What the Heck?

It seems as though the little guy is a bit of a scaredy cat (don't tell him I said that).  He is not a very deep sleeper and is still waking at night quite frequently.  I think we are dealing with the aftermath of moving him from the crib into a big boy bed.  Last night took the cake, though.  We were up and down from about 2 to 4 am which was not very cool. Needless to say I am a complete space cadet today.

I wish the little guy could understand that there's no such thing as monsters, but I suppose it's one of those things in life you just have to learn for yourself.  I talk to him, sing him songs, make sure his diaper is acceptable and tuck him in.  Sadly, this scenario played out about 5 times last night.  Both my husband and I were having flashbacks of the desperate feelings you can experience parenting a newborn through the long nights. 

I know I could be tougher on him, but the kid is scared and I don't want him to feel abandoned when he really needs me.  When he wakes up screaming, I want to comfort him.  When he shows up beside my bed saying "Mama, I'm scared," I want to take his hand and help him confront his fears.  But I also really, really want to sleep uninterrupted.  I am hoping this is a phase that will quickly pass as he gets more comfortable in his big boy bed.  How long can you believe in monsters, anyway?

In other news, the babe came up with some more "wise" words last night.  I had them both in the bath for a hair washing fiesta and was hoping we could maintain a "fun" atmosphere.  Things quickly deteriorated when the babe started screaming at me that I wasn't washing her hair "right."  At one point she whipped out a "What the heck?"  My husband and I stopped and looked at each other with slightly shocked and bemused faces and just rolled with it.  Neither of us knew what to do and we were both too tired to think something up on the spot.  Hopefully by not paying attention to it, we taught her she won't get more attention by using colorful language.  Although I do think it may be helpful for my husband and I to prepare an action plan we can have ready to go the next time we hear something crazy come out of the babe's little mouth.