Sleep baby sleep

A few people have asked about Avery and how she was sleeping b/c of this post and this post. My parents were actually really worried. Truthfully I was too. I was actually really frightened that there was really something wrong b/c she was refusing to go in her crib, to lay down at all, and it looked like she was fighting sleep. As I've said before she has a really tough time with teething and she goes through periods where it is tough to put her to bed. But typically it isn't as hard to put her to sleep at night than it is for nap time. She's def never just sat in the corner for hours and refused to lay down.

To ease some of my worries, I actually spoke to her nanny for a while about what we were going through at night. I had already told her that she was having a really hard time going to sleep at night, but I didn't go into any details. She said everything was fine at daycare and she's a happy kid. The only time she cries is during drop off and pick up. She doesn't like it when she can't see Ms. Debbie and tends to follow her around and will refuse to lay down and nap unless she has her within her sight. I asked if she rocked Avery for nap time b/c I haven't rocked her since she was 13 months old and weaned from her bottle, but she started to say "chair" and pointing to her recliner for us to sit and cuddle at night. I told her this wasn't an issue, but just wanted to know. She advised that she cuddled Avery for a few minutes during the first week or so, but hasn't since. When Avery first started daycare and pointing at her chair we would literally only sit on the chair for 10 sec before she wanted to go in her crib, but during this whole "ordeal" we would sit in the chair forever!

So here's our theories of what might have been going on:

1) She was teething like we thought. 8 long days after the first incident, I got a pic message from Kevin showing Avery laying down for a nap. He said that she just layed down right away. That was on a Sunday afternoon. Sunday night I wanted to see if she had issues going to sleep so I tried to put her to sleep. I started to go through our old routine of standing by her crib, cuddling and singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I didn't even make it past "little" before she was reaching for crib and saying "bed" and "nite nite". It's been a breeze since...KNOCK ON WOOD!!!

2) Her ears were bothering her...possibly from teething...possibly from an ear infection. By the time we were going to take her to the doctor she was fine. Besides we kept getting mixed answers from her when we would ask if her ears hurt. She'd say yes then no. If I asked her if she had an owie, she'd say "owie. boo boo." and grab her knee. Anyway, when kiddos have an earache it hurts to lay down so that may have been a reason why she was refusing to lay down.

3) She just needed some extra time with us and needed the extra attention and cuddles. We gave her that. I made sure to give her as much one on one time as possible when I got home from work b/c I have a feeling that she may be taking it extra hard that I've gone back to work. All she's ever known is Mommy being home with her and now I'm dropping her off at Ms. Debbie's.

I'm just relieved she is sleeping better. She was a grouchy little kiddo in the mornings b/c she wasn't sleeping well. Now, she doesn't cry when I go into her room to get her ready for daycare. Then again I usually have a banana or a granola bar to bribe her with...hey, whatever works, right???

Boggled...

The other night I posted this about Avery having a hard time going to sleep at nap time and at night. I thought it was bad...but last night was horrendous! Kevin tried to put her down a couple of times, then I tried a couple of times, then Kevin did...and so on. These "tries" would last about 10-15 min and consists of cuddling, sweet talking, stern talking, pleas, begging, and crying. She finally went down and I thought we were in the clear. I cannot remember the last time that Avery woke up in the middle of the night and we could not put her back to sleep right away. In fact, even as a newborn she was a good sleeper. Usually when she wakes up in the middle of the night crying (which is a rare event), we pick her up and cuddle her for literally 2 seconds before she is reaching down for her crib again and she stays asleep.

this was tonight...sitting in the corner...

Well last night she woke up around 2:35 am. I usually let her cry it out for a little bit b/c she can put herself back to sleep when she wakes up, but Kevin went in after a few minutes. He couldn't calm her down so I tried. By 4:20...yes almost 2 hours later...I was done. I was going to let her cry it out for however long it would take for her to fall asleep. When I started dozing off 30 min later she was alternating screaming and just crying. I woke up with a start around 5 am...it was quiet! I looked at the monitor and saw Avery standing in the corner of her crib. I watched her for a bit then dozed off. I woke up around 6 am and saw her sitting down near the corner where she was standing before. I watched her for about 30 minutes...she would start nodding off and her head would bob forward and she'd pop her head back. I dozed off and woke up at 7 am when my alarm went off. I looked at the monitor and she was finally laying down.

