I might still be up, or it might be the middle of the night, or almost the morning.  But, I hear the cry of “Mommy!  Mommy?!” and off I go.  I stumble in the darkness, past (or over, or through) toys, bikes, train tracks and books.  Benjamin needs me.

I usually get up with B in the night, and Dan gets up with Liam.  We’ve found that if Liam sees me in the middle of the night, he decides it must be midnight snack time, while if Dan gets up with him, he goes back to sleep more easily.  This works out pretty well for me, since most nights, Benjamin sleeps all night, and Liam is much more likely to wake up (although he’s been doing really well lately).

Usually, if he asks for me in the night, Benjamin wants me to fix his blankets.  He sleeps with about 7 blankets and they have to be arranged a particular way.  (They actually don’t — he sleeps just fine with them in any crazy kind of mess — but if he’s awake and AWARE that they aren’t the “right” way, he’ll want me to fix them.)  He is so sweet.  “Mommy, can you fix my blankets?”  “Ok”, I say.  As I’m adjusting them, sometimes he’ll talk to me, about the day, or about the next day, or about how he’s been asleep, or hasn’t been asleep.  I answer him, but it usually falls on deaf ears — even though he’s fairly alert, and talking to me about things, he’s typically asleep again before I finish adjusting his bedding.

It’s just a little thing.  There are nights where I grumble a bit on my way to or from his room (often after stepping on a Lego or something else with sharp corners) but the truth is, I love it.  I love having an excuse to go in and give him a kiss and get him all tucked in for sleep again.  I love my sweet children, and I am so glad for these precious moments with them.