baby bedtime sweetness

so, when it comes to bedtime, we have a little ritual in the gilchrest household:

1. mommy puts ezra to bed; this is very important, so important that daddy often keeps ezra up a bit just so she can rush home from class or a meeting so we can have that special time together in the evening.
2. sit in rocker together to "bok bok" - yes, that's the exact same thing i said when i was a kid.
3. throw "lovie" over my shoulder so ezra can snuggle in and play with the soft blankie while we ...
4. read "bups" (we usually get three or four in, a great time to practice his words) or sing songs ("wheels on the bus" is still his fav, complete with hand motions)
5. all the while sipping his "mil" every now and then for a little top off before beddy-bie
6. at some point, daddy comes in to give him a kiss goodnight.
7. after all steps are complete, mommy quietly says "nigh, nigh, ezra!" we walk over, turn off the light together, he crawls up my torso to snuggle into my neck as tight as he can and to give me a big hug while he stares off into the dark
8. i give him a few pats on the bum ... and then
9. a hug and kiss and i lay him down in the corner of his crib where he proceeds to wiggle his head and rub his little feet back and forth (again, something i do when i get into bed - SO strange!), yawn ... and
10. i walk out while he drifts off to sleep sans crying - truly a beautiful thing

this whole process once the "bups" are done takes less than 30 seconds or so...

RECENTLY, however, he has been so sweet while he is snuggled up by my neck. for example, tonight, eric wasn't home so we missed step #6. so after the lights were out, we had a little convo like this:

round 1:
e: mommy?
k: yes, lovie?
e: daddy?
k: daddy at church practicing his music.

round 2:
e: mommy?
k: yes, lovie?
e: daddy?
k: daddy at church practicing his music.

round 3:
e: mommy?
k: yes, lovie?
e: daddy?
k: daddy at church practicing his music. but when he gets home, i'll be sure to tell him to come in and give you a BIG kiss.

e: SIGH!

my child was satisfied. he was ready for bed. mommy had answered his deepest concern - that he would miss his goodnight kiss from his beloved daddy. precious boy.