Dear Mom, From Your Four Year Old Juna

Dear Mom,

You know that I love you soooo much,
I love you all the way to the moon,
Even though you are always telling me
things that I already know.

 You know that I love you because
I can't stop giving you big bear hugs
many many times a day,
Even though you are always wrong
and I always have to correct you
with my vast knowledge of all things.

 You know I love you because
I want to be with you all the time,
Even though I love spending time
with others, I always let you know
that you are my first choice,
even when we don't get along.

You know I love you because
you are my best friend
and I want to share everything with you,
Even though you sometimes do things
that I do not like, like saying "no"
when I want ice cream.

You know how much I love you when
I want to snuggle with you
and always be close to you,
Even though sometimes you hug me too hard
or pull my hair by accident.

I love you so much that
I tell you that I want to be with you
even when I am a grown-up,
even when I have kids myself,
because even though you are not perfect,
you are my mother, and I love you
just the way you are.

Love,
Your four year old Juna

No More Napping

August 21
Juna did not nap today. We are getting ready for early bedtime and she says, "I hope I can take a nap this year."

August 27
No more napping happening here. Just when I thought I'd get a little more time with preschool, I'll actually have less... at least awake productive hours. She is going to sleep around 7:30-8, but I am so exhausted from the long day with her that I don't want to do anything. I guess once we get used to this new schedule, I'll start having more energy in the evening. Anyway, I need to start finding some regular afternoon activities to keep us going. This new schedule also means she'll have a lot less time with daddy They will have to make up for it on the weekends. It also means an end for our late afternoon outings, since we have to be home and starting our bedtime routine by 6:30. Boy, does this change things. And I fought it. But it's been 3 weeks since she started missing naps... and now we've had a run of 5 days. It is super exhausting to try to put her down for nap and then not have one... so I'm giving up.

August 30
On the 7th day, I went to take a nap while Juna watched TV.  I never napped with her before, now that she's not napping, I have to lay down for 15 minutes at her naptime.  She's been watching more TV since the no-napping began.  I tried a quiet time, which lasted 5 minutes, then she ran out of her room crying because she was scared.  Then we did another 5 minutes with her on the couch.  So, I told her she could play, watch TV, or lay with me, if she wanted to nurse... the one advantage of not napping is cutting out a nursing, but she still wants to nurse at naptime... so after her coming in and out a dozen times with various requests, she decided to lay with me.  It took a little while but we both fell asleep for almost 2 hours.