Chasing Dinosaurs

The whimpers of my youngest, as he wrestled in his sleep against the pain from his new tooth, awakened me from a deep slumber. I reached into his bed to see if he was awake and though he clearly wasn't, he pressed his face against my hand. In the darkness, I stoked his head, smoothing his hair back from his face and savoring his soft cheek. These (often) sleepless nights are strangely some of the sweetest and most meaningful and there is no rush in my heart for any alteration. 

Jevy is clambering across my lap, throwing his massive self around me. He giggles as I wrestle him onto the floor and try to re-locate my computer which disappeared in the kerfuffle. While I was reading this afternoon, he closed my book, looked at me intently, then re-closed the book when I re-opened it. The intensity of his expression finally made me look up and he broke into loud laughter and started clapping his hands. I grabbed him suddenly and he went limp with laughter and pressed himself against me. These small, incredible moments are THE moments! His subtle, but insistent, desire to connect and love are so beautiful - they are what make him truly remarkable! 

We've been reading through "The Long Winter", by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and it makes our current winter hibernation feel dramatically minimal. Madigan noted how warm we are when we arise in the mornings - an amenity we take for granted all too quickly. Though I thoroughly enjoy the story, observing his keen interest, as he hunkers down into the couch wrapped tightly in a blanket, brings me great joy! When our reading commences, he proceeds to live out the wild plottings of his imagination, allowing the story to unfold in the midst of our mundane (reality). :-) 

Paugie has been chasing dinosaurs around the kitchen all day - effective way to embrace this snowy house-bound day. He and his big bro traipsed around making snow roads on the back porch this morning until the cold crept into their bones and chased them indoors with ravenous appetites for hot tea and warm muffins. All muffin credit goes to Paugie, whose kitchen repertoire this week also includes soup, pancakes, kale chips and several cups of hot tea (for Mama). His incessant chatter sometimes makes me slightly batty (PLEASE, one thought to myself!), but I find in the (rare) moments of silence, I long for his soft voice whispering all of his sweet nothings and somethings.