As in all great mile stones, the battle for or against the “nap” rages on. Like with potty training, everyone has an opinion. Because contrary to all educational propaganda, ALL KIDS ARE DIFFERENT and should be treated as such. Chloe and I have been doing the “nap” dance for a year now. I enforce the traditional “nap time” and most of the time, she cooperates. But, we travel, A LOT, and trying to keep to a regular schedule while traveling is stupid, and not realistic. So I try to be flexible. But, OMG, my child functions sooo much better when she has a regular nap. I struggle. Sometime her naps are inconvenient. I really wanted to go grocery shopping today, but I put her down for her “rest” at 1:00pm, and at 5:30pm, I had to wake her up. We went grocery shopping, and didn’t get home until 7:00. I kept her up until 9:00pm. But, I am not confident that she will wake up later than 5:30am or 6:00am. John and I have toyed with, for months now, getting an alarm clock for her that helps her tell what time is acceptable to get up. I found one, but it costs $40. I think its worth it. John, who gets up at 5:30am everyday, doesn’t think its a problem. What do you think?
Last weekend, a friend from the mom’s club invited us to go on a pirate cruise with her and her two little boys. As most of you know, I am a pirate fanatic, and that has transferred to Chloe. Oh, and I was that mother, following around my kid like the paparazzi. I felt really bad when I accidentally stepped in front of a grandmother taking pictures. I said, “Oops, I am so sorry!” and she said, “Yeah, I have A LOT of pictures of you.” I felt horrible! I was THAT mom. I sat down for the rest of cruise and made John take the pictures. Afterward, I talked to my friend and told her how bad I felt, because I really didn’t know I was being so obnoxious, and she said, “You weren’t bad, all those parents were just SITTING there. If they wanted better pictures, they could have gotten off their butts and taken them, too.” That made me feel better. Because, the only people who matter are the one you are going to see again, right? Sigh.
The gallery on WordPress gave me the finger, so I am trying something new. Here are the pictures from Chloe’s Fourth Birthday Party, thanks to Picasa Web. I believe, if you click on the album, it will link to the pictures from her birthday party. Enjoy!
Okay, so I know the video sucks, but they won’t let me tape the actual show. I may just have to buy the dvd of the show…we’ll see. We already pay for the lessons, the outfit and shoes, the costume WITH special tights, AND the professional photographer pictures. But, just watch this and tell me that there is ANYTHING cuter than a little girl in a tutu!
One of the best aspects of living in New Jersey is how easy it is for us to go to New York City. And, with that, our ability to access all of the culture that NYC has to offer. Now, would I consider 101 Dalmatians: The Musical a cultural experience? Probably not. But, it was Chloe’s first full length musical, and we saw it at the theater in Madison Square Gardens, so its was an excellent introduction. Chloe was squirmy during the performance, but she was better behaved than many of the kids around us. She really enjoyed it. Its always hard to tell at the time, because she is four (or almost four) and her patience level is that of a typical four year old. But she hasn’t stopped talking about it since, she wants to go see it again, and she has been watching the movie every day since we saw it. I think that’s a rave review in the eyes of a Preschooler!
