Three years as a Mommy

My oldest son gave me a new name three years ago today. Mommy. He was born at 7.04pm on Tuesday, Feb. 5th, 2008. Three years old now. Wow.

He's grown so much in that time. I mean, he started to roll, then crawl, then walk, and he's finally starting to talk. Amazing. I wish his childhood would slow down just a little, because I want to enjoy the entire thing, and I feel like I have a hard time doing that when it goes so fast.

I love rocking him and singing the bedtime songs. He barely fits in my lap anymore, he's so huge, but we still do it every night. And the script never varies. We sing "Elmo, Big Bird and Snuffy Song" and then he tries to add in Cookie Monster, and Mommy says no, Cookie Monster doesn't sing that song. Then he points out the door and says "donkey-horse" and Mommy says the donkey-horse is out in the playroom. He shakes his head while saying "poke tail" meaning we don't want the donkey-horse to poke with his tail while Aiden is sleeping, so that's why donkey-horse isn't in bed.

Then we sing The Goodnight Song (aka Michael Card's "He Grants Sleep to Those that He Loves") and after that we do the donkey-horse bit again. Same words, same inflections.

Then we pray, and Aiden has the same list of people and places every night. Occasionally it grows, when he learns a new name or falls in love with another of my friends, but they get added on and the rest stays the same. Then we pray, and Aiden finishes with his amen, then he says "eyes" meaning he kept his eyes closed (sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't lol). Then he gets in bed and Mommy sits next to him, and puts on the four blankets, starting with them over his head and then saying, "Whoops, sorry!" and taking them off.

I wrote all this down not because I think the world at large needs to know about the bedtime rituals my oldest son and I have. Instead, I did it so that someday, when he's asking me for the car keys (if we're still using cars at that time lol), or packing up all his stuff that he needs for college, or waiting at the end of an aisle for the woman he loves to come down and join her life to his, I can look at this and think to myself about the precious, special moments that I had with him, that were just mine and his. This way, I can remember the sweet smell of his hair as it rested against my cheek, as we rocked back and forth in the dim room, and feel his baby hands touching my face one more time.

Happy 3rd birthday, my angel. I love you always and forever,
Your Mommy