sleep, if only once

Nothing was different about last Sunday. It wasn't extraordinary or life-changing, it was a simple day spent with Jim and D, but it is still a day I want to remember forever. I woke up and felt a little stuffed and sore so I claimed that I had the Plague and laid down on the couch. It was the truth, too, I felt horrible. Jim warmed up a bowl of soup and a cup of chamomile tea and pampered me, even let me watch "Eloise at Christmastime" with Julie Andrews. (Which was adorable. She's a sassy one, that Eloise.)...(And can I say that I adore Christmas TV movies? Oh, I do. Especially when lazing around on the couch feeling horrible.)

There are a few moments I want to just cut out and memorize, hang on the wall in my mind and enshrine or just dust off the cobwebs so they shine more brightly than other memories. Watching Jim as he lifted Diego in one arm and carried him into the kitchen to make me some soup was one of them. It was something he was saying to D, explaining the complexities of cans or soup or winter weather, I don't know. Maybe it was the pampering. Or the honey toast he made. (Yum) Everything about that moment made me love him that much more.

The happiness continued, too, that night. We put Diego to bed, as usual, and he woke up around 9, as usual, and then fell back to sleep a few minutes after. And then...he slept through the night. The ENTIRE night. He's never done that before and I don't expect him to do that again until he's 16. But it was a glorious, sleepy, surprising holiday gift. And that's what I think it was, a gift to me. To both of us. Sleep. He knew exactly what I wanted!

I love my boys.

he laughs!

I was sitting here marveling at my ability to breastfeed and still have both hands to type when the little guy finished and I could unwind my legs from their crazy contortions. Yay to me, though, right? Very proud of myself right now.

Anyhow, there he was laying in my lap, sleeping the sleep of the full stomach baby-you know the one-open mouth drooling, breathing deep, arms akimbo-and he laughed! As in "heh-heh-heh." It wasn't all too audible but there was a huge grin on his face and a slight escape of breath. I am amazed! He laughs!
And the laughing is much better than the all-night grunting. Is it gas, I wonder? Whatever it is I find myself awake and sitting up, away from the cozy covers of the bed way too often to find him still asleep and not ready for feeding. Two hours of sleep only to wake up to find him and the DH still asleep? Ugh. Is it sad that I'm learning to love three hour stretches of sleep? Mmmm....sleep.

On another note J goes back to work tomorrow. And I officially start my time as a stay at home mommy. Holy poopie diapers, Batman! It's something I knew would come but it still feels too soon to begin. Will I be ok? What'll I do? How does this SAHM-ness work? And WHERE are the other moms around here, because I could use a few mom-friends to share horror stories about exploding diapers and gassy nights. Who else would appreciate hearing about little Rhino's enormous toots and burps? Or celebrate the fact that I got more than 4 hours of sleep in the night?

Will have to search for moms tomorrow. Right now the little Rhino and I are going to pretend to get some sleep. Ok, he'll sleep. I'll just try.