Sleeping or Walking?

Peter has always been our heavy sleeper, which is one reason we plan to have the baby share a room with him. We know that middle-of-the-night crying won't phase him much. One time last year he slept right through a battery change in the smoke alarm in his bedroom. We had the light on, alarm beeping, furniture moving around... and he didn't move a muscle. Funny boy!

So imagine our surprise last night when we found his door open and bed vacant. Then we noticed Clara's door was wide open and her light was on. Okay, what's with the p.m. party? You guys know it's bedtime. We thought the kids must have been having a late night pow-wow without permission, and now Peter must be hiding somewhere.

Upon further investigation we found Clara half-way sleeping in her bed and Peter was nowhere in sight. We checked all the usual hiding places...still no Peter. We asked Clara, "Why is your light on? Where's Peter?" She told us that he came in her room to get a diaper and now he's gone. What in the world? He hasn't worn diapers for years! John immediately searched the entire house, including all doors and windows, and discovered Peter fast asleep in the basement. He was sitting straight up on the couch in his favorite spot. The remote was sitting right next to him on the cushion. If you didn't notice his closed eyes, you would have thought he was watching TV. Priceless!

The creepy thing to me is how elaborate his movements were. He left his room, went into Clara's in search of something, talked to her, walked through the main floor, down the stairs, and into his final position. All without any sense of awareness! This morning I asked him if he remembered anything and he had no clue! I realize that sleepwalking is a common occurrence among young children (especially heavy sleepers), and I'm thankful for his safety in this instance. But from now on I think we'll keep a closer eye out for midnight shenanigans!