March 15, 2009

Different strokes

Andrew has been sleeping in a "big boy" bed since approximately mid-April 2006. During that nearly three years he has NEVER gotten out of his bed and come downstairs during the night. In fact, he was in it for three months before he figured out he didn't have to have permission to come downstairs in the morning. He also still doesn't like to go upstairs by himself, even during the day.

Thomas has been sleeping in a "big boy" bed since February 24, 2009. Approximately three days into that nearly three weeks, he figured out he didn't need to ask permission to get up in the morning and he has also boycotted naps consistently. Rather, he is perfecting the art of launching himself off the bed, destroying his bookshelf and yelling downstairs every three minutes during naptime.

We have always hoped that our kids would be scared to come downstairs during the night by themselves because they have to traverse the stairs, a dark living room, a dark hallway and then get to our bedroom. It turns out, Thomas isn't scared.

He appeared in our room at 5 a.m. today telling me he was cold and needed to get in our bed. I somehow convinced him that he needed to just be recovered in his bed and he eventually acquiesced. It was somewhat difficult for me to take him back up because I know he would burrow in between us and sleep like a log and we would probably all actually enjoy it but I know about the precedent it sets. Five a.m. is one thing, 1 a.m. is another.

As I carried him back upstairs I asked him if he was scared while he came down by himself and he assured me he wasn't. "Me not scared in our house," he said. When I got him resituated in his own bed he politely asked me to "get out and go down."

And, right now? He's upstairs in his room, by himself, singing songs at the top of his lungs and doing something in his rocking chair that makes it sound like the ceiling's about to fall.

The funny thing is that three years ago at this time I was simply sure that I was about to give birth to a second Andrew, having no idea that two boys with the same parents, raised in the same house would take us on such vastly different rides from day-to-day.

On that note...

I'm about to be an aunt again, twice over in the next month, and we can all hardly wait to meet the new additions to the family. Now we know that just like adults, no two little people are the same in any way. We're so excited to welcome two new personalitites to the mix.

1 comment:

Rosemary said...

Thomas is truly a classic! What a hoot! I can just hear him singing and rocking.

Can't wait to hear about Steph's and Jeff's new little one. And, we also can't wait to meet the new little one here, too. Of course, Maria is just "slightly" more eager than the rest of us. We're all trying to get things done and our calendars cleared to be ready for "the call" that we hope will come during the daylight hours. :-)