Midnight is not Playtime

It's 12:40 a.m.,and I'm up. Ok, so I'm normally a night owl; however, by midnight, I'm usually going to sleep.
Why am I awake tonight, or this morning rather, you might ask? Well for some unknown reason, Asher (my 6 month old) thought it would be a good idea to wake up at 11:30 and get up for playtime. He never does this!
I fed him, put him back to bed, and went back downstairs. Ten minutes later, I hear him whining. I go to his room, and he's in his bed rolling around and starts smiling at me. I quickly looked away, patted him on the back,
and tried to pretend I didn't notice him looking at me. It didn't work. He kept smiling. Being the type of mother I am (a wimpy one), I couldn't leave him in there to suffer in boredom all alone. No way! I had to pick him up. So I picked him up and tried to rock him (did I mention he doesn't like to be rocked?). Didn't work. Where did he end up? In the playroom, with me...playing! I am a glutton for punishment!
After 30 minutes of playtime, I put him back to bed. He's still whining (no screaming, just whining). I really hope he'll go to sleep soon. If he gets super upset, I don't have it in me to let him scream for very long, especially since I thing he's working on his first tooth (he's showing all the signs: yucky diapers, gnawing on fingers, erratic sleeping patterns, runny nose...).
During these exhausting times, I try to remind myself that one day I'll look at my teenager who asks me to drop him off a block from his school and wish that I could be up at one o'clock in the morning with him, rocking him and cuddling my little baby.