1. Have a bed prepared.
Abby puts great emphasis on the "sleep" portion of "sleepover". She was thrilled to be going to Grandma's house and get to stay overnight, so thrilled that she barely gave my mom a greeting before she'd stripped out of her clothes and hopped into bed. She immediately pulled the covers up, declared she was there to "sleepover", and started to pretend snore. I was able to coax her into getting her jammies on, but for the first few minutes all she wanted to do was hang out in the bed. So, we said, "Goodnight," and shut the door, leaving her alone. Once she didn't have her audience it wasn't as fun, and she soon was out for some snacks before she actually went to sleep.
2. Have some of her favorite activities handy.
Abby is a busy little bee, and therefore she needs to have something to do. She's not into the whole "staying-up-late-to-talk" thing that is often a part of slumber parties - no, she needs to be active. Luckily, my mom knows this, and she had things prepared for her to do. So when we got up at 4:45 a.m. this morning, we found all sorts of fun surprises waiting for us on the dining room table. Thankfully, Abby was able to keep busy. She colored, played with her alphabet cards, and finally we made some cookies. Still that only kept her busy for a couple of hours....which brings me to my next tip.
3. Plan on a nap after we leave.
As I already mentioned, Abby got up early, and once she is awake there is no getting her back to sleep - especially when she is in a new place and excited to be there. She wanted to go right in to "cuddle with Grandma", which I know means to climb into bed (having no regard to where her knees and elbows may land) and cuddle for a few seconds before telling her it was time to get up. Therefore, I tried my hardest to keep her occupied for as long as I could. It was while I was busy putting the cookies in the oven though that she took it upon herself to get Grandma - because she just couldn't wait any longer. So at 6:30 a.m. my mom was woken by Abby boldly flipping on the light in her room and telling her, "Time to get up, Grandma!" I felt horrible knowing that she was probably exhausted (did I mention she's recovering from a knee replacement?), but she was a trooper. She was happy to greet us and even spent time coloring and reading to Abby. I took comfort in knowing that my mom would be able to take a nap after we'd gone.
4. Bubbles are a nice touch.
Along with having a fascination with beds, Abby loves baths, so if you have her over, expect that at some point you will find her in your tub waiting for a nice warm bath. Again, my mom knows Abby well and so in the middle of Abby "helping" my mom with some of her leg exercises, she came to tell me that Abby had declared it was bath time. Sure enough, I found Abby waiting in the bathroom. As I started the water I noticed that in the corner of the tub there was a new bottle of Dora the Explorer bubble bath. Yes, my mom had anticipated this as well. Abby enjoyed that bubble bath for a good half hour before I grew impatient and decided to pull the plug - literally. As the water drained she stretched out on her tummy and yelled to me, "Mom! Help me! Do something!" Yes, she was playing that she was being sucked down the drain along with the water and bubbles. What an imagination she has.
5. Be prepared for a quick exit....maybe...kind of...
When Abby gets something in her head it is nigh on impossible to change it. So it was when she decided at 9 a.m. that she was ready for lunch - and that lunch should be pepperoni pizza I knew there was no arguing with her. Since my mom didn't have any pepperoni or pepperoni pizza, Abby declared it was time to go home. So with a, "Goodbye, Grandma!" she got her shoes on and was at the door. She didn't want to hear that I needed to pack up, or take things out to the car - no, she needed to get home to her beloved pepperoni. So, while I gave her some tasks, like thanking Grandma, and telling her how nice it was to have a sleepover, I gathered things and took them to the car. Finally, we were ready to head out, and so I walked out the door, expecting Abby to follow. She didn't. I turned to see her standing next to my mom and telling me, "I'm staying. Bye, Mom." Not phased, I said, "Goodbye," and went to start the car. Sure enough I looked up to see she had changed her mind once again....only to change it back when I came back to get her. As soon as she turned to go back up the stairs to Grandma, I swooped in and scooped her up. She smiled and laughed, and then turned in my arms, reaching dramatically back towards my mom and yelling, "Grandmaaaaa, Graaaaandmaaaa!" - as if I were tearing her away from her beloved Grandmother. Yes, parting is such sweet sorrow... and all that jazz.
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| First distraction was coloring. |
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| Eventually we moved on to baking....at 6 a.m. - ugh! |
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| Later, after we got home and settled in, Abby got into her Halloween candy. She thought three suckers at once was a good idea - Mom and Dad did not. |
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