One of the ways I try to get the kids to calm down at night is to have them get cozy. This really works best with Cecilia.

The idea is simple. I tell her to get cozy for the story. Getting cozy means warm, comfortable, and laying down. Sometimes it means warm or footie jammies. The blanket and laying down are the real keys here. The blanket helps to limit movement and fidgeting. Laying down is obviously to help relax.

Once we’ve achieved cozy we can read the story. Being quiet to pay attention is important here. This is, of course, to help in the whole falling asleep thing.

Problem is, with her it doesn’t matter. That girl can go to bed at 7:30 and still be awake at 10. Easily. She doesn’t jump all over and fight hard to stay awake either. She’ll do it with the light off while laying in her bed. Heather beats her to sleep a surprising number of nights.