Can't Smile Without You!

Lately RP has become incredibly creative in her attempts to NOT go to bed at night. Sure, she still tries the "Mommy, I have a stinky diaper" (I swear she waits until she is IN the diaper to do this, just so she has a reason to call me upstairs at night!) and the "I need a 'nuggle," but as she has gotten older, and as the sun is out longer at night, she has become very adept at keeping herself entertained, literally for HOURS past her bedtime.

Case in point: Last night I came upstairs about 30 minutes after putting RP to bed to change her night-time pull-up. Five minutes after that, and right before I was headed back downstairs, she needed a snuggle, and I gladly complied. An HOUR later I heard her up in her room, happily "reading" to herself, and I yelled up the stairs that she needed to get to bed... now. After about five minutes of silence, I heard a little voice singing "Little Bo Peep" in her room, which was then followed by "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "ABC's." It was cute and I chuckled quietly, all the while getting ready to come upstairs and let RP know that it was time to get back to bed once and for all, when she appeared at the gate in her doorway and began singing Barry Manilow's "Can't Smile Without You" at the top of her lungs.

Yep - I laughed out loud. I have to say that she got about 75% of the words right and she was singing it with all the emotion her little body could muster at 9:00 at night. I'm a huge Manilow fan and just went with my BFF last weekend out to Vegas to see his show, so the timing of her little concert couldn't have been more perfect. I have been singing this song to her since she came home, and it is actually in one of the montage videos I put together of our first year as a family, so it makes my heart happy that this song is obviously one that brings joy to her little heart as well.

Now, if I could only get that joyful heart to go to bed in the evenings!!!