Staying Up Late

I usually put the girls down for naps every afternoon around 1:30. As hard as it may be to believe, Shelby {you know, the one who is turning SIX in just a little over 4 months} is the one who really needs the naps. Shelby knows this about herself & really appreciates her naptime. Hadley, on the other hand, could take or leave naps. Hadley would be perfectly content to go to bed early at night, sleep in late in the mornings, and forgo naps altogether. But goodness gracious, we still need naptime for her--whether she sleeps or not!--to get a break from her three-nager ways. ;)  Shelby takes a good nap almost every single day, but Hadley is hit or miss when she naps but at least she gets a solid time of rest free from stimulation.

When both girls nap, we usually do something fun as a family after dinner since they both get to "stay up late!" Sometimes it's something at home and sometimes it's a long bike ride or a trip to the pool or playground. Staying up late {aka until 8:30} is a big deal in our house right now! The girls know if they don't nap, they have to be in bed by 7pm. This has been a fun season for us with the girls. Sometimes Derek & I get extra time together at night if they both skipped nap, but it's also really fun for us to have that special "stay up late" time with them. They both adore playing games & helping us make special treats on their stay up late nights! They're both at that age where they're genuinely fun to do things with...most of the time! ;)

Making chocolate chip cookies with Daddy on a "stay up late" night :)