moments was after my parents arrived for the morning, and C was playing with Papa and Grammy Lippert and then Richard and Anita came over from their hotel. Casssie looked at my dad and pointed, saying, "Papa," turned to Richard and pointed at him and said, "Papa." She looked again at my dad, pointed with a "Papa," and back to Richard again. She repeated one more time, getting more excited with each "Papa." Finally, she exclaimed, "Two Papas!" This discovery thrilled her to no end.

Perhaps my favorite moment was the one I did not expect. Every time a package arrived, or she saw a present-type package, C has wanted to open it. We'd tell her she had to wait until Christmas. Then, we put the package in the storage room, where we kept all the Christmas gifts until we were ready to open on Christmas morn. I expected C to clamor to open each one as it came downstairs, so I took her aside while F and Rachel brought the gifts for everyone to the living room. I fully expected a wide-eyed, eager reaction to the pile of gifts, perhaps with a run to them. My expectations were unfulfilled. It was beautiful. When I brought her into the room, and put her down, she ran first for her grandparents, exclaiming Papa! (even for her grandmas...it took a bit for her to figure all the people out) and hugging each of them, over and over. F and I actually had to pick her up and put her in front of the gifts and encourage her to open them. It was beautiful.

The day after Christmas was so much fun! F's aunties drove up from Southern California to see all of us, since Richard and Anita were here. F cooked a tasty steak lunch and we played some games while C napped. We laughed so hard! However, Auntie Jennie strongly objected to the use of gestures while playing "Catch Phrase." We're thinking she needs a coach's challenge flag.