Melting children. Again.

I so wish I knew what the problem was.

Every time the hubster has gone for his run this summer it's resulted in a mini-meltdown. It's actually resulted in a couple of full grown meltdowns as well.

The last two nights before we left to come back home from our vacation, Hopper melted in the middle of the night. She and Scooter slept in a bed beside us. And for whatever reason, she started freaking out about her dad wearing his running pants to sleep in.

It's not that it's abnormal for him to wear running pants or sweats around the house when he's trying to relax before bed. She's seen him in them thousands and thousands of times. It's nothing new. Seriously. So why she decided to fixate on it during vacation is a mystery to both of us.

Two nights before we left, she saw that he was getting ready to change into them and go to bed. She flipped. She just kept screaming 'NO!' and crying. We didn't want to disturb anyone else, so he just put them aside until she fell asleep, and she fell into a fitful sleep. A few hours later, he picked them up again to go in the bathroom and change, and it woke her up. It was like she was just waiting for him to pick them up. She started flipping out and screaming and crying again. He decided to just sleep in his jeans.

The next morning, however, she was fine. She even got his shoes and his water bottle for him to help him get ready for his run. Then about 5 minutes before his run, she started crying again and saying "Opee it?" It's her way of asking, if she can open the door for him when he gets home from his run. He calls her his "opee it girl" which could probably be misconstrued by the wrong person. He's just saying it like she does, but it comes across like she's on drugs or something because of the pronunciation.

While he was gone, she cried off and on until he got back. We have no idea why it's happening. And the last night we were in town it was a repeat of the night before. I know that the vacation was tiring for everyone. Nobody ever gets as much sleep or as good sleep on vacation as they do at home. We know fatigue played a role. But it's happened since we've been home, too, and she's gotten plenty of rest.

So when the hubster decided to go for a run tonight, and she'd already gone to bed, he asked, if he should wake her up. I told him that I didn't think it was necessary. If she woke up, I'd explain that she was sleeping, and we didn't want to wake her up, because she needed her sleep.

Can you guess where I'm going with this?

That's right. She woke up about 30 minutes before he got home. Granted, the yelling hasn't been as loud, and the crying didn't last quite as long, but the obsession with opening the door for her dad was right there on the top of her list. Listed right after opening the door on her list was taking his shoes off. And when he came home, she asked, "Who is it?" when he knocked on the door and let him in. She then promptly took his shoes off. And yet she's still melting. It's exhausting for everyone.

I really wish I knew what the problem was.