For some reason, I was under the impression that all toddlers fall asleep in random places, and there’s nothing I want more from Ben. Once Ben was mobile, I was expecting that we’d find him all curled up with one of his numerous stuffed animals in random places throughout the house. Not that we don’t watch him, but our house is small and fairly childproof, so we do give him free reign more often than not. Like I said, I don’t know why I thought that, but I’ve always looked forward to one day finding him in his closet fast asleep in that “I’m too tired to move any further, so I just curled up right here” sleeping position. I liken to it to my buddy Chris having that 1:00 am “I’ve had way too much fun to move any further, so I’m just going to take a quick nap on this couch” sleeping position from this past New Years Eve, but I’m pretty sure that’s a little different - and a ton less cute.
I’ve almost gotten my wish a few times recently. Like all kids, Ben is a sucker to fall asleep in his car seat during a drive of any significant distance or after any amount of time spent outdoors in the fresh air. If we’re headed home, I usually try to keep him awake (usually by singing very loudly along with whatever song may be on the radio at the time) with the hopes that he’ll take a nap once we get there, but he usually ends up not napping at all. After fighting it for an hour or so, I’ll open his bedroom door to absolve him of his napping requirements. Then he will usually grab his blanket and his pillow and set up shop on his zebra print chair. After having gone through that process, I’ve caught him a few times on this chair with his eyelids getting heavy and that far away look in his eyes. No matter how quiet I try to be or how much I assure him that it’s okay if he wants to close his eyes, he has yet to fall asleep.
I don’t know why I want this so bad, but I do. There’s just something about looking into a room and seeing the cutest little guy ever fast asleep. He just looks so peaceful. Yes, I see him asleep in his bed all of the time, but that’s expected. I just really want to see the “I’ve been playing hard all day and even though I won’t admit to anyone, I’m tired as all get out and I’ve got to sleep right now” look.
Last night I got my wish.
Ben and I had been home all day cleaning house, watching TV and playing hard. Now, when I say we were playing hard, that usually means that he is using me as his personal jungle gym and the only way I can keep him from crawling all over me is to pick him up by his legs, arms, and/or both and throw him (carefully) around the living room onto various pieces of furniture. For some reason (possibly because of the numerous times I’ve accidentally hit his head on things) this tires him out completely. JUST KIDDING! Geez! No matter how many times I’ve hit his head he’s NEVER tired afterwards. Again, kidding. He doesn’t hit his head (near as often as he used to) anymore.
Anyway, by the time Carol got home from work, it was about an hour before his bedtime and we were all tired out from the day. As usual, once Carol got home Ben attacked her and wanted to hug her and kiss her and play with her in his room. After going through this process with him, Carol sat down next to me on the couch to eat her dinner while Ben was watching The Little Mermaid on his TV in the other room. (Actually, any TV in the house is his TV if he wants it – we’re usually left with whatever is left. Yes, he’s 3. He owns us.) We were watching the Survivor finale when we looked up again at the clock and realized it was time to put the boy to bed.
As per usual, Ben was being very quiet around his bedtime thinking that if he doesn’t make a sound, maybe we’ll forget about putting him to sleep. We called to him from the other room that it was time to go and brush his teeth so he needed to turn his TV off. No response. We called him again.
Nothing.
I got up first to go and check on him and what I saw was adorable. I asked Carol to quietly come over and take a look at what I was looking at. When she got near me, what she was Ben, in his adult sized zebra print chair with his too small Spongebob Squarepants PJs on, comfortably seated with his arm on the armrest and his head nestled into his elbow fast asleep. I wish we would have taken a picture, but he was so stinking cute we just had to pick him up. Carol picked him up, we tucked him in, and left his room so he could sleep for the night.
I love getting what I want.
I’ve almost gotten my wish a few times recently. Like all kids, Ben is a sucker to fall asleep in his car seat during a drive of any significant distance or after any amount of time spent outdoors in the fresh air. If we’re headed home, I usually try to keep him awake (usually by singing very loudly along with whatever song may be on the radio at the time) with the hopes that he’ll take a nap once we get there, but he usually ends up not napping at all. After fighting it for an hour or so, I’ll open his bedroom door to absolve him of his napping requirements. Then he will usually grab his blanket and his pillow and set up shop on his zebra print chair. After having gone through that process, I’ve caught him a few times on this chair with his eyelids getting heavy and that far away look in his eyes. No matter how quiet I try to be or how much I assure him that it’s okay if he wants to close his eyes, he has yet to fall asleep.
I don’t know why I want this so bad, but I do. There’s just something about looking into a room and seeing the cutest little guy ever fast asleep. He just looks so peaceful. Yes, I see him asleep in his bed all of the time, but that’s expected. I just really want to see the “I’ve been playing hard all day and even though I won’t admit to anyone, I’m tired as all get out and I’ve got to sleep right now” look.
Last night I got my wish.
Ben and I had been home all day cleaning house, watching TV and playing hard. Now, when I say we were playing hard, that usually means that he is using me as his personal jungle gym and the only way I can keep him from crawling all over me is to pick him up by his legs, arms, and/or both and throw him (carefully) around the living room onto various pieces of furniture. For some reason (possibly because of the numerous times I’ve accidentally hit his head on things) this tires him out completely. JUST KIDDING! Geez! No matter how many times I’ve hit his head he’s NEVER tired afterwards. Again, kidding. He doesn’t hit his head (near as often as he used to) anymore.
Anyway, by the time Carol got home from work, it was about an hour before his bedtime and we were all tired out from the day. As usual, once Carol got home Ben attacked her and wanted to hug her and kiss her and play with her in his room. After going through this process with him, Carol sat down next to me on the couch to eat her dinner while Ben was watching The Little Mermaid on his TV in the other room. (Actually, any TV in the house is his TV if he wants it – we’re usually left with whatever is left. Yes, he’s 3. He owns us.) We were watching the Survivor finale when we looked up again at the clock and realized it was time to put the boy to bed.
As per usual, Ben was being very quiet around his bedtime thinking that if he doesn’t make a sound, maybe we’ll forget about putting him to sleep. We called to him from the other room that it was time to go and brush his teeth so he needed to turn his TV off. No response. We called him again.
Nothing.
I got up first to go and check on him and what I saw was adorable. I asked Carol to quietly come over and take a look at what I was looking at. When she got near me, what she was Ben, in his adult sized zebra print chair with his too small Spongebob Squarepants PJs on, comfortably seated with his arm on the armrest and his head nestled into his elbow fast asleep. I wish we would have taken a picture, but he was so stinking cute we just had to pick him up. Carol picked him up, we tucked him in, and left his room so he could sleep for the night.
I love getting what I want.
No comments:
Post a Comment