"Watch me tease Mumma" (Anna)

Not fair! The baby got my hopes up, then dashed them unfeelingly...

I picked her up from daycare this afternoon (Caroline is away for a couple of days, so it is just me and the munchkin). Emma enthusiastically told one of her teachers that she was going home, having dinner, and then going for a "nap" in her cot - something she rarely volunteers. I asked her if she was tired (the answer is almost always no, no matter how bleary-eyed she is). She said, "Yes. I tired. I need to sleep. Mumma sleep too?"

Then, having dinner on the lawn to enjoy the beginnings of summer, Emma kept putting her head down on the blanket and saying, "I go to sleep in the garden? I sleep on the towel." She was in a good mood, but very cuddly and tired. I even opted out of an invite with friends, on the grounds that she was running out of steam. I started to get that glimmer of hope that maybe bedtime wouldn't be a battle. Maybe toilet time could be achieved with one visit instead of three (or six)? Maybe she would bounce up only one or twice instead of 3 million? Maybe 10 books would actually be enough? As she started to rub her eyes, I was even so cocky that I started to mentally plan my evening!

And then. Hopes dashed. Perhaps she got a second wind, or perhaps she was toying with me all along. Possibly she was overtired and missing her Mummy (me too).

Bedtime took forever!

Not in a bad way, necessarily. I got lots of kisses and "I love yous". Just not quite what I had expected when she started to cue up the "I'm-tired-and-will-fall-asleep-the-minute-my-head-hits-the-pillow" track.

Not fair!