little tom sawyer

i have written before about gabe's naptime struggles. it seems that every time i think that we have the nap thing beat, gabe finds a new reason to be awake. this week, i was talking to debbie raab about it, and she suggested to me that if she had it to do over with her difficult napper, she would just let him work it out on his own.

seeing as i have tried all other methods known to man and they have all failed me (i really wanted to avoid letting him "cry it out"), i figured that i ought to take debbie's words to heart and give it a try. well, as it turns out, i guess i ought to have given gabe a little more credit, because the little guy sure did figure the napping thing out on his own (not without a little screaming along the way, of course, but in the end, it was all worth it because he is getting a TON more sleep these days, and even his nighttime sleep is improving as a result).

one thing that has come of his new ability to put himself back to sleep after waking up is a new favorite sleeping position for gabe. for the longest time, steve and i have had him sleep with his arms pinned down to keep him from scratching his sometimes itchy face. as it turns out, though, he really likes to sleep in a position that steve refers to as "tom sawyer" because it looks like he is relaxing by a creek. all he really needs now is some cutoff shorts, a straw hat, and a cane pole. he lays this way all the time now, awake or asleep.

laying tom sawyer style while hanging out with daddy...

and while napping...


and while playing...

what a weird kid!