Amelia went to pick out books and came back with "Winnie-the-Pooh, Return to the Hundred Acre Woods." It's a great book, but it's definitely over her three-year-old head. Still, it is perfect for reading out loud because it is well written and has a nice rhythm and cadence to it.
While we usually read books sitting on her bed these days, Amelia asked if we could read in the rocking chair. We used to read there all the time, but as she's gotten bigger, it's gotten less comfortable for all of us. And, once she left her crib behind it was just easier to sit on her bed together.
She snuggled up on my lap with her paci and her blankie and I covered us both up with a cozy blanket. Then I started to read.
Amelia was sound asleep by the third page.
I just kept reading and rocking her, relishing the moment. Burning it into my memory. Locking it away in my heart.
At 3 1/2 ("Almost 4!" Amelia would say.) she's already such a big girl.
So I savored this small step back into babyhood. Because I know pretty soon she'll be six and insist she's too big to be rocked. Then she'll be 11 and won't even want me to come into her room for bedtime. Another blink of the eye and she'll be 16, and I'll be lucky to get a "G'night, Mom," instead of the hugs and kisses we cherish now.
When those moments come, I'll go back in my heart and my mind to that night. That night when she was big, but yet, still little. When she curled up in my lap and fell peacefully asleep to the sound of my voice. When she let me savor her little girl ways one more time.
And I will remember that no matter how big Amelia gets she'll always be my baby.
4 comments:
So sweet. I keep reassuring my girls that they'll never be too big for my lap. And you'll be happy to know that at age 11, they still insist I read to them every night before bed (though it is now a chapter from our current book rather than a picture book).
Congrats on making a memory. They are just too precious to miss.
How sweet, and what a memory you are creating for your children. Have you made a book from your blog yet?
I'm crying...because the older Andrew gets, the more I feel just the same! God bless our Mommy-hearts:).
Thank you for reminding me on the worst day so far with my triplet girls that they are the absolute loves of my life and every moment good or bad is a memory I will cherish. You brought me to tears because in all my craziness today I for a moment was focused on the negative but forgetting those precious kisses they planted on me before bed.
Post a Comment