This morning we had an appointment with our mortgage lender. We were already pre-qualified for our mortgage, but there was a lot of paperwork we needed to sign to make our application official. I woke up early and headed to the bathroom to start putting on my make-up (a process that is so. much. easier. without toddler interference).
Suddenly, the door opened and there was Catie, with her hair in her eyes, and whining, “Mommy, milk pwease!” This made me realize two things: 1) she is getting really efficient with opening doors (a relatively new trick; must remember to lock doors in situations that demand privacy, if you know what I’m talking about and I think you do), and 2) she’s figured out that she can climb out of her big-girl bed. Crap. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.
It took a while, but eventually we all got out the door and over to the mortgage lender’s office. I felt bad for Catie, because I know that not much in life could be more boring for her, but I had brought a bag full of distractions: toys, books, Color Wonder markers & paper. Overall she was pretty good; she got a little whiny, but she did way better than I expected. Toward the end of the appointment, the guy left the room to photocopy all of the paperwork so we’d have copies for our records. While he was gone, I put Catie in one of the swivel chairs in his office and spun her around. She laughed and laughed, and thought it was so much fun. At least, she did for a while, until she got dizzy and took a flying leap out of the chair, and face-planted on the floor. Ouch. I had to carry her outside to calm her down, and the secretary brought her some M&M’s, which was very sweet.
Since Catie had been so good at the mortgage appointment, afterward we went to McDonald’s and let her have some chicken McNuggets and play in the indoor (read: air-conditioned) playground. She had an absolute blast running all over the place, I think we were there for about an hour. On the way home, both Dave and Catie fell asleep in the car. It was only maybe 10 or 15 minutes, but unfortunately, that meant that when we got home, Catie was all refreshed and ready to go. No more nap. Oof. Somebody kill me now.
So, this afternoon has mostly been comprised of whining and meltdowns (on Catie’s part, not mine, although believe me I was tempted). I gave her a bath around 4 p.m., then we came downstairs and had an early dinner. She asked for “milk and book” afterward, which is our bedtime routine: I lie down with her in her big-girl bed, and we read books together while she has her sippy cup of milk. Honestly, that’s like my favorite part of the day, even if it does mean that I can now recite “The Cat in the Hat” from memory. Tonight, though, Catie fell asleep while I was still reading to her. She was officially out before 6 p.m. Hell yeah. Mommy FTW!
So, since I am old and lame, I am going to bed early for the first time in weeks. And I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am about that. I know it’s Friday night, and the Cindy from 10 years ago would not even recognize this version of myself. But honestly? I don’t care. I am so looking forward to sleep, glorious sleep.
Now, let’s just hope that Catie stays in her bed all night. Fingers crossed!
Just a thought, when we moved Miss C into her big girl bed, we put safety covers on her door knob so she couldn’t wander the house (too many dangers with her room upstairs). We have also installed a safety gate in the event that we decide to open her door for airflow. If C-baby is used to sleeping with the door closed, the addition of the knob covers won’t bother her because she won’t notice it.
When I started reading this, my first thought was “ooff, Catie learned that she could get out of bed by herself.” I miss lying down in bed and reading to Catie too. Seriously that was one of the best parts of this weekend (nothing is cuter than getting to read to a little kid while they are snuggled up next to you). Good luck with the getting out of bed thing. I agree that door covers are the best bet. xoxo
Yeah, the problem is that she sleeps a lot better with the door at least partially open. If she wakes up in the middle of the night and her door is shut, she’ll definitely cry for us; if it’s open, odds are pretty good she’ll just roll over and go back to sleep.
At her age, I’m not worried about her getting hurt if she gets out of bed, I’m just worried about her waking up Dave and me. But last night she woke up and I found her wandering the hall, and she got a very stern “No, ma’am!!” and put back to bed, so hopefully she’ll learn quickly that getting up in the middle of the night is against the rules.