Aidan & Kiana: Bunk Beds

We were all back together this week, and it was good. It's really amazing what a difference it is between when Daddy is here and when he is gone - even with Grandma and Grandpa Ruane backup! I have been thinking about a hysterical post that my friend Julia sent me a while back about motherhood's sleep deprivation: I laughed and laughed when I saw it, and helped me laugh at the craziness of parenting, as well as reminding me of many of my new mom friends who complained of playing "midnight chicken" with their partners - where they would always be the one who got up with the baby, when both parents were trying their hardest to stay asleep through never-ending baby interruptions. Although I laughed about it, it also made me feel pensive because I did not completely relate: in the post, the exhausted mom completely worn out, in large part because *both* of her kids (a baby and a 4 year old) (as well as her cats!) target *her* (for nursing and comfort) all night long. However, in our house, that is *not* how it works: Instead, our routine is for me to deal with Kiana (primarily nursing her, and getting up for midnight parties when necessary), while Alex deals with Aidan (getting him up for potty breaks and putting him back to bed if he comes in because he has a bad dream). Depending on his level of sleep deprivation, Alex also sometimes gets up with Kiana is midnight partying (which she is now doing about once a week, which is a repercussion of us pushing her towards one nap per day). The point is that, at night time, we are BOTH on duty. This is a big part of why it is so difficult for me when Alex goes on business trips: I get both kids at night (two of which are greater than the sum of the individual parts, since they then wake *each other* up!!!), and am way more exhausted during the day! Looking at this funny post has made me reflect recently about how grateful I am that Alex is such a good partner, and such a good dad: although business trips are tough, I am glad that the reason they are is that they are such a difference from the regular day to day. :)

This weekend we went to Johnny and Ollie's birthday party on Saturday (4 and 2 years old), which was a lot of fun. We have known them since Johnny was just a few weeks old! We are grateful for such good friends.

Beforehand, however, we did something very exciting: Daddy and Aidan put together bunk beds! We got rid of Kiana's crib last week, and put a single/twin mattress for her on the floor in our room. Saturday we set up Aidan on the top of the bunk beds, and we are now set up to transition both of them into his room (at least eventually)! It's very exciting. (Saturday night was tough for Daddy, with Aidan getting up seemingly every hour, but at least he didn't fall out of bed! Sunday night he only got up once or twice, so that was a huge improvement. Things have to get easier with time!)

Sunday it rained ALL DAY LONG, and that was tough, especially since Aidan was exhausted after such a wakeful night. We at least had a delicious breakfast (chocolate chip blueberry pancakes), and eventually Daddy took the kids downtown to Kidding Around, the "best toystore in New York City". The kids had a blast, and were thrilled to have garlic bread and then brownies at dinner (I was thrilled with the terriaki salmon and stirfry veggies!).