When I woke her up for daycare around 8:15 she had an epic meltdown and took me 10 min to calm her down. Her nanny said she did great today though and didn't have any tantrums. She napped for over 1 hour.

Tonight she had a rough time again. I plopped her in her crib around 9:10 and she wailed for over 30 minutes until I finally had the brilliant idea to talk into the monitor...well rather I "shh shh shh". This worked so well with Avery when she was a baby. Any time she was upset and we'd "shhh" her she'd calm down right away. It still works sometimes. Well it worked tonight...for a bit anyway. She continued to cry a little bit for another 5-10 min then just stood in the corner for another 5 minutes before sitting down. I saw her head bobbing around again so I told her (through the monitor) to lay down. It looked like she'd go half way down and then pull herself back up. By this point Kevin had gone to the store to get some Orajel. He had already given her some Motrin and this was our last hope. He had asked her before I got home if her ears hurt (we thought maybe she had an ear infection), but she said no. She did say yes when he asked if her teeth hurt. But when I ask her to show me where her ouch is, she points to her knee, which does not have a cut or scrape on it. While he was gone I kept telling Avery to lay down, but she wouldn't. When Kevin came home he put Orajel on her gums and cuddled her on the recliner for about 5 minutes then he put her in the crib. As he walked out of her room I saw on the monitor that she wasn't laying down, but sitting in the corner again! Kevin said she told him "no" when he tried to lay her down and she scooted over to the corner to sit.

I don't know why, but I think there's something wrong! I went in her room to beg her to go lay down, she refused. She didn't even want to cuddle. She just wanted to sit in the corner, holding her owl lovey in one hand and her burpy (burp cloth) on the other hand. Then she got this glazed look on her face and she closed her eyes. I think she was trying to sleep while sitting up!!! I held her face and asked her what was wrong. She said she's ok, but I keep wondering why she wants to sleep sitting up??? I shed a few tears in her room b/c she just looked so sad sitting there! I don't know how to "fix" it! Help!!! Am I overreacting? Should I take her to the pediatrician? If so, what do I say? My kid has been crying and refusing to go in her crib and when she does she doesn't want to lay down and prefers to sleep sitting up???

it's after 10:40...3 hours past her bed time...just sitting in the corner all quiet...

**** UPDATE **** She sleeps laying down...this was at 11 pm!!! FINALLY!!!

Daylight Shmay-light Saving What Time???

Avery has been having a rough time falling asleep...for nap and at night. It all started on  Saturday night. She took a long 2 hour nap on Saturday afternoon, but I don't know what happened after that. Maybe she realized Daylight Savings Time was going to happen at 2 am and she was going to lose 1 hour of sleep so she decided to boycott sleeping altogether??? She's normally really easy to put to bed. Sure we have the occasional times where she refuses to go to bed, but those are few and far in between.

she has been fairly good during the day (she's getting her haircut here)

I have a few guesses as to what's going on with her:

1) Daylight Savings Time is really affecting her and she's trying to adjust to the new time change. I don't remember Parker having issues like this so this is new to me. I do remember Avery having some issues falling asleep last November when we set the clocks back, but then again she was also teething...

2) She might be getting her 2 year molars. Momma ain't sticking her finger in that mouthful of teeth so who knows what's going on in there. On Saturday night after she cried a few times I finally decided to give her Motrin. She fell asleep for the night after that. Last night, however, the Motrin didn't work. She was awake and crying on/off for almost 1 hour. I'm all about the crying out method. I used this method for both kids. More so for Parker since he was a wacky sleeper, but Avery has always been a pretty good sleeper and I can only let her cry for so long before I get paranoid that she will wake Parker up then I'll have 2 crazy kiddos on my hands. Tonight she cried out 4-5 times and kept asking to cuddle, but almost as soon as Kevin and I would sit down on her recliner with her she would say "bed" and point to her crib. Finally I gave her Motrin, cuddled her, sang Twinkle Twinkle (for the 10th time), and talked to her about it being night night time and no more crying. Maybe it was the Motrin. Maybe it was the talk. Maybe she just got really tired. Whatever it was she finally went to bed.

