Some great news

For over five years my husband has worked as a plumbing apprentice during the day, and spent two nights a week at class.  Last week he took the state plumbing license test.  It's a pretty difficult test - many don't pass it the first time.  But my smarty did.  Woohoo!  I'm SO proud.  Just got this in the mail today...

On another note, people are wondering if Silas is sleeping better.  Here's the rundown:

Saturday night - up from 1-2 a.m., up for good at 6:15 a.m.

Sunday - no nap

Sunday night - up at 3 a.m. for a few "go back to bed" routines, up at 5:30 a.m., went back until the bunny woke up at 5:45 a.m.

Monday - finally took a nap after an hour of me sending him back to bed.  I had put the iPod on "lullaby radio" to help him sleep, and unfortunately a commercial WOKE HIM UP.

Monday night - Micah figured out that he would stay in bed if his door was cracked open, so he went to bed easily.  Yea!  He was up once at 1 a.m. and once at 3 a.m., up for good at 5:45 a.m.

Poor little guy was pretty tired after all that.  He was happy to be back at daycare today, where adults stay in the room while he naps.  Check out his form from today - a 2 hour 20 minute nap!  

You can also see that he had seconds on lunch today.  He is eating everything in sight.  Must be growing!  Love my boy!

Here's hoping he doesn't get up until the bunny wakes up in the morning!

Rounds 2 and 3

The saga of the transition to the toddler bed...

I am completely exhausted.  Not quite as chipper as after last night's experience.  He woke up at 5:00 a.m. and there was a good amount of "go back to bed, the bunny is still sleeping" before the bunny decided to wake up and let Silas out of his misery.

Nap time was...well, not nap time.  Absolutely no napping took place.  Lots of sitting outside his door and sending him back to bed for a full hour.  He filled his time with these activities:
- tearing several pages from one of his favorite books.  I had imagined him looking at books instead of sleeping, but not tearing them!
- taking out the filter from his dehumidifier and ripping it to shreds - literally
- telling me he had to poop (I thought about that one for a second but correctly called his bluff!)
- opening the door to give me hugs
- opening the door to give me kisses
- huge tears accompanied by, "nooooo mommy!" as if he were being tortured
- opening the door and walking out backwards as if I wouldn't see him
- bringing his blankets to me and trying to lay down next to me in the hallway
- pulling down a basket of lotions and creams and rubbing them on his face
- going straight to his enemy, the sleeping bunny, and trying to dismantle it

Good news is, since he didn't have a nap, tonight's bedtime "battle" only lasted 15 minutes.  Thank the LORD, because I don't know if I could have taken another hour of it!

Parenting is totally worth it, but some days are just plain harder than others!

Who can last the longest?

Fifty-five minutes.

We decided it's time to transfer to the toddler bed.  I bought an alarm clock that has two pictures - one of a bunny sleeping, and one of him awake.  The idea is to tell toddlers that when the picture of the sleeping bunny is lit up, they need to stay in bed.  Then, at the time you set for them to wake up in the morning, it switches over to the awake bunny.  Cute idea, huh?  Well.  It's not magic!

Tonight I spent fifty-five minutes putting my son back in his big boy toddler bed over...and over...and over.  Multiple times per minute I walked him back to his bed and covered him up with his blankets.  Sometimes I just pointed.  And he went right back.  It was like he was on a one-route track...bed to door, door to bed.

I was standing or sitting outside his door, because, let's face it, I couldn't get any farther before he opened it again.  He had lots of cool tricks.  Hugs.  And kisses.  And bringing his blanket out to try to sit with me in the hallway.  He thought he was pretty clever when he kept throwing his pillow and blankets on the floor, as if those same hands weren't able to pick them up.  He cried for me, and daddy, and even plead for his dear Bella dog to come save him.

But I won.  He's sleeping.  And honestly, I kind of enjoyed it.  It was comical.  Me repeating "Go back to bed.  The bunny is sleeping," and him in his cute dinosaur jammies, walking back to that bed over and over again.  And also, in case you missed it, I WON!

I better go to sleep.  Who knows how soon the next round is coming?

Here's hoping that tomorrow's nap time and bed time routines are shorter than fifty-five minutes!  And that I have energy to keep persevering!

Not from today, but still a cute pic of  my little sleeper.