Camping

I had to wake the kids from their naps yesterday afternoon so the three of us could head north for Cooper's birthday party. After major traffic, we arrived at Monkey Joe's and Eli went to town. He ran around with Coop and Coop's dad for about twenty minutes while I stayed with Maddux in a smaller 'jump castle'. She was a little unsure of standing up on the unsteady ground, but she loved crawling through the tunnels and hanging out with Finley. After the party and dinner, we came home and Lehr told Eli that the guys were sleeping in the tent. Eli was ultra-excited. Lehr decided to set the tent up in Eli's room in case things didn't go well and Eli had to go back to his crib. (This kid tends to like routine and he typically does not like to sleep anywhere but HIS bed. I tried to get him to nap in my bed with me one day and after ten minutes of tossing back and forth he asked me, "I sleep in my crib now, Mommy?") So Eli helped Lehr and I get the tent all ready, including blankets for padding and Eli's special blanket and pillow for comfort. Then Lehr stayed in the tent with him for about fifteen minutes to acclimate him before he left for Eli to fall asleep. (It was only 8PM and Lehr didn't feel like going to bed just yet.) Lehr came back into the tent at 11 and Eli was sound asleep. He even slept until close to 9AM this morning, which is typical, so it appears the tent-dwelling did not change his sleep pattern at all. This is good news as we want to move him to a real bed soon (he is 3 now, after all), but I'm SO afraid of it impacting his 12-hour slumbers which he so desperately needs.