Bedtime Memories

You're sitting on your little white plastic potty with your head bobbing to and fro and your eyes closed. It gets me everytime. I stop and take a second to giggle and then think to myself "I'm gonna miss this someday."

The most simple moments are my favorite. 

I love carrying to you bed. All 36 dead weight sleepy pounds of you. I especially love your head on my shoulders and your little hand patting my back. I like to think you're telling me "good job today mom." I love when you're so tired that you start mumbling phrases that never seem to end....just that all run together. Funny stuff. What's even funnier is how suddenly you turn into a wild spider monkey the minute I lay you down in bed. Wide-eyed and asking if you can jump on the bed. Sorry Charlie. I'd be silly to not mention the fact that I love lining up all 2,538 of your stuffed animals and making sure they are "comfy" and have plenty of blankets. I love the way you have me re-situate your blanket and without fail say "make sure it covers the tips of my toesies!" I love the way you collect your three books before hopping in bed but then always try to convince me that we have time to read five. It's always a challenge....but I like to think of it as a blessed challenge. A very sweet and somehow endearing challenge. One of these days I know you will love sleep, or so I've been told. I suppose I'll do my best to enjoy these years where you beg to stay up to spend more time with us. Speaking of begging, a LOT of that goes on at bedtime. Begging to have another drink of water. Begging to have a snack. Begging to stay up for "five mo minutes." You're lucky you're a cute little beggar. Sometimes there are monsters. Sometimes the dog stayed in your room and is breathing too heavily for your liking. Sometimes your elephant falls off the bed and needs rescued. Sometimes you suddenly remember something I promised you ten days ago and need to remind me about it. Sometimes you feel the need to wear three pairs of pajamas to bed and then realize it was the wrong decision. I'm almost convinced that your goal is to wear us down so that your dad and I will become so fatigued from the bedtime routine that we fall asleep and you can stay up and party.

Like I mentioned up above...the simple moments are my favorite...it's obvious that nothing about bedtime is simple....UNTIL...I creep back in to give you a kiss goodnight once you've fallen fast asleep. Your little hands are curled up tight around the edge of your favorite blanket. Your left arm is squeezing the life out of your pink stuffed elephant. Your sweet little lips are basically begging for another goodnight kiss. And your face is as peaceful as faces come. Ahhhh, simple.