In the middle of the night....

my baby boy will wake up. Usually at least 1/2 the week we are sleepin' triple in a king sized bed. I don't mind it much, he's growing up so quickly that I like the times that he's snuggly and doesn't mind the extra cuddles that climbing into my bed require. The rule for climbing into our bed is simple. You MUST go potty first because there was a time he was responsible for the changing of the sheets daily. Joshua is willful and stubborn, things I adore about him and that I think will serve him well when he's older, and exhausting at times. He is getting to the point that he doesn't like kisses in public and the hugs have slowed down. However, in the middle of the night, when his tired little self comes into my room he is bedwarm and soft. He is typically thoughtful but it makes my heart melt when he comes in quietly to our room. He will go into the bathroom completely dark and shuts the door behind him. Only then will he turn on the light and go potty. Flush and wash his hands and turn off the light and open the door. No one ever taught him to do that he just noticed one night that the light made our room brighter and he knew we liked to sleep in the dark. He does NOT like to sleep in the dark. He falls asleep with a nightlight, his closet light and the room light on, so that makes it even sweeter to me. He will then crawl up the middle between the maze of legs and find a free spot of pillow. Truth be told he has his own pillow in our room, he finds the coolest corner snuggles down under the blankets and whispers 'night guys' and goes back to sleep. I know these things because sometimes when I hear him stirring in his room and walking down the hall I will hurry to lay down and feign sleep. I love to watch his thoughtful nature in action, to see his careful movements. The stealth of his whole 5 yrs tempered with the klutzy of being freshly out of bed. Last night as he started to climb into the bed by our feet I opened my eyes and asked him to come to my side. He knew what was coming, when the mommy asks for him to come over it's snuggle time! He crawled into my bed over me and I captured him in my arms. The top of his head tucked under my chin, I scratched his back and listed all the things that I like about him. All the things that make my heart happy and my eyes smile. In the course of our day he had heard "no, stop, quit, don't" so often I wanted to be sure that "yes, go, continue, of course" were also all well within his grasp. Oh how I love that boychild of mine.