With a newborn in the house, necessity has required us to do things a little differently. While my wife and I both agreed that it was in our best interest to not enforce quiet when the baby is sleeping, there are times when it seems to be our only recourse. When our son is especially persistent, we remain vigilant until he nods off, slowly lower him into his bed, and back away slowly like we just disarmed a nuclear weapon.

So with family visiting this week, it has been extremely hard to keep him asleep for more than ten minutes. It was during one of those breaks, while nearing the containment area, that we requested of our nephew to be extremely quiet. The young gentleman, in his "honest twos", walked a few steps, slipped into a state of deep contemplation, and then whispered, "I don't think I can do that."

"I bet you can," I quickly and quietly responded.

"No, I can't."

While I then fully expected a vocal interpretation of a Sousa march, he admittedly did his best to hold his volume until he made it away from the bedroom. I've also discovered why parents eventually decide to bribe their children.