bed time nightmares

Putting Pepe to bed is becoming a (yes) dreaded chore. Chris and I take turns. Tonight is Chris's turn and as I type I hear Pepe fighting, pushing boundaries, doing everything in his power to delay going to bed. The new trick is that he starts crying the moment we start talking about going upstairs for stories. Tonight he put his head on the table and when Chris told him that he needed to go upstairs, he said "I sleep here". Finally upstairs. The screaming I just mentioned. Chris just returned downstairs announcing "I can't deal with him tonight. He will have to cry it out". Now, 5 minutes passed, the crying subsided, and Chris went upstairs. Will see what happens...

We tried and we tried to work with Pepe on this. his bed time is now 1 h later (8-9pm). We transition him slowly. We tire him out big time - we take him to the Rez or a playground every single afternoon. He gets to watch 15 min slow TV before bedtime. He gets to cuddle on mommy and daddy's bed, or get tickled on Buni's bed. Nothing works. Those Chris might be on to something tonight - the house is quiet!