3) She's trying to assert her independence and make her voice heard. I call Avery "sweet and sassy". She can be the sweetest little bunny...she loves to give kisses and loves to climb onto my lap to read books or play. But she's also very sassy. People are so surprised when they hear her say "No, I not!" b/c she sounds like she's 13 with an attitude. She has been protesting taking baths, brushing her teeth, changing her diaper, changing her clothes, putting her socks and shoes on, putting a bow in her hair, cleaning up toys, and going to sleep. The only thing she doesn't protest is eating! Her favorite word has to be "NO!".

It's probably a combination of all 3. I just hope this phase ends...really really REALLY soon!!!

this was after nap last weekend, but this is normally what we look like when cuddling her on her recliner for the 15th time

happy birthday

One of my best friends, Lauren, turned 30 on January 6th and one of our other friends, Liz, had her birthday back in December. Cammie decided to throw them a little birthday party this past Sunday...only it wasn't so little b/c there were 5 families there and each of us have 2 kids. So here's the breakdown of who was there: 5 women, 5 men, (1) 7 yr old, (5) 3 yr olds, (2) 20 month olds, a 4 month old, and a 5 week old...plus 2 dogs! It was a houseful and it was loud. There was laughter and there were tears. It got crazy at times, but most importantly we all had a lot of fun.

Here are most of the kids minus Josh (the oldest) and the 2 little babies. From left to right: Avery, Emma, Owen, Parker, Julia, Caleigh. In the front: Beckett. Aren't they all so adorable?!? 

By the time all the families got there, the pizza had arrived and tiny little feet pounded the stairs to get to the pizza! The mom's fixed plates (why is it always the moms???) for the littles, the men...well what were they doing?!? lol jk I'm sure they were taking care of the kids?!? Anyway, the kids settled out on the porch to eat the deliciousness that was Papa John's. The womenfolk sat outside with the kids while the men ate inside...plus Beckett who had settled nicely into his booster. It was fairly quiet as everyone ate.

Confession: I dipped my pizza in the calorie/fat laden garlic butter sauce that Papa John's is well known for. Ok, ok, ok. I had 2 slices of pizza. I also had 2 helpings of salad...Cesar salad with delicious Cesar dressing. I'm not on a diet or anything like that, but I try (try is the key word) not to eat too unhealthily and I heard that sauce is artery clogging. I haven't exactly looked up how bad it is and I don't want to know the exact specifics. But it was just soooo GOOD!!!  In fact, as I finished my dinner I was already thinking about having the same exact dinner soon! Is it wrong that I'm slightly drooling

After dinner the kids dispersed between the playroom upstairs, the backyard, and riding scooters on the porch. The men sat inside and talked football (I think since that was on TV) and the women discussed babies and labor. Typical! lol Eventually we all headed back into the kitchen...it was time to sing "Happy Birthday" and eat the ginormous cookie cake Cammie got. the cookie cake...I may or may not have bribed Parker into taking an early nap and being extra good in the car by promising him some pizza (which is his favorite food) and a big cookie cake. Hey, don't judge!

Cammie was very generous with the slices she gave out and Parker was in cookie cake heaven!

My kids love to sing Happy Birthday! Parker went through a phase last year where he would make pretend cakes and stack toys and sing to me. He still does it today. Avery has picked up on this and holds her hands out (sometimes her hands are empty and sometimes she has a book or a train) like she's holding a cake in front of her and she'd sings: "Hah, bih-day to you!" and then blows a pretend candle out. Once in a while she will add "Rrreee" (Avery) It's so darn cute!

I grabbed a smaller piece to split with Avery and was in the process of scraping the icing off (I'm not a fan of icing and tend to scrape it off when giving the kids cake/cupcake). But when I went to give Avery a small piece of my slice, she already had her own piece with icing all over it. Andy gave her a big piece b/c she was the only one who didn't have any yet and she was probably trying to reach over and grab Beckett's.

look at that face!!! it's as if she's mocking me b/c she got a large piece with icing on it! 

look at that hot pink icing stuck on her teeth! lol I know I get a little lot OCD about the sugar intake, but I admit the big smiles on my kiddos was worth it!

After cake the women tried to talk...I say tried b/c the kids were running around yelling and playing. The men were downstairs watching football. When it was time to leave, my kids decided they were hungry. They are such stealers!

Avery said she was hungry so I gave her the other half of her slice that I saved earlier. I knew she'd want it! Here's Beckett, trying to make the moves on Avery and her pizza???.

