creepy blackmail

for the most part, leah no longer takes naps.  which is a blessing and a curse, as moms-who-have children-who-have-given-up-napping know what i mean.


i have now moved her as smoothly as i can into "quiet times," though she's pretty unaware of this.  she still thinks she's supposed to be laying down sleeping, and we always start off this way, with me tucking her into bed, kissing her, and telling her i'll see her when she wakes up.  only to hear her minutes later, up and playing with her toys.  i think she believes she's being ultra-sneaky, and that i have no idea that she's up.  i let her believe this because she stays quiet, and in her room, playing contently.  


a couple of weeks ago, i was surprised when i walked past her room to not only see that she was asleep, but asleep with her hippo tucked under her shirt.  so i took a picture.

there could seriously be an entire blog post dedicated to the crazy ways ben and i have found this lady asleep--i love it because i get a glimpse into her vivid imagination.


but then, i noticed something more odd than her stuffed hippo under her shirt....let's get a closer look, shall we?

and i realized, this is my moment.  


i'm guessing that in years to come, leah is probably going to pull all sorts of attitude with me.  and i now have a really great blackmail picture to hopefully win several of those moments when she threatens to walk out of the house with a skirt shorter than it should be, or other exciting soon-to-be teenage daughter moments i anticipate are on their way.  cut to me pulling out this un-flattering picture of my lovely girl with her creepy open eyes while she slept, threatening to publish it on the 2025 hologram-version of facebook for all of her friends to see.  


it was another moment where i gave myself a pat on the back for being such a good mom.  my kids are awfully lucky.