Every so often, however, I really look forward to a nap. (How lucky am I that I still have the opportunity to nap? VERY.)

Today I wanted to get some rest. Nathan’s agenda for today, on the other hand, did not include sleeping. I laid with him for over an hour as he played with his hands and the blanket. When I finally told him to go to sleep or I would put him in his own bed, he pouted and pulled the covers up over his face. I laid there and watched him for over five minutes. He laid perfectly still, and the only reason I knew he was not asleep was because his breathing wasn’t deep and regular.

Pretending to be asleep for over five minutes is an ETERNITY in toddler time. I had to give him credit. He tried damn hard to make me think he was asleep. He didn’t twitch, didn’t talk, and he didn’t move at all. He was perfectly still.

I know adults that aren’t capable of pulling that off.

So finally, as I watched him, he slowly reached his hand up to the blanket that he had pulled over his face. His fingers carefully grasped the edge of the blanket and ever so slowly, he pulled the blanket down, exposing his wide-awake eyes.

“HI MOMMY!” he exclaimed when he saw me watching him. There was not one ounce of sleepiness in his voice.

“Go to sleep,” I responded. “Mommy’s tired but I can’t sleep unless you sleep.”

“No nap, Mommy. I sorry. Mommy TIRED. No nap. Get up?” he said as he sat up in one swift motion.

“No not yet,” I said as I pondered how it could be humanly possible for someone to sit up with such speed. “Seriously, I’m tired.” Then he plopped back down beside me and nestled his arm under my chin. I couldn’t help but kiss it.

“Get up? Ready get up?” he implored.

Fine. How could I say no? The kid laid as still as a statue for OVER FIVE MINUTES.

“Okay we’ll get up,” I sighed. Before I could finish that short sentence, however, Nathan was clamoring out of the bed and racing into his room. “BUT!” I called. “Since you didn’t nap, you’re going to have to play in your room for a while rather than roaming the house. Understand?”

“Okay, Mommy!” he said as he dove into his toys.

My baby boy is growing up and naps are starting to become more scarce. I don’t think he’s going to give them up entirely just yet because there have been plenty of times where he’s been so tired that he could hardly hold his eyes open. But it’s definitely heading in that direction. Hopefully, he still has a year or two of napping, even if it is sporadic. I can get so much done when he’s sleeping… not to mention, some time to myself is always nice.

Just another reminder that they don’t stay little for long…

In other news, he said the cutest thing to me yesterday. I had laid him down in my bed for his nap, and he was wiggling around, fidgeting, and trying to sit up. I realized I had to get up to get something, so I laid him back down, and I told him to lay right there and don’t get up. When I came back, he was beaming from ear-to-ear.

“I mind you! I mind you!” he exclaimed happily.

I leaned over and kissed his sweet forehead. And I couldn’t help but grin at the notion that my child gets excited when he minds me.

Yes, you read that correctly. He thinks the word “now” is a letter. (You know at the end of the ABC’s when you sing “Now I know my ABC’s…” THAT is why he thinks ”now” is a letter in the alphabet!)

Speaking of which, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, ate lots of turkey, and took some seriously rejuvenating naps! Because what is the point of being off work for a holiday if you can’t gorge yourself on food and sleep? And for those of you who had to work, I hope you were able to still enjoy your day.

Oh, and I have some super cute pictures of Nathan I plan on posting within the next few days when I start feeling better!

My singing must have really wore him out!

Today, however, that is not the case. He woke up this morning with a stuffy nose, and it has been running like a leaky faucet all day long. He’s been fussy and is constantly swiping at his runny nose with his hands, effectively smearing snot all over his face. When I put him down for a nap, and he only slept lightly because of his nose was so stopped up. He kept trying to suck on his fingers, but then he couldn’t breathe so he would wake up. I don’t know if it’s a cold or allergies. He doesn’t have a fever and seems to have no other symptoms other than a stuffy nose that constantly drips clear fluid. I don’t hink he’s contagious since neither Paul nor I are showing any symptoms.

Poor lil guy. I hate when he doesn’t feel well.

And, Nathan is running around at full speed, intermittently covering me with his sweet hugs and kisses then running away with his head tilted back, and I can’t help but think it’s because he’s running so fast THAT HIS HEAD CAN’T KEEP UP WITH HIS BODY. Just a few minutes ago, I had him in my lap while I was on the computer, but he started bouncing so hard on me that I almost peed on myself. We were listening to this song by 10 Years (if you click on the link, give it a few seconds and it will play automatically), and he was started bouncing up and down like a jackhammer while trying to sing along. Which, admittedly, was freakin’ adorable to hear him attempt to sing along to something, even if my bladder was frantically protesting THE ENTIRE TIME.

I think I am the one who needs a nap! And I am sitting here wondering WHO THE HELL SNUCK SUGAR INTO HIS CHEERIOS? Because this kid is seriously hyper today.

If you listen closely, you can hear him snoring.

Once a day.

Only getting one nap for such a short period of time wasn’t doing Nathan (or me) any good. Nathan would be so tired and grumpy the entire day. Which made me tired and grumpy. And it’s not fun taking care of a tired and grumpy infant when you’re tired and grumpy yourself.

So I started cosleeping with him during nap time, and it has worked like a charm.

Now, he always falls asleep. He sleeps 2-3 hours in such a deep, comfortable sleep that he doesn’t even move or roll over. Plus, I get to nap as well. Even though sometimes I don’t feel like sleeping so I just lay there and listen to him breathe. The only complaint I have about taking a nap with him is that I lose a big chunk of time in the middle of the day to get stuff done. So yeah, laundry’s a bit behind.

And I have an eternally stiff neck and a crick in my shoulder from laying in one single position the whole time we nap. Every day. See, Nathan will only sleep if we are facing each other.  So if I roll over and face the other direction, he wakes up and whimpers until I roll back over and face him again. Then, it’s back to sleep. Which is really freaking cute and all, but sometimes it kinda sucks when you’re DYING to roll over but you can’t.

But who cares, right?

Because there are finally people getting some sleep in this house!

That’s a pretty big deal.

I’m happy. Nathan’s happy. In fact, Nathan is so happy during naps now that he even he snuggles into the crook of my arm and wiggles his toes lazily with contentment, which is a stark contrast to how Nathan used to react to naps… with meltdowns and huge, heartbreaking tears.

Now, I totally understand why so many moms cosleep with their infants.