Never wake a sleeping child

I always go in and check on Jack right before I go to bed. He never keeps covers on, so I have to re-cover him and sometimes adjust the position he fell asleep in. Last night, this is how I found him, sleeping in the laps of the two stuffed animals he keeps in bed with him. I had to take a picture and took the risk of waking him up. Luckily, he didn't flinch when the camera flashed. Jack has never been one to like stuffed animals. I've tried because nothing is sweeter than seeing a little toddler dragging a teddy bear, but he just throws them down and goes on about his business. Well, a month or so ago, I think Jack started having nightmares or was afraid of the dark or something because he would scream when I left the room after putting him to bed and he would wake up in the middle of the night sounding terrified. We actually went through a nightly routine of him telling me to "sit" and pointing to the glider in his room. He wanted me to sit in there with him while he fell asleep. Well, at first I did just what he asked. I can handle hearing Jack cry, but not when he's truly scared. He would fall asleep within minutes and I would be out of there. Then it started taking a little longer for him to fall asleep and when he did wake up to find me gone, he was screaming all over again. So I decided to put a stuffed animal in bed with him. This started another nightly routine. When I put Jack in bed with his "papesh" (pacifier), I always cover him up. Well, once the dog came to bed with him, I also had to cover the dog up and give him his own pacifier. Then one night Jack pointed to the elephant and wanted him in bed as well, so he also had to have his own pacifier and blanket. Jack is not a small child, so his bed is getting pretty crowded at this point.

I want to mention another funny story from this morning. After spending all weekend outside, Jack now has a snotty nose. When he woke up today, he was coughing and horse with a runny nose. I said "Jack, do you feel bad?" and he replied "Nooooooo.", so Travis said "Do you feel good?" (we sometimes trick him because the answer to every question is no) and Jack again said "Nooooooooo.". Travis then said "If you don't feel bad and you don't feel good, how do you feel?" and he said "Sick".