Leaping Lizards!

What do you get when you have a 3 1/2 year old little boy who is always snuggled to sleep at night? The answer is....a sweet, loving, snuggly little boy who tosses and turns until his Mom rubs his back and he falls asleep and then mid-way through the night he is in our bed laying horizontal with his super long legs in my face! Needless to say, it was time for Parker to get into a more independent bedtime routine!

You see...Brandon and I have always justified our "snuggle time" with Parker as being our most favorite time of the day. Because we're both working parents, we want to make the most of all of our time with Parker and this was one way for us to get some last minute hugs, kisses and snuggles with him. But, little did we know that by doing this we were creating a little boy who had no control over his sleeping habits!! So....last week I made up my mind. It was time for my little boy to become a big boy! I really believe that this is something Brandon and I were hanging onto as being the last thing that made Parker our baby boy. Parker is independent in so many ways, except for this one thing, and deep down I don't think we want to let go of that!!

Starting last Sunday, we told Parker that if he slept like a big boy ALL week, we would take him to Leaping Lizards the following weekend!! He was so excited and everyday he would ask me if it was Leaping Lizards day...and everyday, I would remind him that he had (insert number of days) nights of sleeping like a big boy and then we would go to Leaping Lizards.

What a great week Parker had!! We all got some great sleep (except for Brandon who was out of town for two nights and didn't sleep very well those two nights) and Parker went to bed "like a big boy" every night and stayed in his bed every night! My trick was to sit right outside his door with my book, leave the bathroom light on (at Parker's request) and wait, wait, wait, wait for the tossing and turning, and giggling to stop. He did it every night and every night he slept in his own bed until at least 6:30 am.

Today we went to Leaping Lizards!! Parker, his cousins, and even some of the neighbor boys went to Leaping Lizards and had the time of their lives running, jumping, sliding, laughing, climbing, and just being silly! What a fun evening we had!!

And...tonight when we got home and it was time for bed, Parker said to me (with the most sleepy eyes I've ever seen), "Mom, can tonight be a snuggle night?" How can a Mom say no to that??!! So, we're probably starting over again tomorrow, but we'll see. My sweet Parker proved he could do it and that he really is a big boy!!

Here are some pictures from Leaping Lizards!!