Our bedtime routine.
Let me set the scene for you: cars. On the walls, on the bunk beds, everywhere. They share a room by choice, and they even chose the smaller room out of their two options because it was decorated with Lightning McQueen. (The other room is decorated in Noah's Ark and animals to incorporate a cross-stitch I did while pregnant with Kai.)
Of course, we start off with the usual things: potty breaks, a big glass of water, Seth's allergy medications, brushing teeth, flossing, and getting into pajamas. On nights when we are really early to bed, we read a few books or tell a story. We don't worry about the stories if we aren't really early to bed though, because we read with the boys at least 20 minutes almost every day.
Then we hand them their "little loveys". These are small blankets that are soft on one side and silky on the other. They started off just being called "loveys", but then Seth found a big blanket that felt like his lovey, so now we have the "big loveys" and the "little loveys". The boys won't go to sleep without their little loveys. We turn off the lights, turn on their nightlight, and turn on a small white-noise machine. It gets very calm very quickly. That's when we kneel and thank our Father in Heaven for our many blessings as a family, offering the boys an opportunity to say their personal prayers also. Then we hand them their little loveys and they climb into bed.
They each get to pick a song to sing. They usually pick a children's hymn, but not always. Kai's favorite lately is Happy Family:
I love daddy. He loves me.
We love mommy, yes siree.
She loves us, and so you see,
we are a happy family.
I love Sethie. He loves me.
We love Kai Kai, yes siree.
He loves us, and so you see,
we are a happy family.
Seth's favorite right now is Row, Row, Row your Boat in Spanish. The version we sing is:
Rema, rema, rema tu barco.
Corriente suave.
Feliz, feliz, feliz, feliz.
La vida es un sueño.
I know there are other versions out there, but this is the one I found easiest for us. Anyway, after singing with both of them, we each individually hug and kiss them. I'll let Jason tell you about what the kids say and do with him during this time if he wants to comment or write a post about it, but here's how it usually goes for me.
Kai and I usually get into and "I love you" fight.
Me: I love you!
Kai: I love you too!
Me: I love you too!
Kai: No, I love you too!
You get the picture. He loves teasing me, so it's appropriate that he does so as the last thing in his day. This conversation usually ends in tickles, effectively breaking the reverence we've created. And Kai hugs fiercely, with all his might, which is so him. I then wrap the blankets around him, because he likes to sleep very snuggled in.
Seth hugs me as long as I'll let him. I swear he'd fall asleep hugging me if he could. I usually have something to thank him for, because he is amazing every single day. He then grabs my hand and kisses my palm. I don't know where he got this idea, but I teared up the first time he did it. I tell him each night that I will hold that kiss in my hand all night long. I assure him that it will bring me good dreams. I then kiss his palm and tell him to have good dreams all night too. I lightly place the blankets on Seth, knowing he will kick them off the instant I leave the room.
We then leave our kids to sleep, though that's rarely what happens. We usually have to go tell Kai to stay in his bed a couple of times before any sleep is actually obtained. Oh well. At least the routine is nice. And it gives us time with our children to just concentrate on them.
Since Jason is at theater practice tonight, I got to do this routine with just the three of us. We miss daddy when he's not there, but it's nice to have the boys to myself at times also. This whole process is what happened tonight, so this is what was on my mind as I sat down to write to all of you. It's a great way to end the evening.
(None of these pictures were taken tonight, but they are some of my favorites.)
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