Blanket Time 101

When Nora was still a newborn, a trusted friend of mine asked me if I had started blanket time with Phoebe. She probably could sense that I was overwhelmed having a busy toddler and a newborn that was not quite on a consistent schedule, and she knew that blanket time would be a blessing to us. As I'm in the process of blanket training Nora (slowly but surely!), I wanted to document it here -- both for my own use later, and also for my sweet friends who have asked me about it.

When I am blanket training, my goal is this: to teach my child to remain on the blanket joyfully with one quiet toy and one book for thirty minutes. It can be done! I promise! If I can do it, anyone can do it. And blanket training produces beautiful fruit.

In order to blanket train, you need a heavy blanket and a baby. You also need a fun (but quiet) toy and a book, if you're going to do it just the way we do it. (But really...this is just the way we do it. This is not gospel.) Gather up a timer and something for you to do (I've been folding laundry while training Nora), and you're all set.


The first thing you need to do is put the blanket on the floor. You can use a heavier "fleecy" blanket or fold a big blanket to a reasonable size. Both of our girls have been trained to sit on a 2'x3' blanket. You just want to make sure that the blanket doesn't move around too much because trust me, your child is going to test the limits anyway and you don't need the added frustration a thin blanket will cause. Place your child on the blanket with their toy and book, and tell them to stay there. Set your timer (I suggest starting very small...five minutes is a long time, especially for younger babies) and get busy with your busy work.

But watch that baby with at least one eye, because I guarantee that baby is going to find out if you mean what you say. When your baby ventures off the blanket (be it a finger or their entire body), gently remind them that Mommy said to stay on the blanket. Follow up with your preferred method of discipline...I think you know what I mean here...let's just say that "time out" won't work in this situation. Your baby will probably cry, and you might want to as well. Just stay the course. Repeat this process until time is up. I've noticed that it's generally a little easier on the baby if you're not staring them down; fold your laundry, read your book, but don't leave the room. The most important thing here is being consistent: when baby wanders off the blanket, follow through by returning them to the blanket and disciplining them.

After you've had success at five minutes, start extending the amount of time spent on the blanket. Work your way up to thirty minutes. This may be a sloooooow process. I started training Nora (a little inconsistently) around her birthday, and we're still not up to thirty minutes. My goal is to have her there by the time her little sister arrives.

Blanket time has been such a HUGE blessing in our house. After we trained Phoebe, I noticed a huge difference in her ability to focus on a toy for longer than five seconds. She was also more responsive to other directions. But more than that, the boundaries of the blanket have brought us tremendous freedom. We can take her to meetings and expect her to sit quietly. She's a delight to bring along for doctor's visits. And I'm excited to see some of this same fruit in her sister.

Sleepaway Camp

When Mops and Pops offered to keep the girls for a few days, we jumped at the opportunity! We had no plans other than a few projects here and there, but we knew it would be great fun for all parties involved.

Michael and I enjoyed some quiet, restful time together. We were able to meet for lunch a few times, and we even ventured out on a date at something like 9:00 on Saturday night. Michael got to work slightly longer hours, and I got to tackle a few nesting projects in the house. I caught up on some much-needed sleep and was even able to have a leisurely date at Panera with a good friend. The time was such a treat!

We missed the girls terribly, but it was a delight to get to go back to the newlywed days -- if just for a few nights. And while Mom assures me that we were missed too, it appears that the girls had a blast spending time with their Mops and Pops. Highlights of the long weekend included lots of dressing up, ice cream with sprinkles, baking brownies, and sparkly princess crafts.

Phoebe wearing nearly the entire dress-up bucket

Working hard on our crafts

I'm so 'cited!

Lucky Charms and Clifford... this is the life!

And now the girls are back, sleeping sweetly in their little beds. We couldn't be more excited to have them home, nor could we be more thankful for the sweet time we had apart. What a blessing it is to have grandparents (on both sides!) that adore our babies!

She Works Hard for Her Money

Nora is now at the age where I can put her to work. (Start 'em young, I say!) She loves to do business with a rag...


...and will occasionally use it for its intended purpose! I'm hoping that she'll start copying her sister, who loves to wipe up sticky spots on the floor.

Nora is also all business when it comes to the dishwasher. (Her sister was, too!) As soon as I open it, either to load or unload it, she eagerly comes padding into the kitchen. If she can get away with it, she thinks pulling silverware out of the basket is a mighty fine occupation. In a few months, she'll actually be helpful...I think!

And of course, I've already mentioned how much Nora loves to help with laundry.

But Nora's new big girl chore is feeding Jake. Phoebe is now passing on the scoop to her younger, more eager sister, who thinks all things puppy are fantastic. Her scooping method still leaves much to be desired, but she's more than happy to carry the cup to Jake's bowl for delivery. And I never worry about spilled dog food, since Jake is always more than happy to vacuum it up as quickly as possible. (Nora does happen to be pretty particular about picking up the pieces that miss the bowl.) I can tell that Nora loves feeding Jake since I busted her feeding him lunch the other day; I'm sure Jake loved his extra meal!


