Night Time Routines ... They are changing ... LOVE

March 1, 2013

There are so many things that I love about your nighttime routines these days. Both of the girls pretend so well and I love playing along! The best time is right after bath time while they are drying off and getting their pajamas on... 

A little bit of background: Both girls love Tinkerbell and lots of nights while we are getting ready for bed, we become fairies. L has named herself The Letter Fairy and M is The Puzzle Fairy (Daddy and Myself, our titles change often). While I am helping one, the other is flying around the room just talking and pretending like crazy! Last night when I was about it help M put her pajamas on, she looked at me and got so serious; She said, "Mommy, don't take my wings off!" I love it! I will pretend with them as much as they could ever want. They both have such vivid imaginations!

Tonight for example... 

They were talking on their phones while they were getting ready and pretending Silvermist (a fairy friend of Tinkerbell) was at the pediatrician's office at her 4 year checkup. L would talk on the phone about it then they would hang up. A few minutes later, she will pretend that her phone is ringing again, and of course, it is Silvermist giving the play by play of her appointment. Once everyone was dressed, we open the bedroom door and fly into the kitchen, see Daddy for a few minutes and tell him all of the new fairy news, then head into the living room to pick up toys and put them away (while still talking to Silvermist on the phone). Dinner was good. The girls were in really good moods. Several quick rounds of Simon Says, then off we were to the bathroom for brushing and flossing time. 

This time typically goes pretty smoothly. But tonight  L said she wanted Daddy to floss her teeth. After barely getting 2 teeth it's all tears. I sat on the floor, held her, let her calm down (I think she was just tired) and I got her to let me floss her teeth by telling her as soon as we were finished, that I would floss her toes.... Now, I'm not quite sure where this came from, but I knew it would make her laugh. I knew it would make her smile... and I knew it was silly enough that she would let me floss her teeth. I quickly added that the rule to flossing toes, is that it always had to be done AFTER flossing the teeth!!! ( this is a very important thing to add in there). 

She giggled the best giggles as I flossed her toes (she's very ticklish), then she asked to do mine (I am insanely ticklish), it was all a fun, goofy thing that was happening. I was laughing so hard from the tickling, she was laughing at me, Daddy and M was laughing at both of us. Then she wanted to floss his toes. (he still had his work/dress shoes on). As L "flossed his toes" she caught a little sock fuzz... and pointed out that was like getting food out from between her teeth (at least she understands why we floss) lol This all sounds pretty gross actually... Then of course, M wants in on the flossing of the toes. So that happened and we eventually ended up in bed. 

They were both really sleepy so there were a few tears. Daddy kissed us all goodnight and I laid there with them (like I always do, we co sleep and every night I lay with them while they fall asleep). Last night was really rough falling asleep. L was crazy tired and had a lot of tears. I asked her if she wanted me to sing and she said yes. I actually made up a 4 line song that I sang, slowly and quietly, over and over  (all it took was about five minutes) and both of them were out. 

Even with the tears in the beginning, bedtime was wonderful last night. I rubbed both of their faces and sang to them as they fell asleep. Tonight they wanted me to do the same thing. L started to cry and M asked if I would rub face, Although this is her way of asking that ... she would rub her own hand across her face and say to me, "go like this"...  I started to sing my four line song over and over as I rubbed their faces ... and they were once again asleep within five minutes! 

I will start doing this every night! It is a wonderful way to end the night with them!

  

                                                           Go to sleep baby ... 

                                                        Close your eyes baby ... 

                                                             I'll snuggle you ...

                                                                I love you ...  

Toddlers Flossing

Later on after our dentist appointment we took a trip to Target. Really we were only going for floss sticks (the curved ones seem to work best for us). 

When it was time to brush and floss that night, L was all for it. But my little one wasn't really on board with this. I didn't push her, I told her to let me know when she wanted me to floss her teeth. But I knew I had to come up with something. Later that night, Daddy said to me, she's 2 and if she doesn't want to do it, could we start it when she's 3 like L?? I see the point he's making, BUT we did just go to the dentist and they DID say we should. We had that talk, all of us together, and they were told that we should start doing this. I know L wouldn't understand why M wasn't doing it (or why she didn't have to) since we were told by the dentist that we should. I didn't want her to think that it was okay NOT TO DO IT!

The following day after we finished at soccer, we made another trip to Target. To get some stickers! I let them both pick them out. When we got home I started making 2 sticker charts. One with M's name and one with L's name. While I was making it I explained to her how it would work (of course M was right there hearing it all). She could choose a sticker in the morning after we flossed and at bedtime when we flossed and when the chart was full of stickers with no empty blocks, she could choose to either go to Chuck E. Cheese or Puzzles Fun Dome. After I finished, we went into the bathroom to hang the charts. L asked me why I had 2 and I replied, "One day M will be ready and she'll ask me to floss her teeth, when her chart is full, she can choose one of those two places to go as well." I never said anything to M about flossing her teeth. 

That night I brushed and flossed L's teeth. L started brushing her teeth after I was finished and while I started brushing M's teeth. When I finished brushing M's teeth, she took my face into her hands pulled me close to her. We were nose to nose and she said, "Floss my teeth Mommy!" We celebrated, made a big deal and she's been flossing ever since!!