Who knew?

I've never been much for rocking Adrian to sleep. Sure there were probably times during his first 4 or 5 months of life that I might have, but truthfully I was so sleep deprived I don't really remember much from that time in our lives. My mom was always the one the liked rocking him to sleep, especially for naps. I'm just a big believer that they should learn how to put themselves to sleep so they don't rely on help from anyone or anything. That's a reason he's never had a pacifier or gone to bed with a bottle either.

Anyway, our bedtime routine consists of a bath, a few(or 20) books, hugs and kisses, and then I just lay him down in his crib and leave the room. There are a few times when he isn't quite so tired that he cries a little bit for me to go back in there, but that's really rare. Usually he just sits and talks to himself for a few minutes and then goes right to sleep. He stays there for 11-12 hours unless I have to wake him up when I have to take him to my parents' house when I go to work. I just love that he's such a good sleeper. Plus, he's been taking 3 hour naps lately.

Tonight was different though. He had his bath, we read books, and then came time for hugs and kisses before I laid him down. For some reason he was very huggy tonight. He just laid his head on my shoulder and held on tight. Every time I would try to put him down he would cling on to me really tightly. He was snuggling his face into my neck. It was very cute. Finally I asked him if he wanted to lay on me and I would rock in the chair. He couldn't have been happier. It was as if we did this all the time.

Rocking a 35 lb. 20 month old isn't the same as rocking a newborn baby. His legs were draped down around mine. His whole torso covered my whole torso. It only took about 5 minutes before his arms went limp and his grip loosened from around my neck. I just sat there rocking back and forth with tears streaming down my face.

I can't believe he's growing up so fast. It won't be long before rocking him isn't even going to be possible. Then I think about adding to our family and that one day he won't be my "baby" anymore. Nights like these make everything that has been bothering me about work lately pale in comparison to my wonderful life.