Naps

On Saturday it was 75 degrees.  So Ben spent the day in the yard planting more flowers, then we went to the park.  After watching the kids run around the entire time we were there, I understood why they feel the need to run around the entire house every night after dinner.

And once the playground came into sight, Ben, Ella, and I were abandoned as Lily and Skyler took off.

These two have basically spent their entire lives playing together.  Separating them is no easy trick.

At the end of last year we started noticing a problem.  When they would both go down for their afternoon naps, Lily would only sleep for about an hour, then get bored, and wake Skyler up.  To anyone who knows Skyler, you know the apocalypse that follows when he's not well-rested and well-fed.  It's scary.  I'm pretty sure he empties his tear ducts every day.

So at the beginning of the year, we decided to go ahead and let Lily have quiet time in the bonus room while Skyler napped.  I mean, the kid would have the entire room of toys to herself plus a castle!  She could even play with Skyler's beloved legos and other toys without him knowing!  I mean, it was an awesome option!

But I was completely taken by surprise when I found that all she would do was pull a blanket onto the couch in there and take a short nap.  Then when she would wake up, she would ask if she could come downstairs.  Umm, no.  

After she did that day after day I finally realized that Lily and Skyler don't know how to play alone.  As much as I love the fact that they always have a playmate nearby, I feel that learning to be alone is an important skill to have, especially considering how much of your life you spend alone.  

So I tried to show Lily all the things she could do.  I even got desperate enough that I let her bring her notebook and pen into the bonus room during nap time so that she could write and draw.  But even that wasn't enough.  Some days I would find that Lily had snuck back into her room to take a nap with Skyler.  And then, of course, she'd wake him up to play when she woke up.  Other times I'd find that she'd sneak into their bedroom, get Skyler, and hide him in the castle when she was supposed to be having quiet time.  I mean, going up to check on them, I would have never known that the switch was made because they were that thorough with making sure the right doors were closed and whenever they could hear me coming Lily would act casual on the couch and Skyler would be hidden in the secret nook under the stairs of the castle.

Thank goodness for mom ears.  That's the only reason why I've known what's happening and have been able to catch them.  I guess it's a good and a bad thing that my kids are unusually loud.

I wish I could say that things have gotten better, but it's almost been three full months and nothing has changed.  I feel bad because I have even succumbed to the point where I sometimes lock Skyler into his room when it's nap time so that Lily can't sneak him out.

With what extremes they go to, you would think I never let them play together.  Goodness gracious.  But at least they love each other???