First Sleepover

We hit another milestone last week, after Isaac's monumental swimming event. Abigail had earned her first friend's sleepover here, after finally staying in her bed at night for a week solid. She actually surpassed her goal, and slept 13 nights in a row, without getting up any in the middle of the night. For those of you who are blissfully unaware of our nighttime struggles, I'll leave it at this: until last spring, when she was nearly 5 years old, Abigail had only slept through the night about a dozen times IN HER ENTIRE LIFE. To say we have had sleep issues puts it mildly. She has come a long way, baby, but still struggles some with this difficult task of staying put once she falls asleep. So, sweet Amy bribed her back in the winter to sleep for a certain number of nights, and she finally did it, and got to spend the night with Laney. We had regressed recently, so Amy came to our rescue again, and motivated her to get her act back together. She did, as hard as it was on all of us, and is now doing well again. The reward was that Laney came home with us from the Y Friday, and spent the night. It was a great experience, and they were so sweet together. These girls are precious friends, and we had so much fun with Laney here.

For those friends who have been rooting for Abigail (and all of us) for so long, I really appreciate your prayers! I believe God really answered them, because no amount of discipline, removal of privileges, tears on my part, or exhaustion, had accomplished anything for years. Thankfully, right about the time I found out I was pregnant last year, she broke the cycle of waking up numerous times a night, when I needed sleep most, and I will never take that for granted!!
Here is a photo recap of the awesome slumber party: