Bedtime Boys

I thought I would take a break from the pregnancy posts to talk about our nightly bedtime routine with the boys.

Usually dinner preceedes clean up time, including cleaning the kitchen, wiping off the table and vaccumming.  Next comes gathering pajamas, and preparing a little station with diapers laying on top of pajamas on the changing table so I can dress them quickly after bathtime.  The bath water is running at this point.  Next I wrangle the boys, usually having to stop them from taking out toys that I just finished putting away. I make sure a new episode of Team Umizoomi is either on TV and paused for their "after bathtime calm down" or one is queued up OnDemand for them.  Both boys get undressed, and I sing a little song I made up called "booty boy" as they dance in a circle around the living room.  Immediatly following the song, they run to the bath.  After bathing them, we get them dressed, and let them lay next to each other on the couch to watch the Team Umizoomi I "prepared" for them. As soon as the end credits roll, Beckett jumps up and says, "Oooook!!!! Lets go!" He loves his time alone with either Colt or me.

I have never really had a hard time getting Beckett to go to sleep. We recently moved a chair that didn't fit in our living room anymore, into his room as a "storage" of sorts until we sell it or move it elsewhere.  That has become the chair that we talk in everynight. I turn off the lights except the light on his sound machine that gives off a blue glow and his table lamp which dimly lights the room.  I say a prayer, and then he says his prayer which usually consists of praying for family members and a big, "AMEN!" Then he says, "Let's talk." The subject matter can change on any given night, but he usually likes to talk about Burt and Ernie, the Smurfs, or the Chipmunks.  The whole time, I kiss his little face, or rub his hands or arms and give him "the shivers" as I called it when I was a little girl. He used to fall asleep to me kissing his face when he was a little baby. The close proximity to his face would make him close his eyes, and then he'd realize that it felt good to close his eyes. We talk about whatever he chooses and I tell him a little story about the characters, and then he says, "I go get in bed."  I kiss his little face a few more times as I lay him down in his bed. I always tell him he is my "heart and soul boy", and he says, "Love you sign (sign language for I Love You),  CHECK (thumbs up), live long and prosper (from Star Trek) and hang loose!" Then I quietly close the door and walk out.  I usually don't hear from him again for another 13 hours!  I LOVE this time that I get to spend with him.  Cash had me all to himself for 19 months, but Beckett has never had that.  I love that he looks forward to that time everynight.

After putting Beckett down, I come out and depending on where he is in the Umizoomi episode, he can either finish it, or we get in bed and save the rest for the next day.  When we get in his bed, we say our prayers, mine first and then his.  He always prays for his family, and recently he has been praying for Christmas, Santa, his toys, etc. I think he has Christmas presents on the brain! He always says, "thank you for Jesus who died on the cross to save our souls, in Jesus name and give thanks, AMEN!" He likes to word things like we do.  Then HE says, "Let's talk." Again, the subject matter changes practically nightly. So far this week, we've talked about trucks, Christmas time, Santa, police officers, etc. He twirls my hair everytime he is sitting next to me, but particularly when he's tired, or I'm laying down with him.  He twirls it so tight that almost everyday I have a chunk I have to pull out because its beyond repair.  I love that he does it though. If my hair is in a pony tail, he says, "Can you take your hair down? I want to play with your hair."  He likes for me to tell him stories, but its also a time that I can listen to all the things he's thinking about or wants to say.  Cash loves to cuddle with me.  He puts his arms around my neck and pulls me in so we're nose to nose. That's how he used to sleep with me when he was a baby.  Tonight, I had just started to fall asleep and he brushed his hand over my face and said, "Mama, you're so beautiful." This woke me up, as I was so caught off guard. I thanked him and told him I loved him very much. He said, "I love YOU very much, Mama."  We laid there a while longer and then I told him it was time for me to go out of his room. I said, "I love you so much baby boy. You're my heart." He said, "I'm your heart and soul boy?" :) This made me smile. I have always called both the boys that since they were born. 

I wanted to write this post because I know that nights like these, where there is nothing particularly interesting going on, are going to be the ones I will miss the most. The simple act of rocking my son to sleep, or laying down with him until he's close to sleep. There are nights where I'm so tired, or try to rush it because I want some "me time" but then there are nights like tonight when I'm caught off guard by their sweetness.

I just love being their mother.

Now, my bedtime! I'll leave you with a conversation I had with Cash at bedtime a few nights ago...

October 13, 2013

 Cash: (turns over and throws his arm around my neck so we're nose to nose) "I wanna keep ya."

Me: I wanna keep you too. I love you so much. You're such a sweet boy.

Cash: ....Let's talk about girls.

Me: What girls?
...
Cash: Hermione and Ginny. (from Harry Potter)

Me: Oh, ok. Ginny is a very nice girl. She is very smart, and very brave and she plays Quidditch.

Cash: YES! Let's talk about Hermione.

Me: Hermione is very smart and very strong.

Cash: Does Hermione smooch Ron?

Me: What do you think?

Cash: Does she?

Me: Probably, because when people love each other, sometimes they smooch. Like me and Daddy.

Cash: (very seriously) Daddy doesn't love you, only I love you.

Me: Daddy loves me. Its nice when Mamas and Daddys love each other.

Cash: Only I love you. Daddy can't smooch you, only I can smooch you.

Me: What about Beckett?

Cash: Ok, him too.