Do you remember when the nights seemed like 10 minutes long?

Soon after Téa fell asleep on our couch yesterday I told Den that maybe we should wake her up. 
Amy normally doesn't give the twins a nap and I feared Téa 
would have a hard time going to sleep at bedtime. 
Den just said, "I don't care if she stays up till 11pm with us. 
She's an angel. Let her sleep." So we did.

Well sure enough 7:15 bedtime came and Jonas refused to go to bed without his Téa. 
He was so so sad and just wanted nothing to do with bedtime without his sister. 
So Dennis has this idea. 
He said he would just explain to Téa that since she took a nap 
she didn't need to go to bed early like Jonas, 
but he would like her to just lie down with him until he goes to sleep and then she could get up. 

I told him that was too much for a 3 year old to process and understand. 
They live too much in the moment. 
He thought it would work so I said, okay, then go for it. Yeah right.

He explained it all to her, Téa agreed, and off to bed they both went. 
About 10 minutes later I went in to check on them. 
Jonas was sound asleep and Téa was lying quietly in the dark wide awake. 
So I'm thinking, really? Den's planned worked?

So I told Téa she could get up now if she wanted to. 
She asked excitedly, "Oh is it morning now?" 
I thought that was her way of saying, Can I get up now? So I said, "Yes, it's morning."

She climbed right out of her crib and headed down the hall to where we keep her suitcase. 
She started to take off her clothes and I said,
 "Uh, no, don't take your jammies off. Why are you doing that?" 
She said, "I'm going to Joy School! I need to get dressed." 
Joy School was the next morning so I guess she really did think it was already the next day!

At first I thought, how can she think time went by that fast? 
One 10 minute rest doesn't change the night to day. But then I thought back to when I was a little girl. 
Didn't we all just shut our eyes and then the next thing we knew it was morning? 
Children aren't aware of the passage of time in their sleep because they sleep so soundly. 
So I guess to Téa a 10 minute rest in the dark was equivalent to an entire night's sleep.

Once I convinced her it was still Monday night, 
she walked into the kitchen with me and then announced 
to both Grandpa and I, "I am so happy!" 
It's like she just could hardly believe she had us all to ourselves. 
And her eyes about popped out when I suggested just she and I go get some frozen yogurt together. 

That little bit you see in her cup was all we bought.
It doesn't take much to make a 3 year old happy.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a great story, Jill!
darlene

nrozier said...

I am so glad that Amy and Logan are on vacation because I am loving every minute of these Tea and Jonas stories.

Susan Anderson said...

I agree with Mom. So cute!

=)

Grandma Honey said...

Thanks Natalie. I wasn't sure if I was overdoing it, but it's our life this week. btw, I see so much of both Robin and Hailey in Téa. Sometimes I will look at her and think....this girl looks so familiar to me!

Scrapally said...

fun stories! keep 'em coming!

Karen Mortensen said...

I am loving hearing about your adventures. These kids are so darling.

grandmapeg said...

I think Tea looks so much like Hailey! Sorry, but I haven,t figured out on my IPAD how to make the accent mark on her name. Anyway, it sounds like you are having a very busy, full week with the twins. You sure are making great memories with them!

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