Friday, January 25, 2008

Naptime

It was time to lay Roman down for his nap. He goes down relatively easy, however since we have lots of big people in the house we take turns laying down with him for a little bit, while he drifts off to sleep. Today was my turn.

Knowing he was headed up the stairs for "nite nite" he began to cry. I closed the door behind us and tried to console him. I laid him on his toddler bed that had his favorite blanket on it. Even though the roman shades were closed, the white shades allowed the room to stay illuminated. I laid down beside him on his tiny bed, although my legs hung over the edge. Side to side we looked at each other while he whimpered at the idea of drifting off to sleep. I kissed him all over his chubby face to which his whimpers began to fade. Pretty soon he offered me a kiss so I pursed my lips to let him know I would happily take it. He leaned in and we both made a loud kissy noise. He loved the ridiculous sound we made and generously planted a few more. His kisses were perfect. They weren't wet, or lasted too long they were the perfect two year old kiss.

I pretended to be falling asleep by closing my eyes. He began to look at his fingers. His small hands were plump as he placed them in front of his face and he began to count. "One....Two....Five." I couldn't help but peek at him as his mind try to remember the numbers that came after. His little hands were tiny as he pushed back each finger. Quickly he stopped and faced me again. I reminded him to shut his eyes, to which he obeyed. My heart melted at his obedience. Although his eyes were closed he had an impish smile on his lips, and he began to squint through one eye to see if I was watching him. Of course, I was. He would open them, and I would remind him to close him. We did this for a few times, when the game finally came to a close. His hands were now resting on his eyes to help keep them sealed, no sooner had they rested there when I noticed his body began to relax. Slowly his arm began to lazily fall to the pillow, and his tiny perfect lips fell apart in sleep.

I just gazed at him. He was so beautiful. His brown hair that has never been cut had curls wrapped around his ear. His dark eyelashes gently touched his cheeks. His nose was in the perfect image of his Daddys. His pouty lips were the dark shade of pink. I watched his chest raise and fall again, in a rhythm that was so peaceful as I listened to his breathing steadily go by. I reminded myself that he was only 2 for such a short while. He only had the cares of a 2 year old for one year. How quickly he was growing, learning, and changing. I laid down beside him a little bit longer and after I was sure he was off to dreamland I pushed myself off his tiny mattress and stepped away, recognizing that these moments should be stolen by me as much as possible. They are good for him, and even more, they are so good for me.