Stretched to the Limit
Little H has pretty much quit taking naps altogether. I'm torn on whether to be happy or sad. I guess it all depends on if you ask me at 1:00 p.m. when she would usually be asleep but is running crazy instead, or if you ask me at 7:30 p.m. when she's fallen asleep an hour before bedtime in my lap. This has created a bit of a problem, though, because she always wants to fall asleep in the car on the way home from the babysitter's house. If she crashes, then we're screwed for the night because any nap that lasts longer than 15 minutes will result in an extra hour trying to get her to sleep. We used to just poke and prod her to keep her awake, but that resulted in a lot of screaming because when she gets upset, Buster follows suit. Nothing will make him cry like hearing his sister crying. It's a nightmarish 10 minute drive with two screaming loons in the backseat.
Our next ingenious idea was to tell Little H stories on the way home. It works really well to get her imagination going and is noticeably less noisy. Our stories always have to be about something that happened at work (i.e. the building was completely flooded with water, or an elephant was loose in the lobby, or King Kong tried to kidnap our receptionist), and most of the time we are saved by Little H in the form of a super hero. Dan introduced a new villain a couple weeks ago named Frank the Monkey, a mean little primate who is always trying to throw one of us off the building until Super Little H comes to our rescue. This is Little H's favorite storyline. The only problem with this routine, is that lately, we are both feeling like our imaginations are completely tapped out.
Enter our new "car" book. I found this cute book at the scary used bookstore down the street from my work. This way, we can read to her on the way home and we all end up a little happier. We've only gotten through one story so far (and I have to admit that I prefer Disney's version of The Little Mermaid way better than the original in this book), but I do feel a little bit better that Frank the Monkey has somehow not managed to escape the zoo for a record four days.
Our next ingenious idea was to tell Little H stories on the way home. It works really well to get her imagination going and is noticeably less noisy. Our stories always have to be about something that happened at work (i.e. the building was completely flooded with water, or an elephant was loose in the lobby, or King Kong tried to kidnap our receptionist), and most of the time we are saved by Little H in the form of a super hero. Dan introduced a new villain a couple weeks ago named Frank the Monkey, a mean little primate who is always trying to throw one of us off the building until Super Little H comes to our rescue. This is Little H's favorite storyline. The only problem with this routine, is that lately, we are both feeling like our imaginations are completely tapped out.
Enter our new "car" book. I found this cute book at the scary used bookstore down the street from my work. This way, we can read to her on the way home and we all end up a little happier. We've only gotten through one story so far (and I have to admit that I prefer Disney's version of The Little Mermaid way better than the original in this book), but I do feel a little bit better that Frank the Monkey has somehow not managed to escape the zoo for a record four days.
first off, so jealous that she's even still napping! jake stopped when he was 2. thankfully georgie's still going strong... and hopefully we can keep it that way!
love the story time in the car... you & dan are too funny!
Glad you found something that works!
Is the evil Monkey Dan's way to discourage her future occupation as an explorer? ( see Dora and Boots) Cause remember, leprecauns can be sidekicks too.