New Routines

We have a routine for bedtime. We stick to it as we can. Avery really seems to like it (and, admittedly, so do we), and he's predictably tired at about the same time every night, 7pm. In fact, the other night, we visited Avery's Popi (my dad). Avery had a grand time. But at promptly 7:05pm, Avery got up from what he was doing (rolling around on the floor and laughing) and walked right over to the door and started knocking and pointing. It was TIME FOR BED, he indicated. He said, "Ba'bye" and pointed and pointed at the door, frustrated that we were not leaving RIGHT THAT MINUTE. He fell asleep about three minutes later in the car.

Last night, however, Walker was out at a work event and we couldn't really follow the regular routine. I asked Avery to sit on the couch and read while I cleaned up after his dinner. He did so, very well. He entertained himself, and clomped around the living room, chatting. Tonight, he decided this must be part of a new routine. While I was cleaning up, he picked out a book, sat on the couch, and started to wind down himself with a bottle of milk at his side.

Taking his lead, we went up to bath time, and started story time shortly after that. After one story, Avery sat straight up, pointed to his room, and said, "Ba'bye." I took him to his crib, and got him comfy on his pillow, with his lovey (a little orange detailing cloth Walker brilliantly identified as a great burp cloth at Target when Avery was just born). When I closed Avery's bedroom door, I heard him talking to himself. It was mostly "oooohhhAAAAhhh.shugshhhugatgatgat". But I swear, I heard him say, "Hairball."