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| This One, the stalker elf |
Dylan was shocked when he went to look in the box a few minutes after we opened it and his elf was already hiding on our entertainment center. He began yelling, "It's maggggggiccckk!!!!" When he woke up yesterday morning and noticed the elf had moved once again, he quickly looked around the house until he found his elf hanging on the curtains. Today, This One was sitting on the piano.
I cannot wait until the day after Thanksgiving when I am finally allowed to play Christmas music and set up our tree, husband's rules.
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There is something so perfect about the weekends. Waking up with Sean in the mornings, not having him rush out the door before the sun comes up, spending all day cuddling on the couch. Dylan adores the moon so I've been photographing it a bunch lately. Here is tonight's moon:
Sean asked if we could let Dylan sleep in our bed this weekend for what we call "family night nights". I sleep in Dylan's double bed with him often, especially when he's sick which has also been often lately, so letting him sleep in our bed is not a big deal for me. I'm used to his little kicky feet and talky-talky late-night chatting when he can't fall asleep. Sean lasted about twenty minutes after Dylan fell asleep in between us before he snuck off to Dylan's room feeling too crowded and needing space. Soon, Dylan and I were joined in bed by two dogs and by 2AM--after I was kicked a million times by a very squirmy spider boy--Dylan woke up and groggily mumbled, "Mama, where is Daddy going?" before falling back to sleep. We woke up early with our entire bed soaked in urine. I can't help but feel like I will miss these memories when my kids are too big for family night nights.
Lately, I've been reciting a poem I've had memorized since sixth grade to Dylan at night. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, by Robert Frost. No matter how fussy Dylan is about not wanting to go to sleep, he quiets down as soon as I start whispering the poem--Whose woods these are I think I know, his house is in the village though--and when I finish he immediately requests to hear it again. "More poetry, Mama?" I can't tell you how proud this makes me as an English major and a lover of all things literature. Sometimes I recite this poem so many times that my voice goes hoarse.
Dylan also now requests that I take his picture when he sees my camera. Here's a silly one of him standing awfully close to me:
This week his vocabulary has been growing exponentially. Yesterday the man driving the recycling truck saw Dylan watching him intently and honked the horn for him. This morning Dylan tried to say "recycling truck" and I couldn't understand him so he said, "Mama, honk the horn!" and I knew exactly what he meant. Communication with someone who is learning to speak is pretty incredible.
And you know what? Life is pretty incredible. I've been feeling so blessed these past few weeks for my little family. I can probably contribute my overly happy attitude to all of these extra vitamin supplements I've been taking, but I have been soaking in every second with my loves and in less than 100 days we will welcome a tiny baby girl into our arms, too. And I'm ready for Christmas to start because lately it feels like everyday is Thanksgiving anyway, without the need to unbutton our pants.