Luke's Bedtime Rituals

Step 1: Mommy, and only Mommy unless she isn't home, takes Luke to bed. She must walk behind Luke to his bedroom.

Step 2: Mommy sits down on the right half of the rocking chair, then Luke climbs in "all my by-self!" holding the book he has chosen to read. Luke sits next to Mommy, NEVER in her lap. Don't even consider it.

Step 3: Mommy reads the book, but must let Luke turn the pages. Mommy's hands are to be nowhere near the pages at any time, for any reason. They are, however, supposed to be holding on to the edges of the cover.

Step 3b: Occasionally, Mommy reads one book out loud while Luke holds
and reads a different one. When or why this scenario occurs is a mystery to
everyone but Luke.

Step 4: Book is over, Luke holds the book in his lap while Mommy sings "Baa-baa Black Sheep" or other song of Luke's choosing. Again, he sits next to Mommy, never in her lap

Step 5: Here we have two options (always chosen by Luke, of course). Option A is that Mommy stays in the rocker while Luke gets up. He takes his book to his bed, throws it over the bed rail, then climbs in the bottom of the bed. Mommy is to stay in her seat until Luke gives her the okay to get up. If, by chance, Mommy attempts to get up before given the word, step 5 starts all over again. Once Mommy is given permission to rise, she is to kiss Luke on the forehead then cover him. Lately, that means his "bunny blankey" over his entire body (making sure his toes are covered), then his down comforter over the bottom half of his legs.

Option B is that Mommy covers Luke with the bunny blanket while he is in the rocker and carries him like a baby to bed. Mommy should talk about what a lovely little baby she has while carrying Luke. The protocol for covering him up remains the same (and don't forget it).

With both of these options, Luke brings the book he read before bed in to bed with him to join the 1,037 other books, dolls, and stuffed animals that are already there. I really need to get a picture of his bed--it's slightly ridiculous.

It's a good thing we love him so much because, frankly, Luke is EXHAUSTING!