Instant Smiles

I have a new strategy for getting Jax down for his nap. It goes like this. We snuggle for a minute on the rocker, he fusses and tries to get up, so I put him in his crib and voila! Either instant tears or instant smiles.

 If it's instant tears, I pick him up again and he'll either go to sleep in my arms or throw a fit, at which point I let him have a good cry and usually he'll put himself to sleep shortly thereafter. Instant smiles is a more difficult one because it means he's not quite ready for bed but is getting sleepy. So I pull out a book or a Sudoku, sit on the rocker, and he keeps himself occupied in the crib by pulling himself up and down, falling over, banging his head, etc. He seems content because I am there, even though I'm not playing with him.

But sometimes he'll pull himself over next to me and he'll reach for me and give me huge flirty smiles until I play with him. I can't help it...how can I resist taking this guy's picture, even if I was supposed to be getting him down for a nap?

Eventually, he'll start to yawn or fall over because he's so tired.

Then I bust out the secret weapons, Binky and Blankie, and without much more fuss he's out for hours while I blog or play on Facebook or do everything to procrastinate from cleaning.

Sweet dreams, Jax!