July 4, 2011

  • Last night we ended up getting the kids to bed pretty late.  Madeleine was still up when the fireworks from the end of the baseball game started, so I called her to Grant's room, where we could look at them from the window.  She didn't say anything about them for a moment, and then I asked her what she thought.  She said they were "amazing!"  Then she was hopping up and down on the bed and said she did that because she was so excited.  Then, suddenly, I noticed she was covering her ears with her hands.  I asked if the fireworks were too loud and if we needed to close the window.  She said no, it was that she was "afraid of ten o'clock" -- and indeed, it was 10:00 on the digital clock.  (Sometimes she covers her ears if she's afraid, even if it's not a noise thing.)  Then she started crying and wailing and wanting to go to bed.  I kept trying to get her to watch the fireworks, because they had made her happy, but suddenly she didn't like them.  I said the grand finale was almost there, but she was just screaming.  (Brian came into the room just now and said, "That was quite the response from Madeleine last night.  I've never seen ecstasy turn into terror so quickly.")

    So.  I insisted upon naps for everyone this afternoon.  Madeleine took a nap by herself in the crib.  Maybe she'll want to sleep there all the time now?  Have her own little cuddly bed instead of having to share with Daddy? 

    And now it's time to go to Al's and Ellen's for dinner, and then off to see fireworks.  Thankfully there won't be any digital clocks announcing that it's ten o'clock outside on my grandma's deck.