Friday 3 February 2012

Sibling Sleepover

Lily has been obsessed with the idea of sleepovers lately, asking most of the people she knows if they want to have a sleepover at her house! (Yes, this can be a little awkward at times). Most of her little buddies aren't quite up to sleepovers yet, so nothing has quite worked out so far. Yesterday she had a brainwave and started begging to have a sleepover with her little brother, so I thought - why not give it a shot! Her squeal of excitement lasted about 10 minutes, I think. Love an opportunity for some sweet sibling bonding time and a happy childhood memory!

I pre-empted the inevitable night time festivities by letting her know if it got too noisy for too long, she would need to go back to her room to sleep.

Yes Mummy, but please can we have a little giggle and a chat?

Of course you can, sweet girl!


Mark and I made a game plan that we would just give it a try and see how things went, happy to let them have some fun for a while and then separate them if things didn't naturally calm down (as we didn't want to turn a fun sibling memory into a stern disciplinary event!). Setting up her little bed, they were both already in fits of hysterical giggles and something told us it wasn't winding down anytime soon! Oh, I just love their sweet connection, they simply love to laugh and play together and seem to have their own secret communication system at times!


Passing Eli's horse back and forth was a favoured activity!
As Mark and I settled into our nightly routine we had to regularly pause the TV to smile at each other as we listened to the laughing, singing, chatting (often consisting of Lily saying funny words and Eli parroting) going on. A brother and sister laughing and loving and making memories... bliss! Of course we made a couple of visits to calm things down a notch, in the required parental fashion! **pause to recollect my own childhood memories of being told during sleepovers to quiet down... isn't it so freaky when that happens??! How is that now I am a parent?!?! Anyhoo...**

They have shared a room plenty of times but usually Eli has been sleeping in his Kinderkot (a little pop up tent portable cot which we loooove). Because the sides are covered, when they have shared a room while travelling, they can chat but not see each other. Eli having full view of Lily right by his cot in his own room was a whole different ballgame!

By 9.30pm, Eli was still jumping like a giddy little pogo-stick in his cot and we decided it was time to pull the plug on this experiment lest they both be ridiculously over tired the next day. I think he just could not understand what was happening and to have Lily in his room surely meant it was time to party like it was 1999?! (Yes, he is a Prince fan).

Poor Lily was devastated of course, and she had really done her best to implore her hyped-up little brother to 'go to sleep, little Buddy Boy, it's sleepy time now' - to no avail. As we tucked her tearful little self back into her own bed, we assured her we would try again another night when he was a bit older. Bless her little heart.

So, in the mean time - anyone want to come have a sleep over with a three year old??




11 comments:

  1. I love this because my kids would sleep in each other's rooms on the weekends and call it a "sleepover" all the time. It's great to see siblings who love being together! I bet when your little ones get a little older they will have a blast!

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    1. oh thats so cute Nicole, love the idea that they might be doing it regularly in the future like your kids!

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  2. Oh what a darling story... I love coming to your blog for your stories. Everything you said resonated with me, except my boys have a sleep over every night (they share a room, all 3 boys at one stage!) Your children are beautiful, what a happy memory for you. :-)

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    1. wow Katie, thanks for your kind words! well done on your boys room sharing, i guess they are a bit more used to it than my 2, so perhaps not so much partying every night?!

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  3. What a gorgeous story!
    I love that you all gave it a try but like you said 9.30pm is probably pushing it a bit too far ;)
    "Giggles and a chat" - Lily is just priceless!
    So great that you are documenting all these little adventures with your two Kate :)

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    1. thanks amber - yes the blog is the modern day baby book isnt it? so happy they are being recorded for the kids too one day!! hey - if Finn ever wants to have a sleepover, lily would be THRILLED :)

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  4. This was just too sweet!
    Poor Lily! Someone will have to lend you a child for the night for a sleepover. lol :)

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    1. heehee, yes, perhaps they hire them out somewhere??

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    2. I would hope not, but you really never know! lol

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  5. Me and my brother are 13 and 15 and we still do that all the time,of course we usualy stay up all night watching tv and talking on a friday night and then make chocolate chip pancakes the next morning.All three of us always have a sleepover on christmas eve me,my brothe rand my sister who is 17

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  6. me and my siblings love to do that sort of thing on christmas eve it is so fun

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