Smiles and strikes

Well, it turns out the Boeing machinists aren't the only people on strike. Larson is currently on a nap strike. Over the past couple of months he's occasionally had "no nap" days, but since Labor Day and moving into a new room at school, it's been a more frequent occurrence. But surely missing a little 1.5-2h nap in the afternoon could hardly be a big deal, right? Well, let me just invite you to come to our house from 5pm until about 8pm on no-nap days and you can observe the fallout firsthand! It's like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...

Well rested, Larson is such a delight. Creative, agreeable, talkative, inquisitive, and most of all compliant. Sleep-deprived and all self-control goes out the window! Lots of crying and screaming over every little thing so that we spend most of our evening trying to get him into bed "early" only to barely get the pajamas on and the lights out by the usual time. What a trial! No fun for anyone involved, I can assure you. To his defense, I think he does try to fall asleep at naptime, but can you blame a curious and energetic 2+ year old boy for not being able to fall asleep in a non-dark, slightly noisy room full of other curious and energetic kids?

If anyone out there has any experience with this or suggestions, we are open to them! Of course, all the guilt has begun anew for me because he will, of course, take a rather long nap in his own bed on the weekends. I can't help but feel that it is my responsibility as a parent to provide the conditions to allow my child to be well-rested. If only I could magically have him here every day with me from 1-4pm...

On a slightly more uplifting note, we've had our first smiles from Cora! It may not appear like much in the photo below, but I can assure you that this was the real deal. I'm just not adept enough yet at our new super-duper camera to capture it perfectly for preservation. Not to worry, though, I'm sure there will be more to come!