Thanks for the thorough comment Ellen! I replaced the hangers and it made a world of difference in the closet. There is so much more room in there now and it’s so easy to see everything that’s hanging. This was one of those ‘why did I wait so long to do this’ changes.

I read terrible reviews about the newer models of LiteBrite, but the vintage one is just the way I remember it. I’m pretty sure my son is going to love it. I like the idea of putting aside the puzzles for a bit. I have noticed my son seems more interested in things after I put them away for awhile. And you are right he is still very young for these types of toys.

I think my son was going through a bit of separation anxiety, since he wanted to fall asleep while I was laying on the floor. Yesterday we talked a lot about not crying before bed time and that mommy sleeps in her own bed. I told him I would leave the door open so he knew I was in the next room. Sure enough he fell asleep at naptime and nighttime without a single fuss. Hopefully the peaceful child I know has returned. I think the daylight savings time changes and lack of activity after nap (we can’t go to the playground in the dark) have added to the disruption.

Re: #3. I’ve thought about getting a LiteBrite for my daughters, and from what I’ve read, the vintage ones are better. It’s a good fine motor skills toy. I would put the puzzles aside, not get rid of them. He’s actually quite young for this stuff. I know that sometimes my daughters have played with something, lost interest, and I donated the toy only to realize a year later or so that the toy would now be more developmentally appropriate.

Re: #4. What can you tell us about his daily nap(s): when does he go down, how long does he sleep, and what time does he wake up? Whenever my daughters have (frequently) had sleep problems and started falling asleep really late, I’ve gradually corrected the problem by putting them to bed closer to the time they are falling asleep (per Ferber), so that they re-learn how to fall asleep quickly and don’t associate bedtime with hours of anxiety and frustration, and then adjust the time they wake up in the morning, and then slowly bring bedtime back to its desired time. (You can wake up a child, but you can’t make him fall asleep.) It takes at least 3 weeks, but it has worked even with two kids at a time. Good luck!