Harlow has a habit of falling asleep at totally inopportune moments, like two minutes before we arrived at her third birthday party. On this very special occasion, we woke her up because surely she’d want to experience her own party, but instead, we learned a very important lesson— NEVER WAKE A SLEEPING HARLOW.

She had the worst birthday ever and as a result so did everybody else.

Now when Harlow falls asleep at major tourist attractions or during big events, we just let her sleep. Even if she misses whatever it is we are there to see entirely.

As a result, I have pictures of her dressed up as Anna Wintour sleeping straight through Halloween:

Fast asleep in front of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center:

Slumped over Mike’s shoulder as he carried her up the Round Tower in Copenhagen:

In front of a beautiful ocean view in Cancun:

And while visiting the waterfalls in Norway (after we had just traveled several hours by train and boat to see them):

I asked people on the Mommy Shorts Facebook page if they had pics of their kids napping at inopportune moments and got over 180 submissions. Clearly, “missed adventures at naptime” is a universal thing. 

47 kids totally missing out by falling fast asleep…

While watching the Space Shuttle Atlantis launch at the Kennedy Space Center:

At Buckingham Palace:

In front of the Reichstag, Berlin (while on a bike tour):

At the Eiffel Tower:

At the Imperial Palace in Tokyo:

“We saw the emperor himself ride by in his motorcade and they slept right through it.”

 At the American Museum of Natural History in New York City:

At the Children’s Museum of Manhattan:

In Times Square:

In Rockefeller Center:

At the NYC Hershey’s Store:

 At Brooklyn Bridge Park:

At the boardwalk in New Jersey:

At Disney World:

At Epcot:

Meeting Mickey Mouse:

Meeting Goofy:

Meeting Donald Duck:

Meeting Elmo:

Meeting Ariel:

Meeting Tinkerbell:

Meeting Winnie The Pooh:

Meeting Buzz Lightyear:

At the San Diego Zoo Park:

At the Cincinnati Zoo:

 While seal watching in La Jolla:

At a historic basketball game with 10,000 cheering fans:

While trick or treating on Halloween:

On the Pink Jeep Tour through the canyons in Sedona:

“I can’t believe she slept through all the bumps!”

 At Hogwarts in London:

At Hollywood Studios:

At Sydney Harbor Bridge:

 At the Sydney Opera House:

On an adventure to see wild ponies:

In front of the Washington Monument:

“We flew all the way from Manila to see it!”

During a $200/person helicopter ride in Hawaii:

At the St. Louis Arch:

At the gigantic shark in Corpus Christi:

“My nephew is a shark enthusiast and the trip was just for him!”

At Uncle’s wedding (she was part of the wedding party):

Right before his trip down the aisle as Ring Bearer:

Snoozing right through a ride on the Banff Gondola and at the highest Starbucks in Canada:

At her 1st Birthday:

While exploring Isla Mujeres via golf cart:

“I think they drank too much tequila.”

At Universal Studios:

At Big Ben:

At St Peter’s Basilica:

“She fell asleep while waiting on the security line and then no strollers were allowed inside!”

While visiting Santa:

At Sam’s Club:

While Mommy received her Masters:

“He flew all the way to LA to be there and it was Mother’s Day!”

At the aquarium:

“Not my kid. Didn’t even notice him until looking at pictures the next day.”

If you have a pic of your kid napping through a big event or at a mjor tourist attraction, hashtag them #missedadventurturesatnaptime and be sure to tag @mommyshorts on Instagram.