Fatherhood: Day IV, Lessons Learned

They are working together. I'm sure of it. Yesterday morning it was Wild Card that wouldn't go to sleep. This morning Full House wakes up because he "heard a bear" and will not go back to sleep. He wants to play. See the last post for an explanation of what I did.

The morning was uneventful. I had planned earlier in the week to have a friend of mine come over to look at our cars. More on that later. Originally, he was going to stop by around noon and I had some errands to run. Great, we'll go out and get those done before he gets here.

Get everybody ready and see Wild Card give a great big yawn. Oh No! It's 10:15. Nap time. Yesterday taught us not to miss this nap so, what do I do?

I'll tell you! I got her to sleep in her crib. Got my Little Man and everything we needed out to the car. Then transported a sleeping little girl from her crib to her car seat, threw a thick blanket over the car seat to keep it nice and dark and brought her out to the car. She didn't wake up until our third stop! :)

We got home around noon and learned that my friend couldn't make it until later in the afternoon. No problem. Lunch. Playtime. Nap time.

That's right. I got both of them down for a nap at the same time! Then I took one.

About forty minutes after I put her down, Wild Card woke up. That wasn't a long enough nap. I got her to go back to sleep!

For as much of a novice that I was day 3, on day 4 I was a professional.

Oh, and for those of you "in the know", it should be no surprise when I inform you that my friend never made it.

That evening it was clear that my children sensed my confidene and decided to test it.

First Wild Card did a bedtime feign by pretending to be tired around 7:30. I was surprised but didn't want to keep her up if she was tired. So we started the bedtime routine. I got her into her room and she pulled the bait and switch and started crying. Ok, she didn't have a whole lot for dinner, maybe she's still hungry. She had a few pieces of banana. Replay a few of her bedtime steps so she understands. More crying (and not normal bedtime crying). Ok, maybe she wasn't really tired. Let's play. More crying. Diaper? Nope. Teeth? Nope.

Wild Card has since given the secret signal to Full House and he starts getting antsy. "Daddy, can you come play with me?" "Daddy, read me a story." "Daddy, I'm getting tired." "Daddy, I'm hungry!" Each time a little more upset.

And Wild Card has begun phase two. Pretend to be asleep until Daddy closes the door. Then stand and scream. Full House sees me come out of the room and has a book in hand. I go into stop her screaming and he starts.

Finally, two hours after their little ruse began, Wild Card falls asleep. I exit the room with trepidation, fully expecting to be back in within a few moments. Full House and I read some stories, pray, brush his teeth, sing and head to bed. He drifts off around 10pm.

So, was I Rommel being tricked by the Allies in June of '44 or was I Belichick slowly dismantling the explosive offense of the L.A. Rams in '00? I'm not sure, you tell me.