patty cake addict

Well, the past few nights at bedtime have been quite interesting. Imagine this scene at the beach condo last week ...

• the bi-fold closet doors open with the pack-n-play sticking halfway into the closet and halfway out into the room ...
• the nightlight plugged in by the closet with only that small light on in the room ...
• and me, sitting on the floor next to the pack-n-play and nightlight, holding E with her legs around my waist and face nuzzled into my neck, pretending like I'm rocking in a rocking chair but really just working my nonexistent ab muscles by rocking back and forth, all the while humming a lullaby

Eden had a few nights of screaming and holding on to me with her arms and legs with all her might when I tried to put her in the pack-n-play, so we spent quite a bit of time in the not-really-a-real-rocker position as I tried to put her to bed. In her defense, she did somehow have sweet tea just an hour before bedtime one night {why did I not see it coming? the girl's never had caffeine!!}. Needless to say, that night was the very first night she ever slept the full night in the big bed with me {Graham wasn't at the condo that night}, and it was full of a little one pressed against my back and face. In the morning, I heard her moving around when she woke up but kept my eyes closed -- then I felt a little finger poking my nose -- she was waking me just as we had done while playing. I was giggling on the inside.

Now that we're home, Eden has become a patty-cake addict. When we're sitting in the actual rocker and I ask what song she wants, she immediately claps her hands for patty-cake. And, even if I've sung it 50 times, I can't even change the words up to amuse myself because she'll sit up immediately and shake her head no. Oh, and Georgia must be spread out across my chest with Eden's head resting on me and my cheek on her forehead. The few times I lifted my head to stretch, her little hand immediately reached up and grabbed my hair to pull me back down. The girl definitely knows what she wants and at the end of every verse she's sitting up saying through her paci "mo', mo'" and signing with her little index finger "one more time"  and patty-cake. It's like she'll never ever hear it again and just must hear it one more time.

I'll admit, when we're in there by ourselves with her all cuddled up on me, I'm happy to enable her addiction. Unfortunately, she's getting back to her normal ways and tonight only let me sing ring-around-the-rosie one time and patty cake one time before she asked to go to her bed. Hmmm, how can I bring her addiction back to get some more rock time?

- ashley