Pink Alligators on the Ceiling

When Grady wakes up earlier than we’d like, we sometimes bring him back to our room to sleep with us for awhile. Of course, he’s never once gone back to sleep, so we generally take turns reading books to him while one of us sleeps. This lasts for three or four books, at which point he begins to squirm, wiggle, holler, and try to “get down” so he can “go play in the living room.” The last time he did this, without us, however, he found Amy’s paints and painted the wall & carpet blue.

This morning, when he began his escape attempts, his evil father said, “You can get down from the bed, but watch out for the alligators–they might eat your toes.” This feat of brilliance won me the coveted “disapproving glare” from Amy. It didn’t phase Grady for a second though: He instantly pointed, and said “look–I see one, Daddy!” At which point his imagination began to fill in the gaps of my vague threat. So…Nick, Nack, and Ruby are the three pink alligators who live on our bedroom floor, although sometimes they like to crawl on the ceiling. When they’re hard up, they’ll eat toes, but what they really like is macaroni and cheese. Nick is very preoccupied with his personal hygiene, and consistently washes his claws in the bathroom before eating (especially dirty toes). Nack and Ruby, not so much.

Oh, well. At least his creativity kept him in bed for another five minutes…