Maddy's New Room

As we prepare for the arrival of our new baby, we have recently moved Maddy to her new room. It is pretty bare right now, with only 2 things… her bed and a bookshelf. But, it’s not just any bookshelf… it is a beautifully handcrafted Maple bookshelf that her dad and grandpa made together this winter!! Maddy loves the new bookshelf.... and she loves having all of her books in her room. Maybe a little too much!!!
Maddy typically takes 1-2 hour nap in the afternoon. (Both Maddy and mom both need this time to re-cooperate!) Well, this week Maddy skipped her nap 2 days in a row. I would hear her taking her books off the bookshelf, turning pages, and "reading" out loud. I let her stay in her room, so she could have some down time but she never took a nap. Both days I found most of the books off the shelf at the end of her "nap" time. Well, it was time for me to take some action!
So, yesterday I put her down for her nap and told her "NO BOOKS" and that she had to stay in her bed. I knew she would test the new limits... so I was determined to stay by her door until she understood who was the boss!:) Well, for the first 5 minutes she stayed in her bed... but then I heard her take a book off the bookshelf. I quickly opened the door to tell her it was time to sleep and before I could say anything this is what I saw: Maddy scurry her little legs to the bed and leaping in. When she noticed she still had a book in her hand, she threw the book into the bookshelf and then she laid her head down in bed and closed her eyes (to pretend she was sleeping).

I couldn't believe it. She’s 18 months and she is already sneaky!!! I wonder where she learns these things? I had to do this 2 more times before she finally took her 2-hour nap! The intervention worked, because I have put her down several days in a row and she's taking naps again!:) YEAH!!