A Little Shut Eye Goes a Long Way

We are finally ready to get Rudy back to his normal sleep/nap schedule.  Between the holidays, Avery, and the excitement of John being around 24/7, Rudy has really resisted naps and bedtime.  We have tried just about everything to get him to sleep, and to stay that way.  After several nights of waking up multiple times, and many missed or nonproductive naps (as in he spends the majority of naptime crying in his crib), Rudy has gone several nights sleeping from around 7-7:30 pm to 6:00-6:30 am.  

Bedtime:  Check. 

Naps, on the other hand...I'm at a loss.  I honestly don't know what to do.  "Crying it out" doesn't seem to work because he cries for the entire nap, which in turn means he gets no nap and is a complete nightmare the rest of the day.  Part of me thinks we just need to be persistent with making him stay in his crib and tough out the bad days (like all the books say)... but then he will fall asleep easily with John in our bed, or on the couch watching a show.  And its real easy to give in to that method when he wakes up happy!  For whatever reason, he flips out whenever we try and lay him in his crib at naptime.  Bedtime is fine and has been, but naps...not a chance.  Unfortunately, he doesn't just lay down and fall asleep with me (at least not regularly).  So what's a mom to do?!  I can't possibly drive him around every day -- what a chore to pack up two kids just to get one to sleep.  Not to mention, it's cold out there!  And c'mon, that'd be a bit ridiculous.

Day 1 being home with both kids alone:  From 12:30-1:00 I attempted to get Rudy to fall asleep with me in our bed, watching a movie on the computer.  The kid was jumping around, laughing, trying to touch buttons on the computer -- no signs of slowing down and being onry (and obviously on purpose).  So I took him in his room to rock.  He flipped out, but then fell asleep within a few minutes.  (Now this is when Avery starts to squirm and could use my attention)  As I stood up, he woke up and lost it.  I told him we could go back in my bed, but he had to calm down and go night-night.  He nodded and cuddled back on my shoulder.  However, 2 minutes of being on our bed and he was back to his antics.  So back to his room we went.  Only this time he did not settle down and I had to put him in his crib -- considering I do have another child that was in the hallway needing me.  He screamed for 15 minutes, then laid down and was quiet for about 10 minutes.  Off and on for the next 1.5 hours, he was screaming or quiet -- always laying down, just refusing to fall asleep.  "Crying it out" at night always worked because he eventually fell asleep.  But I can't leave him in there all day -- hence, to him he "wins" because I go back and get him before he has a real nap.  Ugh.  

It is a constant struggle for me.. and then there's John -- I walked out of the living room to make lunch the other day only to walk back in and find them this way... seriously?!