The Beginning of the End

…of nap, that is. Brayden may be ready to start skipping nap but I’m not sure I am.

As any parent will tell you, nap is a sacred time. I love my weekend days with Brayden but those two mid-day hours when he’s asleep and I’m cleaning/watching TV/reading/making phone calls/etc. are incredibly valuable. Brayden may be the only one sleeping, but we both use that time to reboot for the rest of the day.

Brayden has been a bit harder for me to put down for nap on the weekends lately, but school said he still sleeps well there so I thought it might just be a passing thing. After yesterday and today, though, I’m not so sure.

On Saturday I couldn’t even get Brayden to lay down. Fighting seemed pointless, and we continued along with our day which wasn’t so bad. We actually got a few errands done I hadn’t planned on having time for.

On Sunday, I at least got Brayden into bed…for about five minutes. Then this little eye came peering out the door.

You may wonder how I knew Brayden was up and about to open the door (and was subsequently ready with the camera). The answer lies in the magic of modern parenting—baby monitors. I knew exactly what was going on.

I told him to lay back down, and I fixed his covers. It took about two minutes for him to reappear at the door while very appropriately smiling at his “awake!” door sign.

So in lieu of nap, we’re watching “Santa Claus Comes to Town” (seriously) while I write the weekly Biggest Little Family Blog missive. I explained to Brayden that although he may not be napping, he still needs to be quiet and restful during this time.

Ready or not, three is coming. I can see the changes in Brayden by the week. The Twos were not terrible, but the Threes seem ready to shake things up. Brayden is more autonomous than ever. I often find myself caught between wanting to support his growing independence and wanting to pull my hair out.

It’s hard, though, when I’m dealing with a toddler this cute.

Such is the push/pull of parenting.At least he’s using some of his exploding vocabulary to tell me how much I love him. That will keep me going. At least until the Fours. :)