Ethan was not a happy camper at bedtime tonight. We were thinking we’d just have to put him in the crib and hope for Sucka to come to the rescue, but then through the overwhelming sadness I heard “milk”. We had just brushed his teeth, so I offered him water instead: I put him in the crib as I told him, “Wait here and I’ll be back in a minute with some water.” To my surprise, he immediately stopped crying and looked at me with anticipation. It was the first time he was so clearly swayed by a promise of something he had to wait this long for: he understood what I offered, even though he couldn’t see it at the moment, and he was content to wait alone a minute for me to run downstairs and get him some water. When I got back up, he was still content, and then very happy to have his water. With that, sleep came easy.