Sweet Distractions

Tucking Gracie in for the night after being at Granny’s house for the week…

She is reading Amelia Bedelia to me. Who knew that it was such a long book? She was not intimidated. She was proud to read it to Mommy. I was just as proud of her for reading it. I remember the days of sounding out two letters together. Much patience required from both of us at times. Games of hide & seek with our ‘blend cards’. Giggles. I tried not to giggle when she pronounced the word ‘catsup’ as ‘cat-soup’. I know I shouldn’t, but I still love the way she says ‘Naybe’ and ‘reNember’. It’s a glimpse of the little Gracie still finding her words.


Back to the book. She is engrossed in her story and I get distracted by her toes. Many times, I call them ‘toe-nuts’. I can’t help it. I touch her toes and she tightens them. She says, “Moooommy” with a big grin. I say, “Your toes are giving me a gun show.” She flexes them even tighter and says, “They’re just showing off.”

Back to the book. She gets back into character. I get distracted by her ‘Teddy’. I decorated their rooms as babies in old fashioned teddy bears. I bought this bear at a Stein Mart when I was pregnant with A-Nator, but she never took a strong liking to it. Gracie has literally put miles on this teddy… and rarely goes to bed without it. He is facing down. So, I sit him upright next to her. Again, she says, “Moooooomy” with a grin. “Well, how could he breathe lying down like that?” She says, “He likes that. He’s scuba diving.”

Back to the book. She starts to get back into character. “Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!” “What is it, Gracie?” I thought maybe the roof was caving in?? I look to the left of her only to find the tiniest of spiders crawling on her sheet. Squish. Mommy to the rescue. I'm glad I can still 'save the day' for her.

Back to the book. We laugh at Amelia Bedelia putting a bib on herself instead of the baby. That lady was something else. The End. I pray with Gracie and give lots of hugs and kisses. I try to nestle my nose in her neck like I did when she was a baby. I remember trying to search for her neck through her ‘baby rolls’. She is tall and thin now. The only reason I can’t do it is because she has caught on to me and knows when I’m comin' for some ‘neck-pie’. Such a yummy girl. Lots of giggles. Precious Memories.

Sweet Princess Dreams...