Alexis...The Master Manipulator

I like to put my kids to bed between 9 & 10 every night. I've gotten into the habit of laying down with them and cuddling til they go to sleep and then getting up. I usually start with Justin because he is by far the better sleeper of the two, even though lately he has been starting to fight sleep a little. I should have known the night was going to be a disaster at 9:30 when both of the kids showed no signs of being tired. Nonetheless, at 10 o'clock I dutifully took Justin to his bed and laid him down. Half an hour later, after much cuddling, fighting, lullaby singing, and a sippy cup of chocolate milk (yes, I'm a horrible mother), the little man finally rolled over, hugged his Teddy and fell fast asleep. I hoped at this point, that Alexis would be getting tired and would readily go to bed. Tonight was just not meant to be an easy night and I realized that Alexis has learned to manipulate both me and the situation to make things happen the way she wants them to. When I first mentioned bed she immediately feigned starvation and shouted, "I'm hungry! Please make me a sandwich." How could I say no when she was so polite and I couldn't bear the thought of her going to bed hungry. She really must have been famished because she ate half a salami sandwich, a pack of twinkie bites and 3 banana nut mini muffins before declaring she was "full". So off to bed we headed once again. This time we actually got laid down in her bed, but sleep was still not to be had. She begged for her entourage of stuffed animals. She needed Green Puppy, Black Puppy, Mr. Bear, and her rabbit in order to go to bed. Fifteen minutes later after searching through the closet and her toy box, the required animals were located and put in bed. Once again, I attempted to lay down and cuddle. Her next request: "I have to pee!" Okay, so what I really wanted to say was, "Go to sleep!" but what if she really needed to pee? We've been working so diligently on potty learning, that I once again allowed her out of her bed to go to the bathroom. Much to her credit, she didn't try to play in the restroom and managed to sit on the potty for almost 30 minutes. Of course, she didn't pee either, so we finally put on her pullup and climbed into bed. She spent the next 15 minutes trying to get me to talk to her and further increased the time she was allowed to stay awake by hugging, kissing, and professing her love to me. For those of you who don't know Alexis, this might seem like a normal thing, but my child is not a love bug. She gives a fair amount of hugs and kisses, but most of them require much coercion. Not tonight. She was so sweet and cute and I couldn't resist stealing kiss after kiss. So a little over an hour after we first headed toward her bedroom, she is finally asleep and I realize that my little girl completely and totally played me like a fiddle tonight and she was so good at it. I've watched her do it to Daddy and Nana, but never imagined she would be able to work me over like she did tonight. I'll have to get much tougher with her now or else bedtime will be a nightmare. Especially since she and Justin still sleep in the same room. Sometimes I wish I were strong enough to make them cry it out, but I know in my heart that will never be me.