Switching beds and chairs

So parenting is an art... an art where all the rules change every day or so.

We had all three girls' car seats in the back of our car, and Joanna was in the middle. It really got difficult because Naomi would keep bugging Joanna and maybe even hurting her (or at least keeping her awake). We know Naomi's little heart wasn't being malicious... just playful.

But still... something had to be done. So when it was time to upgrade Joanna to the next carseat up, Katie moved Joanna to the right side and Eve to the middle. So now Eve is Joanna's protector. Naomi occasionally reaches over Eve to play with Joanna, but Eve usually tries to stop her, and... the bottom line is that our car trips are filled with less of Joanna crying and us reaching back to stop Naomi. Ahh. So much better!

Likewise, Naomi was/is at the age where she won't stay in her bed when we put her down at night. She constantly turned on the light, opened the door, snuck out to go play, check in on us, tell us something random, or go sleep on a couch or floor instead. Eve went through this too (only worse because she went on rampages eating vitamins and ripping up stamps). So with Eve we eventually put a child lock on the inside of the door.

But we didn't really want to do that again (especially because Naomi's good about going potty). So, Eve was on the top bunk bed and Naomi was on the bottom. We switched them so that Eve is now on the bottom and Naomi on the top. This makes it harder for Naomi to get out of bed and easier for Eve to stop her, come get us when Naomi's out, or to simply turn the light back off if Naomi turns it on.

So far, things have been a LOT easier! Also, because Eve is so much more peaceful and obedient now, we "see the light" with Naomi and have faith that we can "break her" too. =^)

Parenting is being more stubborn than your children.

- Ed