Girl time...

Dylan is sleeping over at the Mundays' house tonight.  Emma kindly invited him over, and I couldn't say no.  So Edith and I had the house to ourselves for dinner, bath, and bed time.

At first, it was a bit strange.  She cried when Dylan left, but perked right up when I let her sit on the kitchen counter while I cooked dinner.  She loves to do that--mostly because I give her pieces of vegetable and chunks of cheese, etc. while I am cooking.  So we cooked dinner together, did a little bit of shopping while it was in the oven (cottage pie, and one of my best ones yet), then came home and ate.  She watched "In The Night Garden" instead of "Octonauts" for her bedtime cartoon, and got to sit on my lap the entire time.  Then she had the bath to herself and got lotion rubbed on her cute little body before we got jammies on.  We read the story that she chose ("Good Baby / Bad Baby) whilst lying side by side on Dylan's bed.  She got to hold my hand while we said bedtime prayers.

Edith was in heaven.

I liked it, too.

Sometimes I miss the attention I was able to pay to Dylan when he was an only child, and I feel guilty that I can't lavish that kind of attention on Edith.  She never has me to herself.  So the rare occasions when I do have her on her own (she usually sleeps the entire time Dylan is at school) are such a treat. 

The thing that amazed me the most was how much more she talked tonight.  Seriously, she was a little chatterbox.  I guess she just can't get a word in edgewise when her big brother is around.

Edith has always called me either "mama" or "mom."  She learned it from Dylan, who always calls me "mom."  But just this week she has started calling me "mommy."  It just makes me want to pick her up and cuddle her every time.

Having just said all of this, I DO prefer having them both around.  When they aren't fighting, they play together so beautifully.  Every once in a while, Dylan asks Edith if she will be his best friend.  And she always replies, "Yes, Did-dun." 

Girls' nights are fun, but I prefer it when our little family is complete.