One of my favorite times of the day is bedtime.
The girls’ bedtime.
And not only for the obvious reasons ~
*Wine!
*Silence! (read: my OWN TV show…that I can actually listen to and follow, because there isn’t tattling or arguing to have to turn the volume up and around)
*Intellectual reading! (coughromancenovelcough)
No, what I love about the girls’ bedtime is the actual routine.
The routine that is getting the girls’ settled into their beds at night.
This routine is usually as follows:
-bath
-jammies
-blow-dry hair
-pick out pile of books
-read pile of books until drowsy
-turn off lights
-individual cuddling time
I think the girls’ favorite time is when I tuck them in and rub their backs and cuddle with them.
They usually want me to tell them stories.
These stories usually involve silly things that they’ve done in the past.
You see, they crack themselves up. It usually begins with, “Mommy, tell me again about the time…”, and ends with hysterical laughter about their oh so comedic baby and toddlerhoods.
Last night, in particular made me realize just how fun this time is.
Noelle was first, since it was her room’s turn to host story time.
We started out with the recurring “Tell me about what Sally (our dog) did when you brought me home from the hospital”, and it progressed from there.
She fell asleep to me reminding her of all the fun things we’ve done since she’s been born. (Because that’s when all the FUN started.)
Then, it was Kae’s turn. She had been flipping through books on Noelle’s floor until it was her turn.
*This is something she does to put herself to sleep when I go downstairs. Noelle is asleep within 5 minutes of her head hitting the pillow, and she doesn’t move until morning. Kae grabs (another) pile of books and “reads” them in her bed until she conks out a half an hour to an hour later. No joke. But, I digress.
Kae started out with requesting a “just home from the hospital” story, but asked to hear what the first thing she did when she came home was.
I thought about it, because I usually add some quip about how everyone was happily waiting, and how Sally sniffed them and was immediately protective of them, etc.
Tonight, though, I felt compelled to share something that I had almost forgotten.
When we brought Kae home, it was the beginning of March, and of course, March can be a bitch. It was cold, rainy, and windy. Things that required a newborn baby to be completely encased in layers upon layers of warmth just to get out of the hospital doors and into the warmed and waiting getaway car. And then to be hot and cranky on the ride home. Once we arrived home, she was so happy to be freed of her cocoon that she was wide-eyed and ready to eat.
She did eat. And eat and eat and eat. More than she had in her entire combined eating sessions at the hospital.
And, when babies are done eating, they poop. And poop and poop and poop.
When I took Kae back to the nursery to change her first diaper at home, she decided to initiate said nursery by spraying poop all over the wall beside the changing table. And spraying and spraying and spraying.
TMI?
Sorry.
Because Kae thought it was the best story she’d ever heard. So, the story was repeated through fits of laughter several times last night.
And for Daddy.
And for Noelle.
And for Sally.
And again as soon as she woke this morning.
Though I can’t say as the thought of adding a feces-filled story to part of our nightly routine every night from this moment onward appeals to me, the thought of hearing my youngest daughter’s uncontrollable laughter just might make it worth it.
Because THESE are the moments that I will think about when I want to relive stories of the past. When I get all bittersweet and weepy and want to hold onto these moments of their childhood forever.
These are the moments I cherish.
Poop and all.
