All Tuckered Out

I had a very cranky boy on my hands tonight.  From the moment we got home from school, he was not happy.  I can pretty much guarantee that this was because he did not get an afternoon nap.  Christian has been very slowly transitioning to one afternoon nap a day, but about half of the time, he still needs that morning nap.  This is especially true after he has a therapy session.  It really wipes him out.  So on therapy days, or after an active morning, he takes a morning and afternoon nap.  Well today he only got the morning nap, and by 5:30 he was done. 

We finally got a little piece when I served him dinner, but after a few minutes he started crying and rubbing his eyes.  “I’m tired momma.  I wanna go lie down.” he said, barely intelligible through sobs.  I pulled him out of his high chair, wiped him up, and carried him to his room.  He wouldn’t stop crying as I got him undressed.  Nick came in to help, and tickled Christian’s bare tummy with his beard as I pulled on his jammies.  Christian somehow managed to giggle and cry at the same time, something his dad and I found endearing and heartbreaking, all at once.  Nick asked if I was going to put him to bed, and I shrugged.  I was just past six o’clock, at least a couple hours away from his usual bedtime.  I thought I might be able to stall him a little while with a snuggle in the rocking chair, but when I mentioned the idea to Christian, his wails got louder.  It's funny how, depending on the reason behind the tears, some tantrums can be endearing, rather than like slow torture, which is how they usually feel.  All through Christian's miserable cries, I just thought how sweet he was.  Even Nick had a sympathetic face on.  So we laid him down in bed, and I crawled in next to him.

I got him all tucked in, with all his “guys” and picked a book to read.  Nick came and lay down on the other side of Christian, who was now quiet, and listened to the book with us.  Christian could barely keep his eyes open, but he stayed awake for two more books.  After I finished the third book, Tes came in and said goodnight, and I kissed my sleepy boy on the forehead, turned out the light, and closed his door.  It was 6:45.  Oh well, all we could do was cross our fingers that he would sleep past 4am.  My poor little tuckered out guy was finally happy, snuggled up with his guys, and probably dreaming about The Incredibles.  And for whatever reason, I found that I thought the last thirty minutes, which had been mostly filled with crying, were some of the most beautiful of the day.

Christian and his guys.