...Ready...Set...BEDTIME WARS!!!!

As many of you know, we finally finished Dax's new room. With that, came the new "big boy bed". This bed has pretty much sat there for show for the past two months. Sure, he and his buddies will climb on it and run their cars along the stitching of the comforter, but that's about all it has been good for.
We were planning on making the big boy bed move on his birthday...you know, buy him a new pillow...make a huge deal out of getting to sleep in it... well, last night Dax moved that date up a few weeks...starting a battle, we weren't quite ready to fight yet.
I took Wyatt down to bed at 7:55, he woke up as I laid him down so it took me a second before I could leave him...because of that Dax didn't go to bed till about 8:05...
After giving D every truck we (my mom came over while the priesthood session was on) possibly could, he finally let us stay out of the room. A half hour goes by and the "Mommy, Choc-in-there" begins... over and over and over, and suddenly it's 10:00.
When I thought he was asleep, I went up to get ready for bed...but as soon as the bathroom light turned on "Mommy, what you doing?" I couldn't help but laugh, so I go in his room, try to tuck him back under the blankets, give him a kiss, tell him to go night night, and went back to getting ready for bed myself. Again, "Mommy where you going?" I thought I'd do us all a favor, get him out of the crib and take him to his new room. We would both lay in his bed, he'd be zonked in a second, I'd take him back to the crib and we would be finished with the whole mascaraed...to my surprise, he didn't want me to stay with him in bed, he even let me turn off the bathroom light(I believe the only reason he was alright with that was because he wanted to stare at the glow in the dark stars above his bed) either way, I made my way downstairs to Kevin. I waited and waited but Dax never came down. It was basically the last check before I headed off to bed that I found him still laying in bed playing with a car....instead of getting to quietly sneak downstairs... he heard me. I quickly ran to hide in the doorway of Wyatt's room thinking there's no way he'll see me... it's SO dark...well...even though I knew he was going to come out, he startled me when he popped out of his room and said, in a whispered voice "Hi Mommy", I smiled, picked him up, and tried to put him back in his crib. He freaked, so I put him in his big boy bed... he said "night mommy...susz you(love you)kissed me and I left the room. It was then that I realized we were in for too long of a night.
Kevin and I were watching TV when through the darkness a little body comes running out of the stairway, right at us...there he was, in all his glory...with a look in his eye of complete invincibility.
We let him sit with us for a bit, but then decided he would just have to deal with being put back in his crib...There was NO way we were going to fight this battle 18 days before we had mentally prepared for it. We thought that was it...he was safely in the crib, he'd surely go to bed now...right?!
Not five minutes later, did we hear a thud and pitter patter of little feet across the room, down the hall and into the dinning area, where he started to make his way down...
OH NO!!!! He figured out how to climb out of his crib!!!!!!

I can't tell you the devastating blow that was! WE LOVE OUR SLEEP! Wyatt sleeps through the night!!! Therefore, WE STILL SLEEP! and with Dax now climbing out of what we so lovingly refer to as his cage... ends all of those sleep filled nights. I know myself well enough to know that even if he does sleep through the night, I'm going to be awake listening to every single sound, making sure it's not him!

After probably 5 attempts of trying to keep him in his crib, Kevin finally just said forget it!!!! I'll sleep upstairs and catch him every time he gets up.
By this time, it's midnight, and the surprise attack that Dax gave earlier, when we were in our bed, woke up Wyatt, so we were all awake until probably 2 a.m. at least I know Wyatt and I were.
Before Kev left this morning(mind you 6 in the a.m.) he said that he and Dax ended up sleeping on the floor in the TiPi...and oh yeah, he's awake upstairs!!!
Needless to say we are all drained...except of course Dax... I feel SO bad for Kevin having to start his new schedule the day after Dax decides he wants to "sleep" in his new room.
He's been all over the place all morning, I can't figure out what has gotten him all wired. Kevin promised he didn't give him any pop!!!
There was A LOT of advice given before we had Dax...so much that I really can't remember much of it. There was, however one piece of advice, that has stuck with me... it was "You will NEVER be well rested again!" Those words keep ringing in my ears and running through my head... and after last night, I think I've finally accepted that fate.