Bedtime Shenanigans

I've been meaning to document the silliness that happens as soon as the door is closed for wubby time (nap) or bedtime for awhile now. I keep thinking the games and songs and insanity will stop, but they simply continue to create new ones that usually reflect what is happening in their world at the moment.

The early ones, when they were still in their cribs, were simple:

1. Motorcycle - one would straddle the front rails of their crib and hold on to the end in front, yelling "VROOM VROOM!!! I'm a motorcycle rider!!! VROOM!!!".

2. Carousel - similar to "Motorcycle", but they would each choose and animal and "ride it". This one was fun because they would discuss at length which animal they would ride. Then it became more complicated because the carousel at a zoo we visited in Ohio last summer was under construction "broken" when we visited. Before riding their crib carousels, they would have to "fix it". The conversation usually went like this:

Trip 1 - "Hey! Let's play Carousel!"
Trip 2 - "Yay! Okay!"
Trip 3 - "But it's bwoken!"
Then - "Oh NO!" and "Don't worry, I'll fix it!", followed by "Oh thank you!" and a "You're just like Handy Manny!", then a "Let's have Handy Manny fix it!". "Yay!!"

3. Birthday Party - this obviously started during the birthday months around here and this was the first year they really started LOVING birthdays, especially theirs. It went like this:

Trip 1 - "Hey guys! Let's play Birthday Party!"
Trip 2 - "Yay! Birthday Party!"
Trip 3 - "Hooray!"

Then there was usually a short discussion on who would go first. After a choice was made, the "Birthday Song" was sung. Then "presents" were given to the birthday girl/boy, who would ALWAYS say "For me??? Oh THANK YOU! I love it!" Then they would be instructed to blow out the candles but "don't spit on it!".

And then it was someone else's turn. Then sometimes it was a stuffed animal's birthday, etc.

It is understandable that John and I were hesitant to move our little chuckleheads to big-kid beds. What would happen once they were truly free?

Not that much; just more fun.

1. Sing-a-long: simple but darling. Someone chooses a song and then they all sing it together.

2. Let's Fling Something: mostly played by the girls because their beds run parallel to each other.
It is what it sounds like - they fling their stuffed animals back and forth across the chasm between their beds, laughing hysterically. It's a simplistic version of "Take Out The Trash".

3. True Play-Acting: now this covers the majority. What happens is that each child has a stuffed animal or some other random object they have stowed away. Then the production happens. One animal/toy may be the mommy (this is usually Gracie's b/c we can hear her go "Oh Honey, It's okay. You'll be okay" and that's how she talks), some one's usually needs to be rescued and the others do so, or they go to school (this one is pretty complex b/c they then do songs, projects, or go to the playground), and so forth.

I did catch them out of their beds once and only once because they were being so loud they didn't hear me coming. They had thrown everything out of their beds into a big pile in the middle of their room and were dancing around like crazy people.

Even though it usually takes them FOREVER to fall asleep, I actually love this. Every night is like the greatest_slumber_party_ever! and who doesn't like slumber parties?

Can't wait to see what happens when the girls move into Ainsley's room in a few months. Johnny has declared he will be part of the move (which is fine; the poor guy would be so lonely), which means the four oldest will be together.

It's going to be like the monkey house at the zoo.