Night Routine

It's been a while since I've had the desire to write. Life has an irritating habit of stopping us in our tracks, but more on that later.
Kiko and Lyra have developed a night-time routine. Dinner tends to be typically between 7 and 8 at night in our house. Following this both dogs need to go outside to do their business, then it's bed-time! They will go to the platform that's in the middle of the staircase and look at me expectantly. If I don't pay heed, they will come to me, then go back to the stairs. I've been quite successful at ignoring their attempts for the most part until I am ready to go to bed. Most nights they'll give up and lie down and go into a half-sleep until I am ready to go upstairs. Other nights, when Lyra gets really vocal, I tend to cave. A whining, complaining Husky is a pain in the behind!! And Lyra is very vocal. Aaron taught her to speak, so now she asks for "wa-wa"(water). She can't say bed, but the sleepy face combined with the whining sure lets you know what she wants! Kiko just paws at you with what I am sure she thinks is a gentle motion - I have the bruises to prove otherwise!
So they go upstairs and have to have their "night water". I still cannot believe that they both drink simultaneously out of a medium-sized margarine container. I tried giving them something larger, but they would have none of it...so the margarine container remains.
In the meantime, Azam or Aaron is downstairs giving Lola her "night water". She gets her water replaced everynight, but has to drink some out of the cage before she goes to bed. Lola also has her dinner with us...she eats regular food, typically with Azam - the love of her life. She substitutes Aaron and Ansaar when he's not around, and us when the kids aren't at home.
Some days the dogs will sleep in our room. other days they sleep with Azam and Aaron or Ansaar. They pretty nuch decide where they want to sleep. Of course they can and often do move around in the middle of the night.
Lyra no longer gets up to pee in the middle of the night, thank goodness. Kiko has however recently decided that she must drink water in the middle of the night. She will come to my room and go to the washroom to investigate if there is any water in the dish. If there's none, she then comes to wake me with a "gentle" pawing. The kids have said to ignore her, but she's very persistent. The dog would either sit there and stare at me, or sit and sleep until I get up. It just gets both of us back to sleep faster if I just get up and give her water! I am hoping that this new behaviour is temporary and soon I won't jump up to that creepy feeling that someone is staring at me while I am sleeping.