Nap time

Who doesn't love nap time? It is a break in the day or it should be anyway. It allows you some time to get something done. Or it should.

My one year old daughter used to be a great napper. I could put her in her bassinet when she was small and she would fall asleep on her own with little fuss or fight. She would just go to sleep.

Then around age 4-5 months we were traveling from Omaha to Colorado to explore the idea of moving here. This seemed to really mess up her schedule and her ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.

At around age 7 months we finally moved and ever since, she still won't sleep well in her bed. It might be the altitude change or the time change, but I still try to get her to sleep in her bed and fall asleep on her own.

However, whenever I put her down for a nap, she usually cries for quite a while - sometimes up to 20 minutes before falling asleep and then only sleeps 45 minutes at the high end. Yet if I hold her and let her fall asleep in my arms she will sleep an hour or up to 2 1/2 hours.

We have tried fans, humidifiers, lullaby cd's and toys in the bed. I wish I could reset her body, but I love to cuddle with her and hope this may be a phase that will end some day. For now we will take it one day and one nap at a time.

Tween to teen overnight

So my sweet little tween, now teen, daughter Libby turned 13 on November 14. It seems like the transition from tween to teen happened so quick.

In 6 months time, she went from watching the Disney channel and listening to Miley and the Jonas Brothers, to texting and listening to Lady Gaga and the Blackeyed Peas.

She is now more conscience than ever on her looks. Daily as she leaves for school she has to make sure she looks just right. Right clothes, right hair and yes even at times needs to wear makeup.

We recently moved to Colorado and last year in January as we prepared for this move, we packed up items in her room to declutter. Some of the items we packed were her American Girl Doll, some Miley/Hannah Montana dolls and some High School Musical dolls. She knew she wanted to keep these. Other items that she was ready to part with, we gave to some good friends.

After we moved into our house in September though, we started to unpack her boxes and she decided she was too old for the items that we saved in February. This transition seemed to happen overnight for me. I am not sure I am ready for this teenage girl! Luckily she has a baby sister who she decided to save these treasures for.

So now we are dealing with a boyfriend, new teen friends, loud sleepovers and movie and mall dates. I don't remember this transition being so hard with Rick.....