"Boo, Boo!"

We have gone through a few different phases in Bennett's bedtime routine. From the time that he was about 8 or 9 months old until he was about 18 months old, we read two or three books each night before he laid down.

Some time around 18 months, he refused to sit in my lap and read a book. Instead, he wanted to face me and lay on my shoulder. So that's when I started singing to him each night. It was too hard to try to read a book with him like that so I figured, okay, we'll have some music appreciation time. Ha - like I need to be that kind of an instructor. For now, I'll do.

So for the last 6 months, every single night before bed he lays on me and I sing three or four songs before laying him down. Every once in a while I would try to sit him in my lap and get a book, but he would fuss and turn himself around. Also in this time, he developed a need for his stuffed animals. He has a little dog, cat, and pig that are regulars in his crib. Maybe not all at once, but always at least one of them. Lately, his favorite has been the cat. There were a couple nights that we didn't have the cat (we left it at my parents), and he would lie there looking at me going, "Mow. Mow. Mow." He never got upset about not having it, thankfully, but it was still sad to close the door on that sad little 'Mow.'

In the last month or so, he has gotten interested in the books again. No more singing at bed time. We're back to reading a few stories before he lays down.

Not only is he back into wanting to read a book before he goes to bed, but the last few nights after I put him in the bed, he calls out, "Boo! Boo!" It didn't take me long to figure out that he wanted to take a book to bed with him.

So, here's his new bedtime set up:

On a related note, Josh has this week off from work and we have decided that we're going to spend some time cleaning out the office upstairs in preparation to move it downstairs. The office will become Bennett's room and the baby will take what is now Bennett's room.

I'm excited about this transition, especially because it means Bennett is about to get a big boy bed! Let's hope he does well with that one...

Also, if you're wondering about the chipped paint on his crib in the picture above, let me remind you. Yeah. He was Bennett the Beaver for a while there.