While Daddy's away...

I have to just tell you all how sweet my boy is!! (Not that you didn't know it already!)

Trent has been out of town this week, and when he's out of town I don't cook. That means DATE NIGHT with Luke! Tuesday night we went round and round about where to eat and he finally said "I want pancakes." Well, good thing I had a coupon for IHOP, so off we went. He ate more than I did!! That's saying a lot because I am definitely not dieting right now. When we were finished with dinner he said "Mommy, please may we go to Target?" What's a Mama supposed to say to that? So, while at Target he sees a puzzle he wants and says, "Mommy, please may I have that puzzle?" At that moment he could have had anything he wanted, so of course he got the puzzle.

Last night we made a trip to Central Market so he could play on the playground. I thought we'd end up eating dinner there, but he said he wanted Mac and Cheese. There is a delicious restaurant/bakery just across from the zoo, McKinley's, and they have the best Mac and Cheese I've ever tasted, not to mention delicious cakes (and man, oh man, do I love cake right now) so that's where we went. On the way home, my dad called. I let Luke talk to him for a while and he told Grandad with a little hint of disappointment, but very sternly "We just had dinner. It was NOT Chili's."

I don't understand his latest obsession with Chili's. We've been a few times, but it's not one of our regular meal options like, say, Chick-fil-a. This doesn't matter, though. We drive by a Chili's and he goes nuts! "Chili's! Mama! Chili's!! Do you see it?! Can we go there?!?" I don't get it.

I think my favorite thing about Luke this week has been how tender he's been. Every morning when he wakes up, he comes and gets in bed with us. Since Trent's been gone this week, he's had a lot more room in the bed, but he has snuggled up to me every morning and says "Mommy, I'm gonna hold you." He rubs my face, plays with my hair, and gives me lots and lots of snuggles. We talk about Clay and "when he's gonna come out" and he says "I'm going to rub him" and I get a good belly rub. He has been so, so sweet and I absolutely cherish this time with him.

There's a tiny part of me that is sad that he won't have my full attention in just a few weeks, but at the same time, I know what a great big brother he will be to little Clay. It's so hard to imagine loving another human being the way we love Luke, but I know that God has created us so that our hearts expand with the birth of each child, and for that I am so grateful. To know and be able to feel this kind of love is the greatest gift I've been given.