Nighttime

Charlie, I love our nighttime routine. Usually Daddy is home and we do the routine all together, the three of us. It doesn't take very long, but it is my favorite time of day.

We get your bottle out of the fridge and head into the bedroom. This turns into a game of "I'm gonna get you..." that you never seem to tire of. You and daddy hide under the covers on the big bed until I find you. You always scream and laugh.

I love putting lotion on your lovely skin, keeping the eczema you've had your whole life at bay.

I love putting on your footie pajamas and telling you "One arm, two arm. One leg, two leg." and having you help put on your jammies.

I love going into the nursery together. Daddy carries you and then lets me get settled in the glider and then hands you to me- you are getting heavy and I let Dad do the heavy lifting whenever I can.

I love your independence and I remind myself of that when we struggle to get your teeth brushed. We do it in the glider and it takes a lot of patience on our parts as we convince you to take turns brushing- Charlie's turn, Mama's turn, Charlie's turn, Dada's turn. Charlie's turn involves lots of chewing toothbrush bristles and asking for more toothpaste.

I love reading books to you on my lap while Dad sits on the footstool nearby. Sometimes Dad does the reading and I sit on the footstool, but I love that Daddy lets me have more than my fair share of turns snuggling you and reading to you. I love that you can find the moon (and lots of other things) in your favorite books, including Goodnight, Moon, Goodnight, Gorilla, Pajama Time, and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

After a few books, we sing songs. I love hearing your dad sing with me to you. We add new ones every so often, but the favorites are Itsy, Bitsy Spider, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, I am a Child of God, Snow is Falling all Around, and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. We always end with "May There Always Be Sunshine" a song we learned at Kindermusik. (It's a Russian children's song and there are many versions, this is how we sing it each night). (Mama usually does the signs as we sing).

May there always be sunshine,
May there always be blue skies,
May there always be mama,
May there always be me.

May there always be laughter,
May there always be big hugs, (with a big SQUEEZE from Dad)
May there always be daddy,
May there always be me.

I love praying with you each night, Dad and I taking turns saying the prayer. I'm excited for the day when you will pray in your own little voice, right now you just listen.

I love getting you into your crib and making sure you have your two blankies and your toy giraffe and the rest of your bottle. You snuggle right up and "get cozy".

I love that after we have turned out the light and turned on the sound machine, we always say, "Goodnight, buddy. We love you. See you in the morning."

And I love that after we shut the door, your dad and I turn to each other and say, "I love that guy." We love you so much, Charlie. We are so lucky.