Nice try...

On Ellie's sleep chart she has one box left. One more sticker to earn, by going to bed peacefully and staying in bed, until she gets the coveted Rapunzel doll with flowers in her hair. Just one box left.

We made a big deal of it yesterday.

Last night she stayed up a little late to watch fireworks on TV from Washington DC. But she went to bed without incident.

I woke up about 4am to find her in our bed. I'm not sure when she came in, but there she was. At 5:45 she started tossing and turning and waking up. I said to her, its still night time, not time to wake up. If you want to wake up you can go play in your room. She grabbed her red blanket and left our bed. I assumed to go play in her room.

When I got up at 6:15am all the lights were on in her room. However, she was sound asleep in her bed. She even had the covers over her. I got ready and let her sleep.

At 7:00 she was still asleep and I went in to wake her up. She wanted nothing to do with getting up and asked to sleep more. I told her 10 more minutes and then we had to get up.

At 7:10 I went back in, she had falled back asleep and tried to wake her up. She was groggy and tired and not wanting anything to do with it. Basically, it was like waking myself up. She didn't want to get dressed. She didn't want to eat. She didn't want to leave her bed. She declared she didn't want to go to school and I should just go to work, she could play quietly in her room till Daddy got home.

After she did wake up and get dressed she declared that because she stayed in her bed all night she gets to put a sticker in the last box on her chart. I told her that she didn't, that she slept in my bed. She looked at me, without smiling and said, "but you woke me up in my bed. I slept in my bed all night, I get a sticker". Nice try.

Then began the battle.

She tried to convince me she deserved a sticker. I tried to convince her to put on sunscreen. I won.

But not without some crying, throwing of toys at me, and kicking walls. Hence, no pictures. I didn't stay at school long enough to take any.

Maybe tonight she can earn her last sticker.