The nighttime bandit

I've decided that the upside of having a kid who doesn't sleep at night is that you don't worry about things like jet lag because your "routine" is already thrown off. So you are equally tired pretty much anywhere you go and it feels just like being at home. During the two months away, Dylan got used to sleeping in our bedroom since we never had a bedroom just for him. Fortunately, he was in his own toddler bed or in a pack and play (which he seems to like even though it's small - he likes sleeping all cuddled up to the sides). Now that we are back home and he is in his own bed, he can get in and out of it freely. He knows he's not allowed to sleep in our bed, but he gets around that by waiting until we fall asleep and then crawling surreptitiously in between us. At some point during the night, Cristiano and I will wake up (Dylan kicks, tosses and turns like crazy) and realize that Dylan is in our bed and that neither of us put him there. Sigh. Last night I said, "Dylan you have to go back to your bed" and he told me "Mommy, but my bed is not comfy cozy," which made me laugh. I realize how much he takes in the things I say and then repeats them back to me verbatim to get on my good side. The compromise last night was that we wheeled his bed into our room and let him sleep there. These are the compromises you make at 3 a.m. when you are exhausted and don't know what to do anymore. When will this kid ever sleep like a normal person?

The good thing is that he is (so far) maintaining his English. He is set to start "big boy" preschool on Sept. 16, but we are seriously considering sending him to an international school. My father-in-law had one of the big international schools as a client for many years. He just spoke with the principal of the school and he said Dylan is welcome any time. I am a big proponent of public school and have been reluctant to consider private school, but if it means Dylan maintaining his English and keeping in touch with his American side (perhaps even Cristiano and I would meet more "mixed" families that way), then I'm open to it. We should be visiting this week and then make a final decision.