We don't need no stinkin' naps!

Snacking instead of sleeping

zzzzzz...

In general Dashiell is a FANTASTIC sleeper. Goes to bed at 8 pm, wakes up at 6 am, and takes 2 good naps during the day (9-ish and 1:30-ish). We realize the 2-nap thing isn't going to last much longer, but for now it seems to be what he needs so we're happy to oblige. Yesterday was one of those days when he just didn't want nap #2. He took a great 1st nap (2 hours!), had a fun playdate with his friend Crispin in the park, ate lunch, and read a few books, but when I put him down to sleep he just didn't feel like it. We have a video monitor so I could see him pacing in his crib, lying down for a bit with his eyes open, flinging his loveys around, etc. Then he dropped the pacifier out of the crib and it was all over. First he babbled to himself, then whined a bit, then started crying. He'd been up in his room for about 45 minutes at this point so I went up to see if we either needed a nap "do-over" or if he really just wasn't tired. Oh yeah, he was tired! You could see the little bags under his eyes. So we started the nap process again--fresh diaper, new pacifier, a little rocking and reading, and he was soooo close to falling asleep when I put him back in the crib. Two minutes later he realized that I left him there and cried like nobody's business. After what seemed like an hour but was really about 15 minutes, I gave up and got him out of the crib. I tried to get a good picture of him looking exhausted as he ate his snack but the boy likes the camera too much and just smiled instead (though you can kind of see the bags under the eyes...). So the two of us took a little trip to Target with the hope that he'd sleep for a little bit in the car (which doesn't happen often anymore but occasionally when he's super tired he'll conk out). On the way home we're driving along, listening to the radio, and I hear Dashiell babbling away to himself. I sneak a look back at him while we're at a stop light and witnessed the exact moment that he fell asleep--his eyes were closed, he's saying "de-de-de-de...", long pause, "de...de...", then it stops. It's funny to think that he talks himself to sleep. :)