Abby is 3!

Yesterday, Abby turned 3. It's so hard to believe that already three years have passed since I wobbled into Northside Hospital to have her. Three years have passed since I was fighting nurses for a taste of jello post-op. And three years have passed since she stole a piece of my heart.

Since her birthday fell on Mother's Day this year, we decided to have her party at the house on Saturday so her party wouldn't interrupt anybody's Mother's Day plans. The whole family was here as well as her best friend, Katelynn, and her buddy, Mikey. We conversed and the kids played while people chowed on the food. On the menu was White Trash dip (don't knock it until you try it), PB & J sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadilla wedges, a veggie tray, and fruit salad. The food quantity was perfect because only crumbs were left. She opened her presents next and made off with a bunch of cool new gadgets and gizmos. After presents, we served cake. She was thrilled to have all eyes on her as everyone sang Happy Birthday accompanied by Mikayla playing the flute.

Later on, Katelynn rejoined us for a sleepover---Abby's first ever attempt at a slumber party. I know these girls are a bit young for this, but there is a very good reason we did this. Katelynn's parents, Jen and Taylor, don't have any local family that can relieve them for a night so that they can go out on the town without worrying about being home by a certain time or paying a sitter. Let's say that they did stay out late and pay a sitter, then they would have to be worried about what time Katelynn would decide to awake in the morning. Given Sunday was Abby's actual birthday AND Mother's Day AND Jen's birthday to boot, we decided to do this for Abby and Katelynn and the Taylors.

Unfortunately, the sleepover did not go as planned. Everything was fine...until bedtime. Stefan and I went to lay Katelynn and Abby down because they were both very sleepy. We realized shortly into this venture that Katelynn was missing Pink--her Tags blankey. Stefan went to her house to retrieve the trusted companion, but returned with an imposter. He returned with Blue--Pink's cousin, but not Pink. Besides the realization that Pink was nowhere to be found, we also realized that there was no way that Abby would ever go to sleep knowing that Katelynn was in the room with her so I took Katelynn to our room while Stefan remained with Abby. The plan was to get them to fall asleep separately and then move Katelynn back to Abby's room for the night. It did not work out that way.

Katelynn, who had been properly prepped by her mommy to know that she was going to be staying the night away, did not realize what this entailed until it was time for lights out. She refused to go to sleep. She did not fuss or cause a big ruckus...she just refused to fall asleep and she wanted to be comforted...not by just anyone...but by me (since mommy wasn't there). By comforted, I mean that she required constant contact which meant that (in all reality) I would not be able to move. It wasn't so bad until I realized that this would continue all night. This is a claustrophobic's nightmare!

Since Lexi was still awake, I figured I'd ask Katelynn if she wanted to sleep with Lexi. She said yes so I gathered all of her comfort items (except for Pink, of course) and made her a bed in Lexi's room. All looked good. She seemed happy and Lexi was being quite the source of comfort...until the moment I turned the lights out and attempted my exit. I guess Katelynn again realized that she would be staying with us and freaked. So, I returned to our room with Katelynn and her armload of comfort items (except Pink) to once again attempt to get her to go to sleep.

Finally, there came a point when she was visibly tired beyond belief. I'd ask her, "Katelynn, aren't you sleepy?" She'd quietly (and pathetically) nod.

"So why don't you let yourself fall asleep?" I'd ask. Fear would flood her eyes as though the world would cease to exist if she allowed her eyes to close as she would shake her head emphatically 'no'.


At this point, we realized that we were fighting a losing battle. Her parents called to check in on their way home from their date to the ballet and, when we told them what was going on, they agreed that Katelynn needed to go home to her own bed.

Oh well, it was worth a try. We'll definitely try again soon...only next time we'll make sure we have Pink who, by the way, was on the floor of her mommy's car the entire time.