Operation Big Boy Bed – Day Two (2 years, 2 months, 11 days old)

We are on day two of operation big boy bed and things are going well. 
From where we left off yesterday, Graham had a short nap, but woke up refreshed and proud of himself for sleeping in his big boy bed.  He came out of his room to find me, instead of calling for me, which was somewhat concerning, but I was still feeling pretty good about everything. 
Bedtime was a complete success!  We read a story together on the top bed and then he requested that I put him on the trundle bed for sleep.  He let me tuck him in and went right to bed and didn’t stir until 8:30 this morning.  I was awake watching on the video monitor and as soon as Graham started to get up, I spoke through the monitor and told him to wait on his bed for Mommy to get him.  He waited patiently and when I went into his room, he was happy and wanted to stay in bed and read a story. 
When I attempted his nap today, things went downhill.  I had removed all of Graham’s books from his bed, so instead of staying on his bed and playing, he got up right away and left his room.  After many attempts at bringing Graham back to his room and his bed for a nap and a bunch of tears from Graham, he finally stayed in his room, but not in his bed.  He would explore his closet or bookcase for a while then proudly come out of his room and tell me he had a good nap and was ready to play.  Tears of frustration would come when I told him that he had not napped so he had to go back to his bed.  Eventually I ended up putting his books back on his bed and hoped he would stay and play on his bed with his books until he fell asleep (like on the first day). 
Finally, after two hours of struggling, Graham fell asleep and then proceeded to sleep for the next three and a half hours (the boy loves his naps even though he doesn’t always love going down for his naps).
I took a video of some of Graham's nap-avoiding-shenanigans:

and a picture of Mister-sad-face when he was being forced to nap:

 
When Graham woke up, he got high fives for succeeding with his nap and then we outfitted his bed with new mattress protectors and a new construction pillowcase and blanket so he would be all set to sleep comfortably on either the top or bottom bed. 
Bedtime tonight was a piece of cake.  After stories, he again went right to bed. 
Happy sleeping boy:

So… my conclusion is that bedtime (when it is dark) is easy for Graham and he will peacefully sleep until it gets light out, but nap time in his bright room is much more difficult.  I’m anticipating a few more days of struggling, but I’m hoping that, with the compromise of leaving his books on his bed, Graham will get used to the new routine and read himself to sleep for his afternoon naps.
Sweet dreams everyone!