My little old man

Hollis has a pretty reliable clock ticking away under all his lovely chubbiness. It goes something like this:

• 7-8 am - Wake up
• 8-9 am - Eat
• 9-12 pm - Run amok/Do adorable baby things (see 11:07 am post)/Eat
• 12-3/4 pm - Nap (although, it's usually a 2-3 hour nap, with an occasional marathon nap of 4 hours)
• 3/4-5/6 pm - More running amok/Eat snack
• 6-7 pm - Eat
• 7-8 pm - Sleep

Not bad, right?? (Hey, I'm definitely not complaining. I think it's glorious and wonderful and it actually ends up being pretty flexible for the both of us. He can easily swing mixing it up or missing a nap and still be really happy because we can always fall back on his schedule.)

And here's my whole point to this: this is 100% his schedule. I just follow his lead. Case in point, today:

We had our usual goings on up until about 11:45 am. I noticed that he was laying on his blankie between bouts of running amok so I decided it was time to read a book or two and bring it down a notch. I read him his "potty" book and cuddled with him then put him in his crib. Paci in mouth, blankie clutched under his arm he points to his right shin and says, "Nya-nya."

Now, "nya-nya," if you recall, means a few things in this house. It means, "cookie," "nana," and "monkey." I even thought for a second maybe he was hungry because he hadn't had lunch, yet, but quickly dismissed that idea because he was pointing at his shin, not his belly. Next I thought maybe he had made up a new word for "booboo," because he has his first skinned knee. So, I pointed to his LEFT knee, where the booboo is, but he shook me off, pointed to his right shin, and said, "nya-nya" again.

Then it hit me.

He has monkey pants - pajama pants - and it was nap time after all, so why not wear his monkey pajama pants??

And so, I brought the pants over and he jumped up and down and giggled excitedly. Mama had it right! Woohoo!! I'm learning to speak toddler!!

So I took his shorts off, put on his monkey pants and the little old man trapped in a tiny person's body lay down and when right to sleep. That was an hour and fifteen minutes ago.

Sawing monkeys.

Man, I love that little guy... and his monkey pants.