One reason to be glad for no recent growth spurts

Dear Andrew & Abby,

You know I write a lot about bedtime here. It's usually a pretty painful process. We also frequently deal with nighttime visits. Sometimes one, sometimes the other, occasionally both. Our bed is not big enough for all four of us plus both cats, but it's been known to hold all of us anyway. Our visits from Andrew used to be every night. Most of the time he didn't come in until about 4am, but sometimes it was more like midnight or 1am. He seemed to learn pretty quickly not to come to Mommy's side. Mommy is a light sleeper and I would usually make him go back to bed. But Daddy would sleep right through the visit, allowing Andrew to snuggle in undetected until the morning alarm clock rang.

So, now we fight to get you to bed, but once you're out, the visits are less frequent. But once in a while, we still get a visitor.

Last night was a visit to remember.

Bedtime came late - it was a gorgeous evening and we stayed outside until almost 9pm - Mommy and Daddy blow the bedtime routine yet again.

**As a side note - part of the reason we were outside past bedtime is that Andrew was practicing riding his bike with no training wheels. I'm thrilled to report that this afternoon after more practice, Daddy and I feel pretty confident that he has it mastered. Yay!! Go, Andrew!**

You two fought and fought and did not finally pass out until after 10pm. Daddy and I were asleep a little after 11pm. And at 12:30, I woke up to a noise I couldn't quite place. And maybe I sensed something amiss?

Andrew was standing next to my bed. And I heard a noise like water running. Uh oh.

"Andrew, are you peeing in my room?"

No response. But now my eyes had adjusted to the darkness. And there was definitely an exposed boy part next to my bed. He took a step back and then walked back to his room. I realized he was sleep walking, so no point in yelling. It's not like he was peeing in my room on purpose. He was back in bed and asleep before I could even get to his room.

I returned to my room and told Daddy to turn on the light. Not only did he pee. He PEED. The floor. The side of the bed. The photo albums next to my bed. Oh dear. And then Daddy started laughing.

As I cleaned up, Daddy laughed and laughed. When he could finally tell me why (after he caught his breath from his laugh attack), he said, "If he had just been six inches higher...he'd have been peeing all over YOU instead of the bed!" And then there was more laughing. I am pretty sure he laughed himself to sleep. After we changed the sheets.

Love,
Mommy, whose bedroom is NOT the potty

At least it wasn't a frog

Dear Andrew & Abby,

Here's a new one. Yesterday, when I picked you up from day care, I noticed that Andrew's coat was wet in the corner by one pocket. I asked why and got the standard "I dunno" answer I love so much. So I grabbed it, trying to figure out how wet it was and I felt something a little crunchy and squishy in the pocket. And what do you think I discovered inside the pocket? Go on, guess! Well, when I pulled it out and asked Andrew what it was (not in the gee-i'm-confused-and-curious-as-to-what-i'm-holding way but more in the surely-i'm-not-holding-what-i-think-i-am kind of way), he said "It's a crystal." Sweet Boy, I love you, but that was not a crystal. It was a chunk of melting ice and snow. In your pocket. Inside. Melting. Honestly, when I first pulled it out, I thought one of the other kids must have put it there as a joke. Surely my almost-eight-year-old son knows what ice is! And what happens when you put ice in a pocket and then take that pocket indoors where the heat is! I was completely at a loss...

"Andrew, did you know this was ice?"
"I dunno."
"Where did you get it?"
"Outside."
"Where outside?"
"On the ground."
"Was it cold?"
"Yeah."
"Was it wet?"
"No. I swear! What?!"

Sigh.

And I have another new one. As I type this, Abby is sleeping in her "gib girl" bed IN UNDERWEAR. That's right. No Pull-Up. This will be our second attempt. The first try was Tuesday night when she was wearing her new Cinderella undies ("nunies") and didn't want to change before bed. I should explain: As of right now, Abby has been daytime potty trained since last fall. For the last several weeks, there have been no accidents during naps, either. But bedtime is a different story. She hasn't been able to make it through the night dry yet. So she wears Pull-Ups to bed. Until Tuesday. We were nervous, but we went with it. I put on the mattress liner, laid out another set of sheets, made Abby go potty ONE MORE TIME before bed, and expected a rough night. At about 3:30 am, I was awaken by a little whisper next to my bed, "I want a Pull-Up." Abby had had enough. She was still dry (DRY!!), but I think the anxiety was causing her not to sleep. So I put a Pull-Up on her and tucked her back in. In the morning, she was STILL DRY! And the angels sang and the sun shone...

Well, let's just say I was pretty excited. I was envisioning an end of the Pull-Up Era. So I went to the day care and bragged on my genius child. And so that day of course there was a little accident at nap time. Oops. It happens. It really isn't a big deal. It was just yet another reminder that Mommy knows diddly squat and should really learn to just sit back and wait. It will happen. Abby is not going to leave for college with a pack of Pull-Ups. Of course not, they don't make them that big. We'll have to move up to Depends. Hah! Just kidding!!

So anyway, here we are again. Abby chose to sleep in nunies again tonight. She was up to potty three times before she fell asleep. We'll see how the night goes. I have no expectations. And besides, as Steve oh-so kindly pointed out to me, I might actually be sad once the Pull-Ups are gone. It will be the end of the Pull-Up Era, yes, but that is also the end of the Baby Era. We'll be in to Little Girl territory. Wow.

Pretty soon, Andrew will start showing you where all the good crystals are for your pockets. You two are going to wear raincoats every day.

Love,
Mommy