Napping Nightmares

Lately I've been dreading nap time! My great sleeper has become quite stubborn and skilled at keeping himself awake when afternoon nap time rolls around. Desmond is coming off of being sick, and for one reason or another I've slipped into the routine of rocking or snuggling him to sleep. It's just starting to take an insane amount of effort to get him to nap so I've gone back to our original sleep training. We follow our sleep routine then I tuck him in and leave the room. If he gets out I put him back... over and over again. Like today, he'll play and jabber for about an hour then he gets fussy because he's realizing he's falling asleep. Several times I think he's out and then the crying starts. He cried off and on for over an hour today. I get quite a bit of my book read while watching the monitor and waiting for him to fall asleep, but two hours is ridiculous! We start to pass the point of a reasonable nap time before interfering with bedtime. He's finally asleep now, but I have to wake him up in a few minutes so we can go get Davin. I keep thinking, "This time he'll start to get it and tomorrow will be better." But I think today took longer than yesterday. He still needs his nap. I deal with a meltdown every few minutes if he doesn't sleep. I've read some stuff online and it's good to realize I'm not the only one with a toddler taking a nap strike. I think I'm going to try making his room darker. Sometimes I think he can see too many fun things in his room that keep him stimulated. Also I think I'll try doing something more active in the morning. Sickness has also kept us from Baby Boot Camp for awhile, so some good old running around just might be in order to help bring back my little sleeper!