We've gone through various evening rituals since Fiona was old enough to know how to stall bedtime. At 2, she danced in circles serenaded by her Mozart Music Cube -- one of the most brilliant baby toys ever made. At 3, she commanded Dada to animate her Elmo doll and make him talk in an almost-Elmo but kind of creepy voice while I pretended to be Santa. Geez, that is odd now that I am retelling it. She also liked for us to dance to Music Together's "Train Song" and "Caribbean Amphibian" performed by Jimmy Buffet and Kermit the Frog. Yeah, you heard me. At 4, Dada is solely responsible for putting Fiona to bed while I quickly deposit Rowan in his crib after a song and a kiss. Since we stopped breastfeeding a few months ago, I've made a point of keeping Rowan's nighttime ritual short and sweet. We may look at books, we may play quietly in his room, but once the noise machine is on and the lights are dim, we mean business. Good night and god bless. Dada and Fiona, on the other hand, play Sneeze Monster. I'm not certain of his origins, but the Sneeze Monster sneezes noisily and messily at Fiona. Her only defense against the Sneeze Monster is anything purple, so she'll hold Purple Hop or a plastic toy phone up in the S.M.'s face and he'll react by hiccuping and keeling backward while Fiona laughs maniacally. She loves it. And Rowan has started to get into the act, too. If we are still hanging out in Fiona's room when the game begins, Rowan dives right in, smiling and laughing and getting into Dada's face. Fiona will yell, "Leave my baby brudder alone!" and valiantly hold out her phone. Dada's always been a fun guy, but lately Fiona is especially enamored of him. She squeals when he arrives home at night, jumping up from the dinner table to run to the door and give him a hug. She frequently tells him she loves him and nuzzles up against him. Dada is a master of diffusing situations in which Fiona is being irrationally nutzoid; not only does he calm her down but he finds a way to make her laugh and forget what she was feeling crazy about. He is the greatest. And, what's more, he is the Sneeze Monster.
2 Comments
yfcck
11/22/2013 11:57:51 am
bless you
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me
11/30/2013 03:16:15 am
Yikes ! Stripes !
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