Copy Cat

We have a rigid bedtime routine around our house. Rigid as in, the kids will not let one itty-bitty step slide before they jump into slumberland. We must complete all the steps in order. And that's that.
And the steps are as follows:
1. Brush teeth (obviously)
2. Read a story
3. Say prayers
4. Kisses and cuddles (and sometimes tickles)
5. Lights out
Where upon all the kids crawl under their covers, snuggled up with their blanket or stuffed animal and drift calmly to their dreams.

Right?

Right.

Anders is usually the most cooperative one. He has the amazing talent of hitting the pillow and falling asleep within five minutes. Ady, on the other hand, stumbles upon the worlds most urgent questions which must be answered immediately and always begin with, 'mom, can i ask you something?'

Then, there is Estela. Who has added her own 6th step to the routine.

While we are reading books and praying with the older kids, Stela roams between the two rooms, cuddling, taking interest in the books, or teasing. She knows it's bed time. And she knows she's last.
So, after the lights are out with Ady and Anders, Stela bee-lines it to our room and tries frantically to climb up our bed.

So we indulge her.

We plop her onto our bed, where she runs right up to her spot, in the middle, and snuggles into the sheets. And there we stay, snuggling for anywhere from 5-15 minutes. Then, we tell her it's time for bed and off she goes, down to her room to read her books and say her prayers.

Only, yesterday, during this 5-15 minute window Cam and I were both on our phones playing games. Solitaire to be exact. And Stela was kind of unsettled. She kept wanting to get down, and when I asked if she was ready for bed she would say 'no' in her baby lamb voice and crawl back to the covers. Finally I realized she was trying to tell me something. I told her to get down and go get what she needed. So, with her determined eyes, Stela belly slid off the bed and pitter patted her way to the kitchen. In a matter of seconds she was back to our room with her treasure. The thing she was wanting.

Any guesses on what she needed to get before going to sleep?

Her disney princess phone.

And there we sat, the three of us. Playing on our phones until bedtime.