Night Night Time

Harper has had close to the same bedtime routine for quite some time now. Back when he self-weaned, I would hold him close, cuddle, and sing to him in the rocking chair. It served as a great transition to sleepy time, and we both loved the continued closeness that it provided after he had weaned. We have kept this tradition up ever since, and we both love it.

Since then, we've added a few things to the routine. We read a couple books (right now it's Dr. Seuss' There's a Wocket in My Pocket followed by Margaret Wise Brown's timeless Goodnight Moon), then the three of us sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" as a family. You should see the sincere look on his face as he belts out "aaaahhhh ahhhhhhh". You can tell he's really feelin the music.

After we sing as a family, Jeff gives us both kisses goodnight so Harper and I can have our cuddle time (when Harper coaxes me into singing "another song" as many times as he possibly can). Harper does this great thing where he touches the side of Jeff's (or my) cheek with his little hand to "pull us in for a smooch". Well, tonight Harper did the sweetest thing that I don't ever want to forget. Harper pulled his daddy in for a smooch, then pushed Jeff's face towards mine so he could kiss me, too. He did that three times, encouraged by our giggling.

Harper then said, "bye-bye, sun" while looking up and over towards the curtained window. He's never said this before, and we could hardly believe it when he seemed to truly understand the conceptual relationship between sunset and bedtime.

He'll be two tomorrow (Friday). How is this happening so fast?!