Daddy's Night Routine

I always monopolize the blog talking about me and Roxanne, but I wanted to take a minute to share the cuteness that is Justin putting Roxanne to bed. Justin puts her to bed every night, since we've been trying to implement suggestions from the book The No Cry Sleep Solution which include not nursing baby to sleep and spending alone time with Daddy. They have a little routine (also part of the plan) that is usually followed very closely. It starts with a diaper change, which is usually pretty uneventful, but occasionally exciting when Roxanne decides to peepee in the open air. She gets her pajamas on, but she's not always agreeable for that. It's funny to notice the little differences between me and Justin and how we interact with Roxanne. Even down to the fact that we change her clothes differently. I pull shirts over her head and then pull her arms through one sleeve after the other. Justin bunches up her shirt sleeves from the cuff to the shoulder seam, so that her hand instantly passes through the sleeve and there is less risk of her thumb getting stuck in the sleeve on the way out. He does the same thing with her pants. Is that a silly thing to point out?

The next part of the routine is story time. They have several books that they choose between, and you'd have to ask Justin what her favorite book is. She is sometimes rowdy during this step, and instead of sitting quietly and listening to the story, she slaps the pages and does her best to rip the book out of her daddy's hands. She squeals and squawks, too. She definitely likes books, but some days are better than others...

Next it's time to turn out the lights. I can hear this part from our bedroom across the hall. Roxanne's room has one of those old light switches that are really heavy and make a loud pop when you flip them. Justin is teaching Roxanne to flip it by herself, so he helps her do it with her fingers and lets her try it on her own. In either situation, Roxanne thinks it's hilarious. Justin says he can't figure out why, but she really does think it's funny to flip that switch. I just hear *pop*giggle*pop-pop*giggle*pop*giggle* "you almost got it that time!" I think the flip gets switched roughly ten times per night.

It sounds like fun from where I sit. Then comes rocking in the glider. Justin doesn't sing to Roxanne since he swears he can't ever remember the words to any songs ever. I believe him. And she doesn't seem to mind. She just nestles down into her Daddy's chest and snuggles. Once she is in the lightest stage of being asleep, Justin puts her into her crib and lays a blanket over her bottom half. We leave the fan on in the bathroom for as long as possible, since it helps drown out the occasional sound of our stupid neighbor's motorcycle. Someday I would love to get her a noise machine, but in the meantime the bathroom fan works pretty well.

OK, sorry for yet another sappy post, but I just wanted to get that down for Roxanne before she's a big girl and her little routine changes. And give some of you an idea of what a wonderful daddy Roxanne has. They are really cute together.