the escape artist

It has begun. Our son has connected the crib escape with bedtime. I feel like it's been months since I watched in surprise as Brody first figured out how to climb into his crib via the glider and then turn around and climb out. That surprise was quickly followed by dread when I realized what that could mean for bedtime. Luckily for us that night and many, many to follow included nothing but the usual bedtime routine. In fact, I kind of forgot that he knew how to get in and out at all because he never did it after the initial week of discovering it. That all came to a crashing end last night. Just another night like any other. We put on his bedtime diaper, put on cute jammies, brushed teeth, cuddled, said our bedtime prayer, sang twinkle twinkle little start, gave goodnight kisses and Daddy tucked him in. We retired to the living room intending on catching up on our growing DVR list. I laugh at the moment that follows only because it's ridiculous that we were both momentarily freaked out. Of course the only person in our son's room was our son, but when the door silently opened we both looked at each other wide eyed. We seriously stared at the door dumbfounded until a little rosy cheeked face peeked out. We couldn't believe it! Here comes Brody, his blankie trailing him, running into our arms. We didn't even here him crawl out. Brody was pretty proud of himself but I think he was trying to hide it. We decide to let him snuggle with Daddy for a while. He lays on his chest, cozy. Our fingers crossed he might just fall asleep . No such luck.
The next logical step was to put him back to bed. Kisses one more time, and baby boy tucked in. I think it was seconds this time, we hadn't even sat down and he was back out. This next time we stood at his door after putting him back. We wanted to catch him in the act. He's stealthy. Silently he swings a leg over the edge, hoists himself over, all the while a firm grip on the blankie that shall not be left behind. I pick him up before he even gets to the door and he clings to me with his spider monkey grip. Have I mentioned I am a sucker for cuddles. We both know he is tired. The rubbing of the eyes is  a dead giveaway.  I decide I'll rock him for awhile in the glider. His breathing slows, gets heavier, I lay him down in the crib, his eyes stay closed, I am almost giddy thinking this is it, he's finally asleep. I go out to the kitchen where Jeff is. Minutes later we hear the door creak open, little feet padding out to us. We look at each other wondering how many times we are going to do this tonight. Daddy puts him back in there, he gets right back out. This time, Daddy stands guard at the door, reminding Brody to stay in bed, it's bed time now, no crawling out.  Five minutes of keeping watch and Brody FINALLY falls asleep.
It's time to discuss what's next. I can honestly admit changing his crib to a toddler bed has been the last thing on my mind. One - I didn't think he was ready for it. Two -  I know I am not ready for it, and Three until last night it wasn't an issue. I think we will see how tonight goes, but if we face the same back and forth game we'll begin the transition. I'd rather teach him to stay in his toddler bed as opposed to teaching him to stay in the crib only to turn around and do it all over again in a couple months with the toddler bed. All day yesterday I was caught short at how Brody looks so grown up. He is not a baby any more. He is full blown toddler boy. He gets dirty, he skins his knees, he is adventurous! He prefers sitting in a normal chair, not a high chair. He can get the bath water started on his own. He is showing more interest in the potty. He has figured out how to unlock doors! Why shouldn't he be ready to get out of his crib?!?