Pillow Talk

Shortly before Gianna turned 1 the hubby went TDY. I was 24 weeks pregnant with Ethan and the fact that Gianna wouldn't be an only child in a few short months was starting to sink in

So when it came to bedtime with her I kind of slacked on our routine. Instead of bath, book and bed, we would do bath, book and then snuggles on the couch. Up until Ethan was born Gianna fell asleep curled around my belly as I lay on the living room couch

After he was born obviously things changed and we are back to our bedtime routine. However there are days I let it slack when it comes to Gianna's bedtime

As a mom of two with kids so close together in age I've found it impossible to give both kids the one on one attention they crave and deserve. Especially when the hubby is gone. So I have to be creative and make things count when I do have one on one time with either of them. And with Gianna it starts after Ethan goes to bed

She knows this as well. As soon as Ethan gets put down her whole demeanor changes. There are days when she is beyond terrible in regards to listening, sharing with Ethan and your usual typical toddler stuff. But when he goes to bed it's as if she knows she no longer has to fight him for my attention and she breathes a sigh of relief knowing she has me all to herself

I must say I love our nights together. Some nights we pop popcorn and watch movies. Some night we camp out on the living room floor. Some nights we lay in my bed having conversations and reading books. Her newest interests are Jesus stories and reading her toddler bible. My mommy heart swells every time she asks for a "Jesus story"

Some night we have silly conversations about scary darth Vadar, or our fairy garden or about how much she misses daddy and how she just wants him to sleep with her. We sing songs and make faces and just enjoy spending time together

And my favorite part of our nights is this. For as long as I can remember I've sung You are my sunshine to my kids. I've spent hours rocking each one of them from newborn on singing that song over and over. Usually I tuck them in, sing a few verses while rubbing their backs, say I love you and walk out the door.

Now Gianna will initiate me singing on her own. She will snuggle up to me, squeeze me as hard as she can, tell me she loved me and then ask for "sunshine" and so I sing and rub her head. And you better believe I can't stop until she's asleep. But listening to her ask for it and having her hug me and tell me she loves me on her own is the best way to end my night