Bed mate

While we've always welcomed any little snugglers into our bed during the night, there is one who has made more of an effort than the others to carve out a permanent little spot for himself. More often than not we wake to find him right in the middle, sucking his thumb and living the dream. He's not still. At all. He moves and kicks and throws his legs over us and whacks us in the face. He "massages" us with his feet. He kicks the covers off.

Sometimes it's super annoying and one of us finally wakes up enough to return him back to his own bed, but on those nights when he's curled up in his snuggly little ball and whispering, "I love you" and "this is my very favorite spot", we smile and squeeze in a little closer and remember that a day will come when we will miss this. 

Every morning I hear his sweet little raspy voice say, "May I please have some fresh water?", and then he snuggles back in and sucks his right thumb and grabs my hand with his left. We like sleep a whole lot. But we also love the security that our boy gets when he snuggles in with his favorite people in his favorite spot. He's baby number five and we know all too well how fleeting these days are. Future days will be sweet in their own way, but we're going to miss the sweetness of now.


Dee Dee

A few weeks ago as I tucked the little boys in for bed, I positioned Ben's dee dee into its usual spot. He promptly grabbed it and tossed it onto the floor, saying that he didn't need it anymore. The conversation went something like this...

Ben: "Mommy, I'm ready to be done with my dee dee. I don't need it and I'm too old for it."
Mommy: "Really? Are you sure? You don't have to be done if you don't want to be."
Ben: "I'm sure." (tossing it off the side of the bed)
Mommy: "Well, how about it put it at the end of the bed for you in case you decide you want it later?"
Ben: "Ok, but I won't want it."

Mommy: "Please just do me a favor and don't grow up all in one night, ok?"
Ben: "Mommy, you will blink your eyes and I will be a strong man. But I think I will sleep with my dee dee just one more night. But that's it! And I'll definitely be done by the time I'm six!"

He is, quite literally, growing up before our eyes. We are so grateful for this tender soul and love the "strong man" he's growing into.






Tractors

With a new home going up just down the road from us, I thought I'd secure my "Best Mom" award by taking the little boys for a walk so that they could watch the machinery at work. Ben and Jack? Loved it. They cheered and clapped and declared it a great show. Eli? Not so much. He clung to me like a little spider monkey and kept saying, "Home!" He was not impressed.

Ever since that day he has to check and see if the "tractor" is running before he'll step outside. He has a love/hate relationship  with all of the activity going on the the road and while he might not be a fan of the up close and personal show, he quite enjoys watching from afar.



Sleeping Beauties

These sweet little ladies were perfect models for me while I tested out the ridiculously amazing low-light capabilities of my new camera. Believe it or not, these were taken in their dark bedroom with light coming in from the hall and bathroom. There are few things sweeter than sleeping sweethearts!









He's known as a mischief maker. The truth is that he's smart and capable and aware and curious. All awesome qualities; all a recipe for mischief, even if he's not trying. But behind all that mischief is a soul full of love and joy.