Favorite Time Of The Day...

I love bedtime. Not just for the obvious reason:) I love it because I feel so connected to Sof. Maybe I'm feeling sentimental about it tonight because last night Lexi put her to bed(we were out!). Anyway, after she gets her pajamas on we usually have some playtime. When I open her closet to throw her dirty clothes in, she always sees her shoes! This leads to trying on shoes(usually ones that I wanted her to wear earlier and she wouldn't, just one last cruel joke before bed:). She puts them on and takes them off, then puts some more on.

Then we have to put her babies to bed. Tuck them in, kiss them, and say "night night"! Then I say, "Let's get Sofie's blankets!" This always gets a happy response!

Then we sit in the rocking chair and read 2 or 3 books. She has a basket of about 10 that are her favorites. Each one has a predictable routine. In "Hush Little Baby" she mimics all the character's actions, and says "No No" on the page where the baby throws the mirror. In "Of Colors and Things" I ask her to find things and she points to them. The same objects everytime. After we read I turn the light out and we have a repetoir of songs we sing. Twinkle Twinkle, You Are My Sunshine, Skinamarinkee Dink Edink, It's a Small World, Mr. Sun, and Jesus loves Me. Lately she looks right in my face, so intensly, and tries to sing along. She watches my mouth and tries to do the same thing. When we're done singing we just rock and look at each other. I love the eye contact. She will often start pointing to my eyes, mouth, ears, etc. and naming them. Then finally, she puts her thumb in her mouth and is ready for dreamland. Here's the great thing about this kid...if I need to, I can read and sing really fast, and put her in her bed awake. But nights like tonight, I can rock her till her eyes close and her thumb falls to side of her mouth. This is my favorite part of the day. A close second is first thing in the morning. I love the baby smell when I walk in her room, and I love that first smile that says, "What are we doing today Mommy?". Everything else in between is pretty high maintenance...