My Funny Valentine

Holden would like to wish everyone a very special Valentine Day.

Jordan and I went out to eat for his birthday last night then saw the movie Juno while Holden had a date with his Nana and Rowdy. Dinner and movie were both great, though I drifted off into dreamland during the previews. You know that weird place your mind goes as you fall asleep where reality is mixed in? I could hear an older lady whispering to her friend nearby and I drifted. For a brief moment I was dreaming about chocolate cake. The whispering woman giggled which jarred me awake to find Jordan staring at me. He said I was snoring. I don’t snore.

The night before last, Jordan was working so it was just me and the baby. Bedtime sent the “cuteness meter” through the roof. The last bottle of the day usually propels Holden into a drowsy place, but he was staring at me wide-eyed through the entire feeding. We commenced with the usual burping, swaddling, and story time all the while Holden is staring at me. We have been working toward Holden falling asleep in his crib instead of our arms, but I usually wait until he is relaxed to place him in the bed. Since I was going to be up with him apparently anyway, I put him in the crib, eyes wide open just to see what would happen. I hovered over the crib as he looked around in the dim glow of his moon nightlight. Then I slowly backed away on tip toes. Holden said “guhhhh,” followed by “guhhh?” as though he was carrying on a conversation with himself. I stood in the hallway for a minute listening to his baby ramblings prepared to swoop in and scoop him up the second he started wailing … which was certain to happen any minute now, right? But there was no wailing, just “guhh.” So I inched farther and farther away toward my own room. I laid in bed for the next 30 minutes or so listening to the baby monitor as my son talked to himself until he fell asleep and he stayed asleep until morning.