December 3

After I finished writing yesterday's blog post, Lily went on to have an evening of epic sleeplessness. Instead of getting frustrated, I documented it. It was a good strategy - once. I hope I don't have to use this strategy again soon, but it appears that my only other option is Chris wearing Lily in the Ergo all evening. 

He's been doing that for the past two hours.

But last night looked like this:

cooing

chewing her hands

blowing raspberries

Because I know everyone wants to be reminded what it's like to be up with a cheerful, definitely not sleepy child, I thoughtfully took some video, too.

It went on like that for nearly two hours before the girl finally slept. 

Clearly I fail at parenting, because Lily is my third child and I still just don't get the sleep thing. It's hard to be an intentional parent when all you really want to do is sleep.

Of course, the girl was so cheerful today that you'd think last night never happened. But it did. Here she's playing with a blanket I made when Caleb was a baby.

When Caleb and Daisy woke up from their afternoon naps, I got the wild idea to take advantage of the lovely light and take Christmas card photos.

It did not go well, and I don't think I ended up with any usable photos. Oh, well.

This boy was eager to have a photo shoot. He chose his outfit, and insisted on the Santa hat.

Even Lily was keen to cooperate. This photo would have been great for our Christmas card, if only a certain little stinker had been willing to cooperate and get in the shot. But Daisy is Daisy, and we love her for her stubbornness, too, right?

Seriously. How precious is this? Just missing a certain middle child...

Where is Daisy?

There. 

Ha! I can't help but laugh at Caleb sweetly cooperating, Lily not minding things, and Daisy scowling on the sidelines in the pink footless tights she insisted on wearing.

Ha! My intent was there; it's just my subjects that didn't work out. Next time I attempt this, I'll have a helper.

Another funny outtake. Caleb has learned about "thumbs up/thumbs down" at school, and brought that knowledge home to Daisy. Clearly she hasn't quite grasped the concept, because she's giving me a thumbs up and a stink face at the same time. I love it!

Aren't they sweet? This one was almost a keeper, if not for the fact that Lily was upright at one point and had slowly slid down until she was a mushy lump. 

And then I gave up. Called it quits. Sent Caleb off to change back into normal clothes.

And this happened:

She put a bow in her hair (like I had wanted her to originally) and asked me to take her picture. This girl makes me crazy, but the sweetness and earnestness in that little face makes me want to cry. I hope we can find a way to curb her willfulness without crushing her spirit!

Sweet Daisy. You are a stinker, and I love you.