Trying to hold hands...but it looks like Beckett's eyeing that pizza! I love Avery's expression! It's as if she's thinking: "this boy is really cute and I want to hold his hand, but I'm embarrassed b/c everyone's looking at me and my crazy mom is taking a gazillion pics!"

LOVE these two! Bummed I did not get a clear shot! 

Parker, Owen, and Emma squeezing in a little more play time and playing ring a round a rosie...a favorite!

all the ladies: Me, Lauren, Stephanie, Cammie, and Liz

Finally, we were leaving. I figured this would be a difficult drive. It's 1 hour long, during a time when Avery is usually going to bed for the night, she's teething and I forgot the Orajel at home, we were on day 5 of no binkie (she almost always has her binkie at some point during car trips). I came fortified with "owl" - Avery's lovey. Avery whined for the first half of the trip and threw her owl down a few times. With about 20 minutes left til we got home, Avery, Parker and I (yep, me!) fell asleep! It's almost guaranteed that I will fall asleep in the car if both my kids are asleep. I'm like a baby in a car - it just lulls me to sleep. My best friend from high school and her mom used to laugh at me b/c Mrs. O would drop me off (this was before we got our licenses obviously) from a trip at the mall, which was less than 15 min from my house and I would be in the back seat conked out! Anyway, Parker must have been really tired b/c he slept until 9 am - RARE!!! He is my early riser. It would have been great if Avery would have woken up at her usual 8:15-8:30, but nope, she woke up around 7:50. She just knew her brother was sleeping in and Mommy wanted to sleep in just a little bit! lol

Hotel & Downtown Disney fun

Ok so I'm a slacker...I admit it. Do you remember when we went to Sea World...almost a month ago??? I posted about it here and here. Well we spent the night at a hotel that was like a block away. It was the first time the kids were staying in a hotel...and I admit, I was a bit scared. My kids have their own rooms and they can be a bit of a light sleeper so I was worried about them sleeping when there are other people in the room (I know first world problems!). My mom snores (loudly), Kevin sometimes snores, snorts, and when he moves in the bed, the whole entire thing shakes and he pulls all the blankets with him so there's a bit of a tug of war as I try to wrestle back some of the blankets (he will deny all of this!), plus Parker wakes up at least once a night to pee and my mom will also occasionally get up. You might realize I did not mention myself in any of this...I do not snore and I rarely have to pee in the middle of the night, the only noise I make is when I have tug back some of the blanket.

rolling around on the yucky hotel carpet. It was a nice hotel, but still. I tried to get over it and just sanitized their hands after.

So anyway, we get back to the hotel and the kids are so excited to be there that it took them a while to calm down. They were running around, squealing (sorry neighbors, we tried to keep them quiet), and rolling around the floor and on the beds. I should have thought about the hotel thing a lot more thoroughly, but it was a last minute decision. We should have gotten a suite where there is a separate bedroom so that the kids can have a quiet and dark room to fall asleep while the adults can stay up a little bit. The kids couldn't settle down with the lights and TV on so the adults went to bed too. Avery slept in the pack & play we brought. Kevin and I shared a bed and Parker and my mom slept in the other bed. Normally, we just cuddle Avery for a minute then put her down in her crib and she rarely fusses after that. That night she cried. I held her for 5-10 minutes, singing and softly talking to her (telling her it was night night time and she was sleeping in her special bed). I tried to put her down a few times, but she would grab my neck tighter, her legs would squeeze my waist, and she'd whimper. Finally, I just decided to put her in the pack & play and let her cry it out - sometimes I do this and she usually quiets down within 1-2 minutes. That night she cried (nothing crazy loud) for about 30 seconds and promptly fell asleep. Parker tossed around for a little bit, but stayed in bed and eventually fell asleep. It was way too early for me...I couldn't fall asleep. At 11 pm, I heard the fireworks go off at Sea World.

don't you just love babies toddlers in footsie pj's?!? 

