Another sign we're growing up fast

Theo was begging for attention all day, so after dinner I sat down with him in the living room while he played. He stood up, ran over to me and started hugging my knees, pretty normal "I'm needy today" behavior. I thought I felt the beginning of a bite, so I pulled him away...

"Theo, no biting! Do you want to go to bed right now?"

Kid looks up at me and clear as day yells "YES!"

Ruth and I both blinked. "You heard that too? Well, OK then! Theo, if you want to go night-night, go to the stairs."

Quick as a flash, he's standing in front of the gate on the stairway. I took him upstairs and he practically put himself to sleep. Throw the books on the floor, can the songs, forget the milk, all he wanted was the crib.

Writing this down reminds me -- this wasn't even the first time he'd done this. During last month's road trip, probably the first or second night at my parents' house, he walked US through the bedtime routine. Out of the blue, long before we'd even considered bedtime, he grabbed Goodnight Moon and brought it over to Grandpa (who had pulled a lot of bedtime duty during his visit a couple weeks prior), then started pointing at the refrigerator door and yelling until I put it together -- he knows that's where his milk lives.

Never underestimate a toddler -- they know what they want, we just need to watch carefully and know the right questions to ask.