Lobo Gave Me The Look. I Gave Him The Look. He Slept. I Drank Coffee.

Our kids are pretty much in a routine, especially Monday through Friday. The weekends can be a bit crazy. I've noticed over the years, several times throughout each year, each of our kids break free from a tiny portion of their routine. They start doing something new. Out of the ordinary.

For example, when Lobo first joined our family, he preferred to sleep on the doggy bed in our bedroom instead of on the bed when I laid down in the morning to catch a few hours of sleep. Then, over a year later, out of the blue, he sat on the floor at the edge of the bed and whined. He wanted to sleep on the bed. That's the way it's been ever since.

Coco, who always preferred to nap on our bed, now splits his napping time between the sofa and our bed.

Sophie, who loves to sleep, will now get out of bed within 30 minutes after I get up. She started doing this about 2 months ago. She also participates in playtime and seems to be more active throughout the day.

I'm certain Willa has a lot to do with that.

Over the past couple of weeks, Lobo has been shifting from his usual early morning routine. Normally, after I get settled into bed and Lisa leaves for work, Lobo would curl up against my tummy and fall asleep.

Not anymore...

His latest new routine is jumping off the bed and whining at the bedroom door shortly after I doze off. I've tried putting him back to bed whether it's our bed or the doggy bed. He wants nothing to do with either option.

The whining is consistent and I'm not able to fall back to sleep. I get up. Open the bedroom door. He runs out.

Here's the kicker...

After running out of the bedroom, he goes to the water bowl in the kitchen and gets a drink. Then, he runs to the doggy bed we have in the kitchen, gets comfortable, and falls asleep.

This morning, I stood there. Watching. Hands on my  hip.

"Really, Lobo? What's wrong with the water bowl and doggy bed in our bedroom?"

I just got the look.

"Mommy, you don't understand." 

I gave him the look right back.

"And, you don't understand that Mommy needs a few hours of sleep..."

At that point, he buried his head in the blankets and fell asleep.

And I hit "start" on the coffee pot.