Today was one of those milestone days when you are all too aware of time marching on. In a good way, but leaving no doubt that milestones are piling up perhaps faster than we might like.

I was getting my two-and-a-half year old grandson Elliott ready for his nap which usually involves a quick diaper change and a question: Who is going to take a nap with you today? Could be a favorite book, a toy or one of the gazillion of stuffed animals kept around for just such events.

He picked the giraffe, but instead of walking over to his crib he walked to the big king-sized bed that takes up the majority of his room at our house and said “big bed” and threw his giraffe and his blanket onto the bed. His intention was clear. He wanted, no, he fully intended, to sleep in the big bed for his nap. I sat with him and asked why. “Because I’m a big boy now.” Hard to argue with that. I told him he would get one chance to fall asleep in the big bed and if he got out or couldn’t fall asleep we would move him back to the crib because his nap was very important (Truth be told, it’s way more important to us than it is to him, but that’s another story.)

His gagi (grandad) read him a story and covered him up and said night, night. We listened carefully for several minutes and heard nothing. Not a peep. I peeked in about 20 minutes later and he was sound asleep in his nest, two big pillows flanking him on each side. Arms extended up over his head and giraffe nestled close by.

And there he stayed for almost two-and-a-half hours. When he woke up he called us in and, though he often takes quite a few minutes to wake up, he was wide awake and excitedly proclaimed, “I did it.”

Undoubtedly just one more in a growing list of many “I did its” that will hopefully continue to come easily and smoothly when he decides that he’s ready for them.

There’s just no arguing with big boys who are fast approaching three years old.