One in a Million

Bill and I make a pretty good team.  We have different strengths and experiences, and as a result, we compliment each other.  We disagree, from time to time, on minor issues.  For example:  Is the Simpson's Halloween Special appropriate for a 3-year-old?  Does string cheese and chocolate milk make a nutritious breakfast?  Could the Bumbo double as a bath seat for a 4-month-old in the bathtub?  When trying to leave a toy store in the middle of the day, is it appropriate to try and convince your child that the store is 'closing'?  

Lately, we're trying to come up with creative ways to get Will to comply.  Bedtime has become one such issue.  Up until recently, we would announce 'bedtime' and Will would happily trot up the stairs for a bath, a book and bed.  Then all of a sudden, he began to whine and sulk and protest.  So Bill came up with an idea.  And I admit, there was a lot of eye-rolling and skepticism on my part.  This is what Bill told Will: "Lay down and try to go to sleep.  We'll come up in five minutes.  If you're not sleeping when we check on you, then you can come downstairs and play."  

Who would have thought that this actually works?  But it does.  Will has never called down from upstairs, asking for us to come check on him, and he doesn't complain nearly as much about going to bed.  And it's so simple.  He just falls asleep.  Here I was trying to explain to Will that he needed to get sleep in order to grow and get more energy.  Let me tell you, that just did not fly.  

Bill is a great dad.  He 'races' Will to see who can eat more broccoli first and he hums "Tom's Diner" to Liam when he's fussy.  He already knows how to transform all of the Transformers that Will got for Christmas (this is harder than it sounds) and he takes turns getting up early with the kids on days off.  He is one in a million.