Parenting at it's finest!

I have blogged recently about Clayton's new superhero stage. I am completely and totally clueless about all of that. I grew up surrounded by girls, so raising a little boy is proving to be a whole different ballgame. Wade recently explained the superhero thing to me really well. He made me realize that girls typically play with baby dolls. They play house and tea party, etc. That is how they grow their imagination. Apparently, action figures are the same principal for little boys. It is how they become creative and imaginative. That put it more on a level that I could understand.

So, I have come around to the superheros and action figures (minus the violent TV shows, of course).

Last week Clayton learned how to completely dress himself (shirt, underwear, shorts - the whole nine yards). He dresses himself in the mornings and usually does a good job of choosing appropriate outfits. Lately, however, he ALWAYS comes down the stairs in his Batman shirt. I seriously wash it every 3 days for him to wear. If it doesn't happen to be clean, he will dig it out of the dirty clothes and put it on - there's no shame in his game. After fighting the battle of the Batman shirt on a daily basis, I decided that we needed a couple of more options for our little wannabe superhero. We went to Target and Kohl's last night to look for superhero shirts. We happened upon some Batman pajamas (complete with Velcro attached cape). Clayton was stoked! We came home (at 6:00pm) and he immediately wanted to bathe and put on his new found pj's. As soon as he got them on, he completely transformed into Batman himself. He would ask me, "Mommy, is your baby lost? Is he up in that tree? I'll save him!!!" He would then proceed to save my "baby" from the top of the stairs. He was lovin' life.

When 8:30 rolled around, we explained that we had to take the cape off for bedtime and that he could have it back in the morning. He layed down fine and all was well. However, we could hear him on the monitor for the next hour playing in his bed and talking to his "guys" about being Batman. He was just so excited! He eventually fell asleep and Wade and I went to bed.

At 12:30 I was awakened by a pint sized Batman inquiring about his cape. What the heck?!?!? I was too tired to be a "good" parent so I consented to letting him sleep on the floor on his napmat in our room. Whatever...

At 12:45 he woke me up again to ask about the stinkin' cape. I scolded him again and told him to go back to sleep.

At 1:00 I woke up and realized that my closet light was on. That little turkey had gotten his stool, gone into my closet, turned on the light, and was searching for his cape. Wade had had enough at that point. Wade is one of the most patient people that I have ever met - it is extremely rare for him to raise his voice. But, in this situation he raised his voice. He gave a stern warning and Clayton finally went to sleep for the night.

Who knew that a pair of pajamas could cause such a hoopla! On one hand, I think that it is absolutely precious that he was so excited. I remember being that excited about certain things as a child. I remember not being able to sleep on Christmas Eve or the night before vacation. And I remember being really excited about my first Cabbage Patch doll. I love that my little boy now feels that way. It is rare to have that feeling as an adult, so I want for him to relish every second of his childhood.

On the other hand, Mama needs to get her sleep! I am seriously contemplating getting rid of the stinkin' pajamas so that we will never have a night like that again. Clayton normally sleeps really well and it is extremely rare for him to wake up in the night. Today he was exhausted and grouchy this morning and took a 3.5 hour nap this afternoon. Not a fun day. What's a parent to do...

Here's some pictures of the troublesome pajamas. He was seriously so thrilled about them! (Too bad that he may never get to wear them again!!!)