Parker woke up in the middle of the night to pee and I helped him navigate the unfamiliar room/bathroom. I tucked him back in bed and then as I was climbing back in bed I thought about how cold it was in the room so I tiptoed to the thermostat to turn the AC up a little bit. Then I made the biggest mistake...I went to check on Avery (she only had on a thin footsie pj and the rest of us had thick down comforters). The second that my fingertips grazed her cheek to feel if she was cold, her head popped up and she wanted me to hold her. I held her for a few minutes and would not let me put her down. I tried the cry it out method and would have let her cry it out for a while, but we were in a hotel and didn't think our neighbors would appreciate hearing a crying toddler at 3 am. I decided to see if she'd fall asleep between Kevin and me - no go, she alternated b/w laying down and getting up. She thought it was play time. I was deliriously tired so I got up, cuddled her for a few minutes and softly told her she had to go back night night, put her back in her pack and play - she cried for a little over a minute then fell back asleep. 

Avery loves playing with Parker's iTouch!

A few hours later, I hear the toilet flush, then the shower...my mom was awake. My head popped up and I checked on the kids...conked out. Then I hear the blow dryer...hmm?!? Kids still asleep - good. Then I hear plastic being opened and see my mom over by the coffee pot trying to open the coffee...and both my kids popped up in bed. I understand the need for coffee...I do, believe me, I do. But, Mom, did you really need that coffee right then and there?!? lol We were going to go down to breakfast where she could have unlimited coffee. Sigh! I guess we will get up...I feel like I didn't get any sleep. We all got ready and went downstairs to eat...Parker loved the waffle maker and was excited to make his waffle. Avery ate mostly fruit and a little bit of cereal.

Even as a baby, Parker loved anything with buttons...still does. The alarm clock occupied him for a bit while we finished packing up.

After we checked out, we headed to Downtown Disney to walk around and have some lunch. We parked near the Lego store and Parker wanted to go in. He remembers it from when we went last summer and Lola bought him a Lego train set...I think he was trying to score more toys! Parker kept running from toy to toy...he couldn't decide where to go first. He found a huge train set for older kids and really wanted it...it was over $150 and he does not need a new train set and one that expensive. We talked him down to a small Lego set and Avery got her first set of Duplos. Then Parker wanted to go to the Disney store. He found a Mickey Mouse train set and threw a fit. He tried to carry the huge box to the register - a few customers saw him, laughed, and commented that it was cute. I probably would have said the same thing...if it wasn't my child doing it. I tried to calmly tell him that he needed to be a good boy and listen and we would write a letter to Santa asking for a train set. He was having none of it! He wanted this train set and he wanted it now. I dragged him out kicking and screaming.

Parker was starting an obsession with Toy Story and was especially excited to see a Woody and a Buzz Lego statue!

trying to carry the huge train box...

He finally calmed down and we had lunch at T-Rex. We got seated fairly quickly even though it was crowded. The kids loved all the dinosaurs. Parker was well behaved during lunch so Avery figured it was her turn to act up. She didn't like her chicken nuggets and just wanted to walk around. Kevin and I took turns walking around with her. She was especially entranced by the fish tank.  

we are ready for some lunch!!!

it was a yummy lunch!

Kevin took Parker around during the "storm" that happens every 15 min or so. Parker was fine and wasn't scared of the dinosaurs...until they came to the big T-Rex. Parker was just looking up at it when Kevin came up to him and scared him. After that Parker thought the dinosaurs were after him. 

Avery and I looked at the fish for quite a while...it was pretty mesmerizing. I've always wanted a saltwater tank, but I don't want the time and money associated with it. lol

we sat near this baby Triceratops...

After lunch, we walked around some more and then left...or tried to. Kevin couldn't remember where we parked. I was telling him we parked in this one lot and he insisted we parked in the other lot. We walked around for about 10 min...yep 10 min...trying to find his truck. It's not easy to miss...it's a big white truck, but you can't find it when you're looking in the wrong lot! We finally found his truck when we looked in the lot I told him we were parked at. His sense of direction is generally A LOT better than mine, but not that day! 

we look washed out b/c I forgot to fix the setting on my camera...again!

my lovies

Lola and her "handsome" and "princess"

such a happy girl (except when she's not)...take note of her arms and look below...

they run the same goofy way. lol

the hardest thing...

