"I win!"

Somehow, we have started a new bedtime routine in our house. I can't blame Valerie, Ken or even myself. The culprit is Dagny. She has started to wander from her bed, just moments after we kiss her good night and declare the day is done, see you tomorrow.

I discovered her hollering, "mommy" at the top of the stairs no fewer than five times last night. Each time, I thought it HAD to be the last wandering moment.

We knew this was bound to happen. Escaping from her crib at 19 months, we quickly moved Dagny to a twin bed nearly five months ago to reduce the liklihood of a broken limb. We knew nightly wanderings were bound to happen, yet we were still unprepared. We've dealt with nightly wanderings with Valerie, but were still unprepared for Dagny's penchant for wandering.

Why? I'm guessing it's because each child is different and broad parenting styles and discipline cannot be applied as a one-size-fits-all to individual kids. What worked for Valerie clearly does not always work for Dagny. They may have similar genes and come from the exact same parents, but could they BE more different? If we had a third child, would he or she come out somewhere in-between?

About the third time I found Dagny wandering in the hallway, I firmly declared, "Do you want to sleep in a different bed in another room or go back to your own bed?"

Getting a running start, Dagny shouted back to me, "I go bed!"

As she reached the end of the hall and entered her bedroom door, she exclaimed, "I win!"

Okay, kid, you won this round, but get back to bed!