Bedtime Routine

My favorite part of the day is when all three of us come together at the end of the crazy day to do Nathan's bedtime routine.  It is the part of my day where I feel content, at peace, warm and happy.  Some nights we give Nate a bath.  Every night I nurse him and get him into comfy PJ's.  Then we all read books together.  Some of our favorite books include Sleepyhead, Hungry Caterpillar, The Barnyard Dance, Good Night Seattle, Goodnight Moon, Polar Bear What Do You Hear and Brown Bear What Do You See.  James has the best voices for reading books and always makes me laugh.

Then we put Nate in his sleep sack and we sing 2 songs to him.  We rotate through You Are My Sunshine, Twinkle Twinkle, Row Your Boat, Jesus Loves Me, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Over the Rainbow, Silent Night, etc.  Then we say a prayer, turn on Nathan's sound machine and say goodnight.  Most of the time he fusses a little and then is off in dreamland.  Some nights it's a little tougher for him to fall asleep.  Regardless of how hectic my day has been or how stressed I feel, the bedtime routine has become the moment during the day when I feel balanced and am reminded of all my blessings and what's really important.  I'm writing about this because I want to record and remember these special moments--the every day moments that I don't want to take for granted.

Nate loves bath time!

Reading one of our favorites--Hungry Caterpillar