Milestone Alert: It's bedtime!

You've heard me say a million times that I love celebrating every little milestone with Roo. Thanks to that magical extra chromosome, we get to enjoy each phase for a little longer and relish each step in a way that parents of only typical kids don't understand. Like last week we saw a play where the actors were dressed as jungle animals, and he said, "Elephant!" and "Monkey!"--and he was right. I was flabbergasted! (I'm pretty sure that's the first time I've used the word "flabbergasted.") Of course, tonight we watched "Madagascar 2", and he insisted that the hippos were cows and the zebras were horses... but really, that just makes sense.

And then there are the big milestones. They are bittersweet. They are a loud proclamation that one phase has ended and a new one has begun, that my baby is growing and changing and not so much a baby any more.

Last week, I decided it was time to tackle a bigger milestone.

It was time to get Roo out of his crib and into a twin-size bed--more specifically, the bottom bunk. He was thrilled! It was a big moment... and also a short-lived one. Here's Roo at 7:30, going to bed...

(I love how excited he is!)

And this is Roo 2 hours later, at 9:35...

 

 

Don't you love how peacefully he is sleeping? 

It turns out that the "big boy bed" is just.too.darn.exciting at bedtime. So we had to move back to the crib. And that continues to be the trend. Every night I put him to bed in the bunk bed, and every night I give him about 2 hours before going back to the crib. He's not crying, and he's not getting out of bed too much (usually about once a night), but he just won't sleep!

Fortunately, nap time has been going more like this...

 

Possibly because he's not sleeping well at night, he passes right out at naptime.

 

We did have one bedtime exception. On Sunday night, after several nights of being up late, an extra day of school last week, and a big weekend, he was just plain worn out. I put him in the bottom bunk, and he went directly to sleep. On Monday morning I got up early and went downstairs for a little quiet time... and when I came back up I heard a noise in the boys' room... and found this...

 

 

I think it is hilarious that he got up out of bed, got a toy, and climbed back in! I'm pretty sure he knows he's supposed to be in the bed, but just couldn't help himself.

 

This kid is trouble. And also adorable. Which is really the main cause of the trouble. How can I be mad at that face?

 

So maybe we haven't fully made it to this milestone. But we're getting there.