I believe we have a Houdini on our hands.

We have alway had a pretty regular bedtime routine. About 7 o’clock we start with baths, then pajamas, followed by teeth brushing. They grab their lovies and off we go back downstairs for a little more play time and book reading. Once 8 o’clock rolls around we tell Logan it’s time for bed and off we go carrying him up to his crib. He doesn’t cry. In fact, the moment that we lay him in his crib he rolls to his stomach, curls up in the corner and off to dreamland he goes. Easy Peasy–thus far.

With Kaden it tends to be a different story. It isn’t difficult, just not as smooth.

As soon as Kaden hears it is Logan’s bedtime he instantly looks at us and holds up his three little fingers and states “Three more minutes, Mom.” —I can only assume that he uses three minutes because he is three years old and thats how long he has to sit in time out when he gets in trouble.— Every time when he declares his three more minutes, I just can’t help but smile. Cute kid but poor kid too. He could get so much more time if he only knew what he was asking. So after those three minutes are up we start getting Kaden up to his room. He will usually fall limp wherever he is and act like he’s already asleep to ensure you carry him up to bed. Once upstairs and in bed he gives you a great big roar to make sure you know he isn’t really asleep and that he was only playing. It’s pretty cute and if it is one of those nights where he is fighting and throwing a fit not wanting to go to bed, all you have to do is say “oh no, he’s asleep Daddy.” and he will stop kicking his feet, waving his arms and will instantly go limp and on the way you go. I sure hope he never figures out what reverse psychology is.

At this point I turn his lights out, the hall light on and I shut the door leaving only a crack for the light to peer in. And for the next 20-30 minutes he talks to himself. Talks to Mickey. Talks to Big Baby. Jumps on the bed a few times. Who knows what he is doing and frankly I’m okay with all that cause he never comes out of his room and before we know it he is out, drifting off to dreamland himself.

As I head off to bed I always go in and straighten him up in bed, give him one last kiss goodnight, and pull the covers back over him. It’s at this time that I have started realizing that we have a Houdini on our hands.

The boy will go to bed wearing one shirt and fall asleep wearing another. One night all he wanted to do was wear his Buzz Lightyear shirt but I told him that he couldn’t and that we would hang it right on the door so he could wear it the next day to daycare. (He might be a little obsessed with the Buzz shirt.) When I went back in he had taken matters into his own hands and decided that he was wearing it to bed no matter what Mom had said…

And sometimes he doesn’t even take off his original shirt, he just wants to wear two…

and sometimes it’s just about wearing one of his favorite colors…

Life is never dull with Kaden and he can light up a room even when he’s asleep. Love him.