Just not tired

Tonight, after putting Elissa to bed, I've been back upstairs 3 times, in order to:

• Explain why Gerald and Sparkles won't fall out of her bed if she keeps them in the middle.
• Explain why no one will come in and steal Gerald while she's asleep.
• Assure her that I'll throw out any strangers that get in "if they have a key that's the same shape as our lock and sneak in".
• To explain that no one will steal her or Isaac during the night.
• To put some cream on her face that's "really, really sore".

To get my attention, Elissa has taken to sitting at the top of the stairs and tapping on the metal gate we have there. A couple of nights ago, because she was worried that she'd wake Isaac if she yelled out, I explained to her that she didn't have to make much noise. I explained that her floor is the roof of my office downstairs, and that I could hear her quite easily.

Elissa and I also successfully completed the our first multi night reading. It was Tashi which we completed over 3 or 4 nights. It was actually quite good, with enough text to keep the story interesting, but still some pictures to help her visualise things. In reality, we probably could have done the whole story in a single sitting, but I think the idea of continuing it over a few nights was appealing to Elissa too. We already have the second book in the series, although looking at what's available the compendiums might be a better idea, especially seeing as the kids have so few books to read...

Speaking of which, the pile of books beside Isaac's bed doesn't seemed to have changed all that much lately, although the Dr Seuss Shapes book is quite popular of late, and a relatively recent addition to our reading list, at least for me. I'll have to catalog the pile for posterity, but from memory I'd say his current favorites are:

• The Shape of me and other stuff
• How do Dinosaurs eat their food
• Not now Charlie
• Come on, Daisy, in which the eagle has become an Owl, surprise surprise.
• Kitten's adventure
• Sometimes I like to curl up in a ball

He's certainly pretty comfortable with his routine these days. He used to object rather loudly if I tried putting him into the cot while he could see a book we hadn't read that evening. These days, we say goodnight to whomever is in the last story, and as long as he's got his blanket and dummy, he's started to voluntarily lie down in my lap before I get the book down on the table.

He no longer complains when placed in bed (cot) and I leave the room, although he regularly rolls around, kicking and chatting to himself for quite some time before going to sleep. Occasionally I'll have to go back into him a find and replace his blanket, dummy, or occasionally one of the soft toys that he's tossed into the spot carefully calculated to be accessible only by lying on the floor and crawling a good way under the cot.

And the pictures? They're mostly to pretty up the blog somewhat. I don't think I've made any posts without pictures, and I'm under no illusions that people come here to specifically to read my ramblings. Tonight Elissa drew two pictures for me. The topmost one is "people in sleeping bags". She was very careful to point out that the little loops are "zips". The ear-like objects on top were added at the end, and are, I'm told, in fact, ears.

The second picture is a castle. It was somehow inspired by the tracing of the rubber insert from a non-spill cup, The yellow section is the tracing. Elissa drew the rest of the castle around it. I was instructed to draw the car in the dungeon/car park. The rest is Elissa's.