Strawberry Fields Forever & Tea For Two

My Mom called us Wednesday evening to ask if Grace could come over by herself for a "surprise." So I dropped her off and about an hour later, Grace called and told me to come over. When I walked in the back yard, Grace asked me if I wanted some tea. Her and Grandma hand painted a tea set, then had a tea party. It was the prettiest set I've ever seen, and the best tea I ever tasted.

So while Grace was away, Bob & I were able to spend some alone time with Denny. All attention on our boy, (a rarity to say the least.) Denny's favorite thing to do is eat. He's never met a food he doesn't like. Right now, his favorite is strawberries. So we cut some up and let him go to town.

When it comes to eating, Heavy D has no self control. He sticks as much in his mouth as possible, and asks for "more, more" before he even gets a swallow in. When Grace was his age, she would put one piece of food in her mouth at a time, and savor every bite. Denny is the exact opposite, which is why I'm always prepared to do the hymlick when he's chowing down.

Can you get a bigger smile? The power of strawberries! It's a beautiful thing.

So on to the sleeping business. First off, thank you fellow mamas for the comments and emails filled with words of wisdom and encouragement. You girls rock! So here's how last night shook down:

Started off way too easy. Grace was in bed without a hitch by 8:30. I went to Target then sat my butt on the couch to watch Project Runway. At 10:15, she walked out of her room. I took her to her bed, sat in there for 5 minutes and walked out. 15 minutes later, the same thing happens. This process went on a few more times and Bob and I said it's time to lock the door. Well, I shouldn't say lock; we aren't locking her door, we just close it all the way, she doesn't know how to open it yet.

So we went with Kara's advice (my old college roomie, and mama of 3) and I sat in Grace's room for 5 minutes then closed the door. It's about 11:15 now, and Bob and I go upstairs to bed. By 12:30, Grace is still screaming, and we are laying in bed wide awake. We could hear every word Grace was yelling, hear every sob, and every bang on her door. She even turned her light on. This is heart breaking and Bob and I both feel sick to our stomachs. But we know we can't give in. She is safe in her room and once she falls asleep, she will sleep like a rock.

Grace finally stopped crying at 1:30. Bob and I went outside and peeked in her window to see where she laying. She was sleeping in her bed with her monkeys and blanket, so we felt okay and were able to get some sleep ourselves. This morning when she woke at 9:30, I told her how proud I was of her. I was afraid she was going to be P.O.'ed at me, but she is in a great mood. So we're going to stick with this for as long as it takes.