When your children don't let you go to sleep...

....it means it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay past their bedtime.

Although this post isn't exactly the converse of when DJ got up on his dresser and played with his car magnets and dry erase marker, it's similar.

Last night, Steve took DJ to bed and about half an hour later, a flustered Steve came out of DJ's room.

"He's nowhere close to being asleep," Steve declared.  Apparently, DJ was running on his second wind and was doing everything BUT calm down to go to sleep.  That's when Steve told him, "Ok, DJ, then you're going to sleep by yourself!" and left the room.

Usually, if DJ is still awake when we leave his room, he gets out of bed (despite numerous repetitions of "when it's dark in your room, you don't get out of your car bed") and knocks incessantly on his door.  Of course we can't break that habit by ignoring it because we're afraid he'll wake up Elektra doing it. 

So since Steve had left his room with DJ clearly still awake, I expected to hear knocking any minute.

Half an hour goes by, no knocking.  At this point, I'm suspicious.  As I walk down the hall, his room his quiet, but the overhead light in his room is definitely on as I can see it from under the door.  Ah-ha... that's why we didn't hear any knocking; Steve didn't turn the light off by the pull chain so DJ used the button and turned it on.  DJ was contendly and quietly playing on his bed.

I considered leaving him be, but it was 10PM already since we've moved his bedtime back to 8:30 from 7:30.  I tucked him in, told him to say "ni-ta-ta" to all of his toys and the car bed and his stuff tiger, turned off the light via the pull chain, and left his room. 

15 seconds later, KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.....

Back into his room I go, tell him that it's time to close his eyes and go to sleep.  I tucked him in, told him to say "ni-ta-ta" to all of his toys and the car bed and his stuff tiger, turned off the light via the pull chain, and left his room, again.

When I went in an hour later, he was asleep, the way I left him.  He didn't get a car magnet this morning because of his antics, but I am pleased he did finally go to sleep on his own.