An Hour and a Half

Today I only got to spend about an hour and a half with Abby. She stayed a bit longer at Nana and Papa's because I had a school function this afternoon, and then it was on to grocery shopping for me. By the time I got home, I took one look at Abby and marveled that she was still standing. She looked exhausted. A night with Nana and Papa will do that to you.

Who wants popcorn?
"I do!"

I talked with Nana earlier today day and she told me that last night they'd had a full fledged sleepover. They'd all hunkered down in the living room with pillows, blankets, and popcorn. Eventually, Papa fell asleep and Abby and Nana finished watching Angelina Ballerina. The plan was to let Abby stay up until she fell asleep on her own. Last time she spent the night, Abby had a bit of a bad patch when it came to bedtime. She is a creature of habit, especially when it comes to bedtime. The problem is that it is good for Abby to be away from us from time-to-time, but it is difficult for her. The solution was not to just keep her home and not let her stay overnight there. Nana checked around - asking advice from other moms and grandmas that she knew and they suggested that when Abby came over they make a special time out of it. They would get her a sleeping bag, set things up in front of the T.V., and let her stay up however late she wanted. After all, one night wasn't going to hurt her, and an hour later of watching her favorite shows was a whole lot better than an hour of crying because she missed Mom and Dad.

For her overnight this time around I packed her pillow pallet and some favorite movies, and hoped the plan worked. It seems that it was a success, because when I called this morning I heard the funny story that Abby and Papa had spent the night on the couch, while Nana slept in the recliner. Nana was pretty sure that Abby had outlasted both of them, and had been the last one to fall asleep. When she woke up at 1 a.m. she saw Papa and Abby fast asleep, and afraid that a move might wake the sleeping princess, Nana just covered up and went back to sleep herself.

For playtime outside Abby decided that she needed all
the clothes I'd packed on - at the same time. What's a girl
to do when she can't decide what to wear

The day began in earnest for them at 6:30 a.m. with some blueberry pancakes, only to be followed by some playtime outside. I know their day was filled with dancing, laughing, singing, and a bit more dancing before Jason met up with them around 2:00 to bring her home.

I can only assume that Nana and Papa are as tired (if not more so) than Abby. Tonight she "hit the wall" as we say, around 6:00 when she asked for a bath. Up she went for some time in a warm tub and then it was off to cuddle with Mom. She made it half way through the program we watched on the iPad before her feet stilled and her eyelids got heavy. Her breathing deepened as I slowly turned the iPad off and put it away. I laid there a bit longer, with her sleeping in my arms, enjoying the time with her. Even though I didn't have a lot of time with her today, it was still a great day with Abby, because any day that ends with her snuggled beside me is great.

Abby (and Pocoyo), happy to see Dada!