Sweetness

Bleary-eyed and bed-headed, he wakes from his nap. Refusing to stand, he holds his arms out, and with one noise, insists I pick him up and pull him from his crib. Clinging to me like a baby orangutan to it's mommy, he insists we bring his Larry and Bob pillow. As I swipe the pillow, he holds his head away from my body in anticipation of a daily occurrence; I position the pillow between his head and my chest. He plops his head back down on the pillow, a faint sucking noise emerging from the sweetest two lips that ever graced a child's face. Binky slipping in and out furiously, his blinking is slow and unsteady...sleep is still looming heavily over his head.

We make our way out of his bedroom and down the hallway. Before the sharp left turn we must make to veer into the living room, we come upon the baby gate where, precariously on the floor, there stands a stack of five books. Just before we make our turn, something beckons him to lift his head. He glances in the direction of the books.

Bleary eyes are now as clear as the blue waters of the Gulf; as bright as the beams of light streaming from the now mid day sun. The suckling stops, lips form a smile before jumping into the shape of an O; his whole face lighting up like some sort of animated jack-o-lantern. The binky drops to the floor. He looks at the books; he looks at me. Finger pointing excitedly, he insists that he wants down.

Books, Momma!

I lower him down, and he sits surrounded by his five books...so joyous over these little compilations of simple wordings and pictures.

His favorite is the animal book. He opens it and stares at it for what seems like hours. He points to every animal, insisting I name them all...making noises along the way for the lion or the cat.

Tactuh!, he exclaims as we move on to the Bob the Builder book.

Every page is a surprise, and I just can't get enough of these times.