Living in Alaska is interesting for many reasons, but lately the endless amount of daylight is making our lives a little crazy. The boys don’t like to go to bed because it is not dark outside yet and therefore, it CAN’T be bedtime. James has more trouble going to sleep than his little brother (he is our little insomniac).  Last night James wandered into our room at about 10 pm and announced that he had just put his little brother to sleep.

When I asked what this entailed he said that he climbed up in to Sam’s bed, told him to close his eyes and sometimes he would rub or pat his back until Sam fell asleep.  Before he climbs out of Sam’s bed, he pulls the covers up tight around his chin so he stays warm and cozy all night. James was so sweet when he was telling me about his little bedtime routine with his brother (something that has been going on all summer, I just had not found out about it) it almost brought a tear to my eye. Almost. Because with James, there was a catch. Because he had done such a good job putting his brother to sleep, he wanted permission to sleep in my room on the floor. I caved because he was so cute telling me about his little bedtime routine with his brother and let him sleep on the floor.

Right now I am waiting for the boys to fall asleep. The were wired after their bath tonight and Sam was running around telling me that he was doing a “girlie dance.” When I asked what a “girlie dance” was, he told me it was a naked dance.  So there you have it. My serious old soul and my wild little monster.  I hope that James is always around to watch out over Sam and tuck him in at night, because I think a kid like Sam is going to need it.

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