Bedtime ain't easy. Every household has its own tricks and traditions to end the day (sort of) smoothly though -- and for one Boston family, the ritual is both unconventional and supremely cute.
For the past week, Casey Carey-Brown, who blogs about raising her daughter Riley (nicknamed Roozle) at Life with Roozle and on HuffPost, has been sharing irresistible photos of the 4-and-a-half-year-old literally drawing herself to sleep.
It all started one night when Roozle just couldn't settle down for bed, Carey-Brown told HuffPost in an email, explaining, "She took a short nap at school and wasn't ready to sleep, but we really wanted to get her to stay in her room."
Instead of giving her a book to "read," Mom handed her two crayons and a clipboard with a blank sheet of paper on it. That night, Roozle fell asleep drawing and a bedtime routine was born.
Just as making paper pictures has become a bedtime habit for Roozle, capturing the scenes on camera has become one for mom.
"I've always gone in to check on her before I go to bed, but these days with a very active 4-year-old, I find that capturing a moment of sleeping Roozle helps me as a parent too," Carey-Brown said. "Time slows down, just for a moment, in the midst of all the chaos."
Though Roozle has some very good stuffed animal friends, she has taken to cuddling with her art supplies -- visions of snowmen and solstice trees presumably dancing in her head.
Of course, the situation requires slightly more cleanup than your typical "good night."
"When I check on her now, I'm not just tucking her in and turning off the light. I'm clearing her art space. I'm careful to place her work close to her bed so she can finish when she wakes up as she usually does."
#Goodnightroozle, and sweetest of dreams!
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