· Go potty
· Brush teeth (Quinnie - electric Little Mermaid toothbrush, HC electric Cinderella toothbrush)
· Story time (depends on how late it is and how tired we are)
· Prayers - "Now I lay me ..." while we kneel in a circle holding hands. Then you say "God bless______." And each of you say the names of everyone you love.
· Touch the beloved chandelier hanging in your room (we've been doing this before bed since you were about 8 months old)
· Rock A Bye Baby song while holding each of you like a baby (about twice a year you let you Daddy do it. You tell him frequently that he can do Rock Bye Baby tonight but when the time comes you always tell him "you just did it the early day" or "maybe next time Daddy."
· Mommy has to be the one to cover you up.
· Daddy is usually running around trying to find all the babies, books, stuffed animals, etc. that you are requesting to sleep with.
· Love On Me session - it consists of at least one minute of Mommy snuggling with you in your bed and whispering sweet nothin’s in your ear and kissing you all over your face. I usually "taste" Hassie Clare's freckle on her neck (I tell her it tastes like chocalate). Quinnie likes to play with my hair and tell me how much she loves me. Then Daddy steps in and gives you hugs and kisses.
· We turn the chandelier on dim and the Tinkerbell nightlight on.
· As we walk to the door you both always squeal "one more hug and kiss."
· After that last hug and kiss we exchange bedtime sayings. A favorite is "dream of bed bugs tonight."
· We turn the fan in the bathroom on for white noise and we call it a night.
I wish it ended here but usually one of you will call us back in because your toes are cold or your blanket isn't covering you up the right way or you have a booger or there is a funny shadow on the wall. We have implemented a little reward system to keep us from making 38 trips back and forth into your bedroom. You start the night out with 2 gummy princess vitamins. Every time you call us into your room for something silly, we take the vitamin away. In the morning, you get to eat whatever vitamins you have left. This system totally works for us and it is making your Daddy a little less crazy.
You guys are such creatures of habit. There is no altering and forgetting any part of our bedtime routine. The entire process usually takes about 30 mins. I realize that someday soon you will start omitting steps to our routine. And eventually it will consist of one little hug and kiss (if I'm lucky) and a “good night.” In the meantime, I will cherish all the hugs and kisses, the snuggling and cuddling and the “love on me” sessions. I can’t think of any other way I would want to end my day!
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