I think we'll name it Maurice

After trying to get Alex to go down for a nap for 45 minutes the other day, exhausted and out of ideas, but unwilling to let the little twirp win this particular battle, I pulled out what I previously considered to be the dumbest trick in the book.  I made my hand into a "puppet" and told him (in my best hand-puppet voice) he needed to go to bed right now or else he wouldn't grow up big and strong.  Alex looked at my hand in amazement.  It was like a whole other person had walked into the room that he hadn't noticed before. 

"But why?" he asked my hand. 
"Because I said so"  My hand answered back
"No"  Alex said seriously
"It's time to go to sleep"  The hand said "If you don't go to sleep I'll go away"
"Time to sleep?" Alex asked
"Yes, time to sleep"
"No" 
"Ok, I'm leaving" my hand said and I put it behind my back
"Nooooo!  Where are you! Where are you!" Alex whined and climbed over me to look behind me.  He found my hand and forced my fingers into the hand puppet shape.  "HI!"  he told my hand
"I told you you have to take a nap." My hand told Alex in a serious tone
"take a napa" Alex said and laid down and started fake snoring ("aaahh shooo, ahhh shooo")
"Good boy" my hand said to him "Can I get a night night kiss?"
Alex turned around and kissed my hand
"Can Mommy have a kiss" I (not my hand) asked him
"No"
"Can you give your Mommy a night night kiss?"  My hand asked him
Alex gets up and gives me a smooch

He was asleep a few minutes later.

Since that afternoon, I've pulled out the hand puppet for fun a few times.  Turns out, he'll do almost anything my hand asks him to do.  Clean up his blocks, fetch things for me, let me put his clothes on without a fight.  Last night I was making him do silly things.  My hand asked him if he would go kiss his daddy's toe.  Alex looked at my hand and asked "Kiss daddy's toe?"  "Yes, go kiss Daddy's toe" my hand repeated.  Alex looked at my hand like it was crazy, but he turned around, went over to John and kissed his big toe.  John, who hadn't been listening to what we were doing looked at me "What the hell was that all about?" "I don't know" my hand said innocently.