It is almost midnight; by the time I finish this blog it will be Thursday, also known as "Love Thursday" on our adoption blogs forum. Usually I write after Ella is fast asleep, but tonight she is wide awake.

Why is that, you ask? Well, I guess she has the insomnia that I had last night. I’ve ruled out any illnesses, changed her diaper, switched her to a lighter pair of pajamas, put the extra light in her bedroom on, then off, then on, rocked her, sung to her, taken her out of the crib and put her back in....several times. This is not a nightly event, however, this is not my first blog, nor probably my last, about Ella’s nighttime shenanigans.

Now, let me explain the photograph, which will connect Ella’s sleeping habits to the Love Thursday theme I indulge myself in occasionally. At 10:30 PM tonight, Ella was racing around after the dogs with this bowl on her head. She was so funny that I grabbed the camera and voila! After the photo shoot, I cuddled her on my Archie Bunker chair (aka “command central”), and savored the joy of having such a delightful and amusing daughter. I also thought she would drop off to sleep...

At this moment, I can hear the reality show “Survivor” playing itself out in her bed. There are at least eight stuffed animals and dolls sharing her space, and a piece from her wooden train set that she insisted on taking to bed with her last night. Now she is deciding who will stay and who will go. Oops, I just heard someone hit the floor. Now she is jabbering away, no doubt reminding the others that they could be next if they don’t behave.

If I sound like I’m actually enjoying this extended evening with Ella, I am. I refuse to let the whole sleep thing or lack thereof get me down. With time flying by, it won't be long before Ella is an adult, living on her own, and I will be watching some old movie on TV I’ve seen a hundred times, instead of watching her run around with a plastic bowl on her head. I don’t know about you, but I know which I prefer.

The hands of my old fashioned clock tell me it is long past midnight, and I think that the Ella has finally entered the land of sleep. Good night sweet Ella!

If you’d like to read more about sleeping disorders and challenges, let me suggest that you read here, here,and here.

There are whole sections on children's sleep issues in bookstores, but one book that I thought was particularly well written and informative is called “Better Sleep for your Baby & Child,” by Dr. Shelly K. Weiss, MD, FRCPC.

Happy Thursday everyone!