Gum and Other Things

For a really long time, we wondered if Summer had sleep problems. She would wake up multiple times in the night, call out to us or sometimes end up in our room, always saying she was thirsty, or had to go to the bathroom, or that she just wanted us to hold her. She would be wide awake, and when we'd put her back to bed, she'd just lay there with her eyes open--not even tired.

Well, with Pyper around, Summer's "sleep problem," and Claire always falling out of her toddler bed, we have gotten NO sleep.

I addressed Summer's problem with her pediatrician. We talked about it for a bit and she asked if Summer was the oldest . . . yes . . . is she head strong? . . . yes . . . does she sometimes not want to do things because you want her to? . . . yes. The pediatrician then told me about her own daughter--same situation. She said sometimes, if they are headstrong and stubborn, the only way you can get them to do something is if you can help them want to do it.

So we did this: I got a piece of paper and drew three boxes in it. Rhett picked up some "special stickers" on his way home from work, and we told Summer about her new sticker chart. We told her that if she stayed in bed that night and didn't get up for anything except to go potty, she could have a sticker for her sticker chart. Once she filled in her sticker chart, she would get a dollar to go to the store and buy her very own gum.

She stayed in bed.

The next morning, we made a HUGE deal about it. We were so excited. And she got to put a sticker on her sticker chart (and I put four more boxes on her sticker chart!). The Good News: Out of the past 8 nights, she has stayed in her bed 7 times. (Once, when dad was putting her down, he said he'd give her a dollar for staying in bed, but she said no, she wanted stickers for her sticker chart.)

Well, yesterday, she earned her dollar (actually two dollars once we got to the store and I realized gum was more than a dollar. Where have I been???) Anyway, we made it a special outing as her reward--just Mom and Summer. I gave her the money before we left and she stuck it in her pocket. On the way to Albertson's, she said, "Oh mom! We forgot a bag!" I then explained to her that when she bought the gum, the lady at the store would give us a bag to put it in. She was okay with that.

We got to the store and found the gum section. She browsed the different flavors, picked out Polar Ice (the "spicy" kind), and then we went to check out. The lady at the register was fantastic. She talked to Summer, asked her how old she was, how she earned her money (to which Summer replied proudly, "I stayed in my bed."), and told Summer good job and to keep up the good work. Summer was beaming. As we walked out of the store, Summer swung her bag of gum around. It was so cute I almost cried.

Since it was a little late when we ran to the store, I told her she had to save her gum until the morning. And this morning, she ate the whole package. She gave two pieces to me, one to Rhett, three to Claire, and she ate the rest. At one point, she stuck five pieces in her mouth! I let her enjoy it.

Other things going on around here . . .
Lots of lovin' with Pyper.

Pyper's growing:



And Face Painting with Dad:



And Summer's been learning: (We LOVE school!) I have no idea where Summer came up with this "Rono" thing. And Rachel--I see a slight resemblance. :)