We have a busy 2.5 year old named Noah.  And I do mean BUSY!  We have been having a hard time getting him to gain weight because he is on the run all the time, and can't be bothered to stop and eat most days.  Although he is getting better about eating when the rest of us do, and taking regular snacks, he is still on foot, moving and a'shaking all day long.  He rarely stops to come snuggle anymore like he did when he was 1, and he doesn't sleep as well in his bed either.  UGH

But a few days ago I found out a secret to getting him excited about getting into bed and taking a nap.  That morning I stripped down all the beds (ok, so there are only 2, but ALL the beds, sounds like I did alot more that I actually did. LMS) and washed and dried it all.  Around nap time, I realized Noah's favorite blankets, his stuffies, and pillowcases,etc. were still in the dryer.  I went to check if they were dry and they were.  About that time, Noah walked into the laundry room and saw me holding one of his bed blankets and said MINE as his eyes lit up.  He didn't see me take things from his bed, but he knew the routine of mom taking all blankets and stuffed animals, so he instantly said, WHERE"S CAT??? in a concerned little voice.  I said I don't know in a teasing manner, and he practically climbed into the dryer to find his cat (his name is also cat), his racoon (named Rusty and loved and washed for almost 2 years now without falling apart), and bunny (He used to sing Jesus Loves Me but we wore him out), taggie blankie (a blanket with ribbon tags all around the edges that he recieved from my mom) and all his other bedding.

I carried some of his items and he carried the most important....the stuffies.  I went to make his bed, and he scurried after me to place the animals and pillow in just the right spot.  (He thinks the two pillows in his bed should be used as extra padding and not a head pillow.  He sleeps on two pillow side by side instead of sleeping with one under his head. LOL He has done this since he was old enough to have a pillow in his crib! LOL)  Then I started to walk out, but Noah crawled up into bed and I thought, ok.  We will give this a try but I am sure in 2 minutes he will want up.

I tucked the little guy in as our ritual goes and he laid down, snuggled in, sighed and I left the room, closing the door gently as I left and told him I loved him and after he slept we would play with toys.  I stood just outside the door, waiting for a terarful hollar that he wasn't ready to nap.  (NO SLEEP!!!!!  MUST PLAY!!!  LOL)  BUt he didn't.  Miraculously, he went to sleep.  Leaving me suprised and thankful for the peace and quiet for the almost 2 hours he slept that day.  Dear Lord, thank you for nap times!!!  I need those few hours of quiet just as much as he needs the rest and sleep!!!