James Nest

James' Nest: he sleeps on the top of an adult-size loft bed, only 2.5 feet between his mattress and the ceiling. He told me he liked that vantage point because if any monsters came in the night (yeah, Mom, I know monsters aren't real, but IF they were real 'cuz they might be) they would only see Matthew, and therefore only attack Matthew.

James has long been a boy who enjoys a comfortable bed, but since receiving the loft bed, he's taken it to a whole new level. This picture says it all. I took it this week.

A mess with very important purposes. At the head of the bed, he has three pillows/cushions (green, brown, and white). Clockwise from the top: The red thing on his white pillow is a treasure he stole from Matthew (er, uh, "borrowed" because James voluntarily announced one day that he was "done stealing from the family"). The red blanket on the right is a very soft Christmas gift from Erin. It lays on top of James' green sleeping bag and a fuzzy brown otter stuffy (also from Christmas). The paisley brown blanket and the fuzzy blue blanket with the satin trim are literally the two largest blankets in the house. He chose those for that purpose. The purple blanket on the left is Alice's very soft Christmas gift from Erin. I don't think it's there due to "borrowing", though, because Alice and James often have sleepovers and she doesn't always take her stuff back with her. James doesn't mind the extra softness :) At the head of the bed again, shoved under the big, green cushion, is a stash of stuffed animals and library books and coupons from the mail that he's tucked away. All of this is arranged in a circle. Every night, James hops into the middle (his sheet is brown) leans back against the cushions, pulls whatever blankets he can reach on top of himself, and pulls out a book to read.