bedtime with ezra

so the other night, i was putting ezra to bed. the ritual is that daddio does bathtime; mommio does the get dressed/read/sing/tuck in time. i have to admit, it's one of my favorite parts of my day.

the other night was particularly sweet. ezra and i were curled up on the twin mattress that lays on his floor (where sweet daddy has been sleeping many nights lately due to mommy's pregnancy and bummed knee). we were reading with a flash light, and he decided it was his turn to read to little missy - "mr. grumpy." for some reason, ezra loves that story! so he flipped through the pages and would state little phrases from each page, including the fact that mr. happy told mr. grumpy that he was "very bad-tempered!" LOL!

after the book, ezra proceeds to tell me all the things he plans to do for little missy when she arrives. new on the list, however, is that he will tell daddy to "STOP THAT, DADDY!" whenever daddy pushes her.

k surprised and laughing, "ezra, what are you talking about?!"
e: "when daddy pushes ezra and missy, i will say 'STOP THAT, DADDY!'"
k: "ezra, we have a sweet, sweet daddy! he doesn't push you! he won't push missy. he is gentle and kind. and that is how we must treat lil missy."
e: "yes, i'll be gentle and kind to her."
k in her head: (what in the world?!?! he is so funny!)

ezra then asks to be silly and grabs my face, and we're nose to nose, and we proceed to be silly together which basically entails each of us going back and forth yelling out single words (usually non-sensical) in funny, high-pitched voices then followed by lots of giggling. after a few minutes of that, he says, "mommy, let's sing hallelujah. it's my VERY FABORITE song." (which, if you have followed our blog the last 6 mos or so, you have seen ezra perform this for my mom.)

i start to sing, and then we start our next song, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ... there's just something about that name ..."

ezra says he wants to sing it and faulters here and there with some of the tougher words - asks for help - but insists he sings and i quit singing as soon as i give him a prompt. the longer this goes on, i think, "is he singing to lil missy?" it is pitch black so i can't really see what he is doing ... so i instinctively lift up my shirt on my belly a little, and yep, next thing i know, his sweet little hand is on my belly with his face pressed up against it as big brother ezra sings to his little sister missy "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus." yep. i was choking back tears. such a tender, precious moment. i asked ezra what he was doing, and he says, "i am singing to MY baby, mommy!" (yes, he refers to missy as either OUR baby or MY baby - love it.) "when she comes out, i'll sing her hallelujah at night. it's my FABORITE song!" so, so sweet!

after songs are over, he crawls up in his "big boy bed," and i tuck him in. only he wants to give to me more kissies. i start to walk - hobble really - away, and then he wants to give me another hug. hobble away take 2 - "mommy, i need to give you a kissie on your mouth!" one more kiss. THEN, as mommy is hobbling away take 3, he calls out, "mommy, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!" shucks, this kid couldn't be any sweeter!

next words whispered out of his mouth while i'm standing at the door, "night, night, mommy! i love you! i hope your boo boo is ALL BETTER in the morning!"