Sleep struggles

We have a problem. Our 2 year-old does not want to sleep. I thought this was a problem with newborns...or teenagers! Not my 2 year-old! But here we are...it's a big struggle to get him to bed every night. If Bill and I don't thoroughly WEAR HIM OUT for at least a solid hour in the evening, he will fight bedtime tooth and nail. And mind you, bedtime is often not until 9pm.

Last night we made the mistake of staying inside for the evening. Myles and I sat on the porch for about 20 minutes playing with some of his cars and enjoying the nice breeze, but we certainly weren't burning any energy. And we paid. It was 9:30 when he finally closed his eyes for the night. I told my husband that at least we could probably expect him to sleep until 7 or 7:30, rather than his usual 6:30. Not so. At 6:00 sharp, his door swung open. He waltzed into our room, where it was still pitch dark, and declared, "Mama, up!" My response: "Myles, night-night!" And it went from there, with him remaining awake, on only 8.5 hours of sleep! This is less time than Bill and I try to get each night! Is this for real?

On the bright side, I do look forward to seeing that smiling face each morning. I just wish he'd wait until the sun was out and I was a little more refreshed. If anyone has any comments on how to get a 2 year-old to sleep more, I'm all ears!