Mark's Blog

Memo to all family and friends

To: All family members and friends.
Re: Plans, going out, doing stuff.

- As you all well know, we have a very young toddler at home.
- Our toddler is a happy, well-adjusted kid.
- One of our secrets is she is on a very solid schedule, taking 2 naps a day (currently).

So:
- We aren't being rude if we don't see you during the week at night. Her nap schedule and normal routine makes it difficult to go out of the house and still stick to her sleep schedule.
- Don't be surprised if we don't go out as often as we used to - we love going out and seeing everyone, but dragging a pile of baby gear and the baby herself is a daunting task, especially if you are a long distance away.
- We don't mind going out singly (leaving the other home with baby), but we try not to stick the other person with too many of those days.
- Family get-togethers are fun, but are also usually exhausting, both for us and for her - she gets pretty wired in new environments, and usually crashes at some point (after we leave, of course!)
- If we decline an invite, it usually just means we think it will impact her schedule too much - maybe it is too long of a day, or maybe there isn't a place for her to take a nap while she is there.
- Declining an invite could also mean it will be impacting something else, like bath night, that is important (who wants a stinky baby?)
- When she misses a nap, she is a bear. Period. So, we avoid missing naps like the plague. Remember - you don't have to deal with her later - we do! ;-)