I quit my job almost a year ago to stay home with the kids. I love staying home with them. Sure they drive me crazy sometimes multiple times a day and sometimes I feel like holing myself up in my room with a bottle glass of wine, but I have loved this experience! Also, I noticed a vast improvement with Parker's speech within a few weeks of me staying home with him and just constantly talking to him about everything. I love that I'm the one raising my kids. But for my sanity and financial purposes I got a job working nights and weekends for the holidays. I needed to get out of the house and talk to adults. I'm liking my new job, but the hardest thing for me has been not being able to put the kids to bed every night.

cuddling on the couch with both my lovies the other afternoon

My big boy...for the most part I have always put Parker to bed. I hogged him as a baby - especially after I went back to work. It was our special time together. I'd feed him his bottle and read a couple of books. Then we'd cuddle and he'd stare at me with sleepy eyes and curl into a little ball. He's 3 now and we have the same bedtime ritual...well minus the bottle and we talk about our day and what we will do the next day. It's hard on the nights that I work b/c I don't get to do that. He went through a stage about 6 months ago where he wanted Kevin to read to him every night for a couple of weeks - he didn't want me. He'd tell me: "No, Mommy! I want Daddy!". I know he didn't say it to be mean, but b/c he didn't know how else to phrase his words. It still hurt and I felt rejected. I know it's a good thing for him to spend time with Kevin, but I want to be the one doing all the bed time stuff. Selfish?!? Maybe. Probably. Since I've started working, I've found myself cuddling him for a bit while and trying to talk to him when I'm tucking him back in bed when he wakes up in the middle of the night to pee. I turn to mush when he gets a sleepy little grin on his face and whispers: "Mommy, you home! You cuddle me pwease?". He says it every night I work and it breaks my heart a little! We cuddle and before I leave, I kiss his forehead and whisper: "Good night, sweet dreams, don't let the bed bugs bite, I love you". He repeats it back: "G'nite, sweet dreams, bugs bite, wuv you."

my sweet baby boy with his beloved burpy (one of them anyway). it's like a lovey, but it's a burp cloth and he cannot sleep without it. 

cuddling on the couch

cuddling on the couch and watching cartoons with Daddy before bed time

this was the night of his 3rd bday - we read extra books and cuddled for an extra long time

Now my baby girl...in the beginning I was the one who put her to bed primarily. Then Kevin and I started trading every other night when she was a few months old. I admit that I put up a little fight with this, but in the end I gave in. She is his kid too and he should be able to have that special time with her. Slowly it has revolved back to me being the primary person to put her to bed b/c she would start reaching for me even when Kevin was holding her. We have our own ritual too. We don't read any books - primarily b/c when I tried it after she turned 1, she thought it was play time and took forever to fall asleep. So I just made sure we get extra reading time during the day. My routine with her is to stand near her crib and hold her chest to chest, binkie in mouth, her head on my shoulder and nose burrowed into my neck, and she's got a tight grip on her owl lovey. We sway a little bit as I pat her back, sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and kiss her forehead and whisper: "Good night, sweet dreams, don't let the bed bugs bite, I love you". Not putting Avery to bed is a little harder to deal with b/c she sleeps through the night so I don't get that cuddle time with her like I do with Parker. The one thing that really broke my heart happened a couple of weeks ago after I had worked some crazy hours during Thanksgiving weekend. I was actually home to put her to bed and I was holding her, she had her binkie and owl, Parker had given her a kiss and Kevin leaned down to give her a kiss when she reached for him! What?!? It's me, your mama! I'm home! Don't you want me?!? It was tough, but I let Kevin put her to bed...but not until after I showered her with kisses. My heart hurt a lot that night, but she did give me the sweetest kiss...complete with a very loud and animated "mwah!".

this was on my birthday last year (October) - I had just gotten home from work and had given Avery a small bottle and she just could not stay awake. so we sat on the couch and cuddled for about 30 min. it was a nice bday treat!

this was Thanksgiving at Nana's last year. she was having a rough time sleeping in a pack and play in a strange house plus she was teething and was sick so we cuddled a lot that weekend. 

this was Christmas last year - Kevin was putting Avery down for her morning nap and it was taking him quite a while so I peeked my head in her room and saw them like this. I left them napping together and they took a long nap.

cuddling on the couch at Lolo's house in San Diego

how i found her the other morning when i went to wake her up so we could get dressed and drive parker to school. i just wanted to scoop her up and give her lots of cuddles. 

It doesn't cure my aching heart, but it does help to get lots of cuddles and kisses during the day. Thankfully my kids love to cuddle! I leave them with their Dad knowing they are making special memories together. A couple of nights a week the kids take early baths so they can watch a movie and eat popcorn with Daddy.