And Nora's favorite part about feeding Jake? She totally sneaks tastes of his food when I'm not looking. Gross.

That's Okay, Mama

It was the third spill of the day, and it wasn't even noon. I was so frustrated, and so ready to just scream or cry or just completely lose it. But she looked up with those big brown eyes and chirped, "That's okay, Mama!"

She was right. I didn't want to admit it, but she was. The spill was small, and even if it hadn't been... well, she's two. Two-year-olds are clumsy and uncoordinated and they spill things. She didn't spill the milk on purpose, and she certainly wasn't trying to make me do more work. So I fought back the tears, kissed her head, and wiped up the spill, begging her to be careful with her cup.

I mentioned the spill to Michael later, when he came home to eat lunch. And he said that yes, it was indeed okay. Even though it was the third spill of the day. And then, he said something profound.

"Honey, it's as if God has that phrase recorded on her little lips so you'll hear it all day long."


And I do hear it all day long. Spills, accidents, potty mishaps... it's all okay, Mama. Although I want to scream, "No! It's not okay!", she's right. And my husband is right - it's something I do need to hear. Often. When things seem to be falling apart, they're not, really. When things feel out of control, they're not; He is in control.

And when Phoebe brightly remarks, "That's okay, Mama!" it's as if I can hear Him whisper, "I'm making good from this, child." And He is.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Between the hours of 1:00 and 3:00 (give or take), naptime reigns supreme. We're in the middle of Nora's transition to one nap, so those hours can be a little off... but generally, I can count on two hours where all little people are snoring. Only very extraordinary circumstances will cause us to skip naptime.

Of the two girls, Phoebe is easily the better napper. (I think Nora is afraid she's going to miss out on some action if she naps!) She can sleep through pretty much anything: vacuums, barking dogs, even Mommy coming in and out of her room. All she requires is Lamby, and she'll sleep just about anywhere. I am so thankful for her sleep habits; they are a consistent blessing to this tired Mommy.


But for six days straight (yes, I'm counting) Phoebe has experienced "night terrors" during her nap. She cries out - often hysterical, to the point of almost throwing up - with her eyes open and glassy. She reaches for things that aren't there, semi-conscious. And although she can answer simple questions, she's not fully aware of her surroundings. It usually takes around ten minutes to get her to snap out of these episodes, and then she'll go right back to sleep. The pediatrician ruled out some possible causes, and we're clueless as to what's causing these.

Today was the first day Phoebe mentioned her bad dreams. As I tucked her in for her nap, she asked to sleep elsewhere; she feared that the monsters could get her on both sides of the bed. We prayed and talked about the dream briefly, but she was ready to sleep. An hour and fifteen minutes later, she was crying.

I'm at a loss as to why she's suffering so. And yet, her suffering - as small as it may be - is ordained for His glory. My heart aches for her in this season of bad dreams, and I pray that it will end quickly.

In this time where so many are suffering greatly, may we all be encouraged...

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Snow Day

I thought it was hee-larious when the schools around here decided to cancel school at the threat of snow the next day. They predicted close to an inch, but really... all we got was a few flurries. When it finally did start snowing (around 10:30 in the morning), I bundled the girls up for our requisite "snow day" pictures.

twirling in the snow...

can I just stay here on the porch?

Phoebe was a little disappointed that we didn't get to make snowballs, but it was still fun to see it snow. As usual, Nora was just happy to be there... and VERY happy to be outside!

Aliens for Breakfast

Two mornings a week, I brave the cold and the early morning traffic to receive physical therapy before Michael goes to work. I leave before the girls wake up and am home by a few minutes after nine; it's a good fit for our schedule, especially because I expected these appointments to be tremendously inconvenient.

Michael has the privilege of handling breakfast for our hungry little munchkins on these days, which is really nothing out of the ordinary, since Michael declared himself Mr. Breakfast when we first got married. But really, it's still a lot to juggle solo while the kids are so small. (Yes, I know it's going to get even crazier in the next couple of months...)

But one morning last week, Michael decided to up the fun factor for breakfast. The girls got to eat aliens for breakfast. Their morning banana (which is normally consumed while waiting for the rest of breakfast to hurry its way onto the table) was transformed into a space creature with raisin eyes, M&M ears, and marshmallow mouth. Y'all, Michael is so cool.

(alien missing its marshmallow mouth)

I'm consistently delighted by the ways we parent differently. For me, it's so hard to think beyond our normal, everyday routine; I have to plan and be intentional with things that are "extra" fun. Michael pretty much oozes fun out of all of his pores and comes up with all kinds of creative play. It's really so much fun to see how God put us together as teammates in parenting. I can pretty much guarantee that if it was up to me, we'd never have something as fun as aliens for breakfast... I'm so glad that our Littles get something other than oatmeal every once in a while! (They did, by the way, eat bagels after the aliens... Daddy's good about making sure they have a well-rounded meal!)