Go Sleepy

We had such a big day today.  After church, we went to our neighbor's house for dinner.  They have a great big St Bernard mix dog which Serena loved!  He's black & white; and when she saw him, she pointed and said, "Cow!"  ;D

We didn't get home till mid-afternoon and Serena was so worn out when I laid her down for a nap.  I finally went in to wake her up at 5 and took advantage of the opportunity to snap the above picture!

We always read two books in the rocking chair before she 'goes sleepy' (which is what we call 'going to bed').  After that, I carry her to the crib and pretend to drop her in, letting her 'bounce' a few times.  She thinks it's a lot of fun.  I often narrate it by saying that I'm going to lay her down SO carefully, and then make a big deal of it like I 'accidentally' dropped her.  Sometimes, as soon as we stand up from the chair to walk to the crib, she starts saying, "Careful!" which is her way of reminding me to drop her, haha!  Once she's in her bed, she lays down with her books hugged to her chest.  Then, I cover her up (all the way) and exclaim over how I 'lost' Serena!  She starts giggling, so then I pull the covers down under her chin.  Then, she gets serious and says, "Book!  Book!"  I 'realize' that her books are covered up now, so then I pull the covers back as she giggles some more and brings the books out on top of the covers.  Our final ritual is to have Bret say goodnight to her.  I make his hands do the signs for "Go sleepy" and "I love you" and Serena likes that a lot.  <3