Our Bedtime Routine

Klaeyton and I have become accustomed to a certain bedtime routine and it goes a little something like this:

We start with the cleanup song. You all know this one. I sing "clean up clean up everybody everywhere clean up clean up everybody do your share" as I scurry around K's room putting books on the shelf, blocks in their specific bins, toys in the toybox and everything in it's proper place only to turn around and see Klaeyton staring at me like I'm some sort of nut job. Which I'm sure if I could see myself through his tiny blue eyes, I would think the same thing. Oh but moving on...

We proceed to "baff" time, opened with the "baffy dance" which entails screaming "baffy baffy baff-y" while doing a series of body convulsions in the place of actual dance moves...all the way into the bathroom. Once we are there, Klaeyton pulls at his clothes ready to get naked.

Now I'm not sure if there's something in the water or what but bath time= laugh time for Klaeyton. Whether it's splashing or hearing the pop when you slam a cup into water he's always laughing his head off. I can't help but smile and laugh with him. The stress of the day seems to just melt away.

"Stand on the frog please" I tell klaeyton as I reach for a towel. "Boom!" goes klaeyton on the bathroom floor as he tries to run away soaking wet and naked. I hold back a laugh as he looks at me and tries to book it again as I capture him in his yellow bath towel.

"Plop!" goes klaeyton on the couch for a diaper. "Jammie time" I say in my best MC Hammer voice as he kicks and squirms as I attempt to dress him. Sometimes I'll sneak a raspberry on his belly just to hear him giggle. But if I don't take the necessary  precautionary measures I'll end up with a foot in the eye before I can even make it there.

"Ouch!" I say as Klaeyton whacks me in the head with his brush. But a deal is a deal. I won't brush his hair until he tries to brush mine. I finally get his comb over on (yes right now he has a comb over until I get around to getting him a hair cut) and say "Ok Klaeyton let's go brush your teeth." Before I even get the full sentence out he's running/tripping into the bathroom picking up his stool himself, placing it perfectly in front of the sink and is looking at me with his mouth wide open. How did my little man become so self sufficient already? He thinks it's cool to catch the water as it comes out of the faucet as I wet his toothbrush and tell him to open up. Wait his mouth is already wide open. Duh. I sing "brush brush brush" and then let him have a go. After prying the toothbrush out of his hand and slinging him on my hip I'm reminded that we're almost done.

I let Klaeyton pick out the book. Who says quack? Am I surprised? Not really. Klaeyton used to let me read to him but now he insists on not letting me touch the book as he opens to the page with the dog on it and yells Dog! over and over for what seems like an obscene amount of time. After forcing him to give up the book by distracting him with a goodnight gesture to the real dog in the house, I set up his music and let him turn out the light. I ask for a night night kiss and as Klaeyton open mouths my face I snuggle into him and pray out loud for the both of us. I put him in his crib and even as he protests I tell him I love him as I close the door. 


I take a deep breath. All I can hear is the lullaby music. My baby is another day older. Oh the joy of being an ordinary mom.