Sleepy Time

Right before David falls asleep, he starts getting fussy. He closes his eyes, brings his little fist toward them and rubs. He wraps his little arms around my neck and buries his face on my shoulder, as if letting me know he is tired and that it is Sleepy Time. I always wonder how he knows to make all these signals to let me know he is tired. Isn't it amazing how God thought of every detail when forming us... As my son rubs his eyes, I get his pacifier and cradle him in my arms. He fights his sleep when I begin to cradle him. "Ya, ya, ya," I tell him, "Sh, sh, sh," I whisper in his ear as I rock him back and forth. Before you know he is tired himself out and sleep has won.

A few minutes ago I place my son in his bed. I went through the same routine that I always go through before putting him down. EVERY night I do this. EVERY single night, and every single night I stare at him for a few minutes before I put him down. This time was different though, I started thinking how much I love taking pictures and how he just stairs at the camera as though he was staring through a black hole. He just looks like the most beautiful person I have ever seen and I get to capture every moment of him. But as I stared longer at his little nose, his little eyes, and his puckered up little mouth, I realized I couldn't stop this moment forever. I could only freeze the face and the emotion I was feeling but I couldn't capture this moment and keep it. I could only freeze it. It was then I realize my little baby was growing up so fast, right before my eyes and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I realized that it was just part of life and that one day I would no longer go through this routine and have to rock him to sleep. That one day he would simply go to sleep on his own with out my assistance and for a second I was sad. But it was that moment that made me appreciate every second, every minute, every moment I have as I cradle my little baby during Sleepy Time.