Morning Ella

I’ve never been much of a morning person. When I was a kid my mom used to get as creative as she could just to get me out of bed so I could get ready for school. At one point I remember that every morning she would come into my room and bring me breakfast in bed (a bagel with cream cheese) just so that I would wake up. I’m still not much of a morning person. I would much rather stay up until midnight or later just watching TV and then sleep in late in the morning.

Ella is the same way. Even at 2 she does all she can to postpone going to bed. After boo boos and brushing her teeth she knows what comes next. So she starts with, “Call Gi Gi? Call Paw Paw? Paw Paw banjo? Gi Gi on the computer?” So we usually call Gi Gi and Paw Paw and chat for a few minutes. Next comes watching Larry, Mickey, Elmo or whoever else is the character of the moment. She begs to watch them on the computer, so we go to You Tube and watch a couple of different blurbs. Now it’s time to venture into Ella’s room where she starts in on her books. “Can we read bible?” So we read her little bible. Then comes whatever book she wants to read next…8 Little Monkeys, The Acorn and the Oak Tree, Mickey Mouse, etc. I have started limiting her to 2 books (3 if they’re short) because otherwise we’d read everything on her bookshelf….twice. After the books she knows it time…we pray as a family and she and I get to rock a little bit. Then, it’s off to bed. (I’m a bit nervous for how this will go down once she is in a regular bed and is able to climb out easily.)

But even though neither Ella nor I are morning people, my favorite time of the day is in the morning…right when Ella is just waking up. Her skin is cool and soft and her hair is all over the place. This is when she’s at her most cuddly time. I love picking her up and just holding her cheek to cheek. Sometimes she’ll rest her head on my shoulder and we’ll just stand in the middle of her room swaying. I take everything in...her smell, her feel, the little sound of her breathing...I memorize all of it. Then suddenly, her head will perk up and she’ll say something that is obviously very important to a 2 year old, and the moment has passed. She's off and running to see daddy or grab her Mr. Potato Head (Mato head).

But that moment…that short time spent together…that is what gets me through my day. I love that kid!