Good Night (with some Good Luck)

There is a time when babies fall asleep anywhere. In the car. In the swing. In the stroller. In the high chair. Or even in the laundry basket. And then there is a time when they will only fall asleep in their crib for naps and bedtime. But then there is a time when they go full circle - exhausting themselves with child’s play and returning to their roots. This weekend was just that time, as Alex had a full day of activities on Saturday and Sunday that ended with him initiating bedtime on both nights and without regard to location.

On Saturday, we first went to Laura’s wedding shower and Alex wore himself out showing off for the grandparents and chasing Rosie (Laura’s niece) around the picnic shelter at Winton Woods. He then got a second wind as we proceeded to Andy’s company picnic, also at Winton woods, where he used up even more energy flirting with girls (or should I say 35 year old women) and digging in the sand for hours (literally 2 hours!).

The night ended with a bath (obviously), a short video and a final sippy cup of milk on the couch, where he leaned back, smiled and shut his eyes - to exhausted to go through our typical bedtime routine and proving he is old enough to finally welcome sleep, not fight it.

That performance was follow-up by a second act on Sunday night. After a day of football (go Bengals!) and a playful evening with the Festa kids, Alex curled up on our neighbor’s floor about 9:15 pm, nuzzled into their plush shag carped and, again, shut his eyes. But despite how cute it was to all adults in the room, we realized it was time to pack him up and go home, as child services would not have been impressed to find our diaper clad toddler drooling on the floor while we finished our night cap.