Random acts of kindness

Our mornings follow a fairly consistent routine--one in which I actually get to shower, eat breakfast and get dressed before the kids make a peep. Once the peeping starts, things get a little crazy.

Caleb will wake up and begin grunting around 8, which is my cue to scoop him up out of his crib, cuddle the heck out of him and kiss his big ol' cheeks until he starts grumbling for food. Down the stairs we go to a breakfast of oatmeal or, more recently, banana crunchies (bite-size pieces of banana coated in wheat germ...thanks Catherine!) that he can feed himself. He makes a big mess, I clean it up, then we trek back up the stairs to check on the noises coming from Abby's room.

Around 8:30, Abby wakes up and apparently sticks her finger in a light socket--what other explanation could there be for her crazy bedhead? She does a few laps around her bed, jumps up and down to make sure the mattress is still in good shape, pounds her feet against the back of her bed then curls back up as if nothing has happened and waits for me to come get her. Each morning I find her curled up with her pillow and her blanket, smiling innocently at me as if she's just opened her eyes. I know better. I just can't prove it yet.

This is where the cuteness starts. Abby loves for Caleb to come get her up. Once I left him downstairs to run up and get her, and she actually told me "Mommy down the stairs. Cabey wake Abby up." I learned my lesson, and now I never go into her room in the morning without him.

On this particular morning, she was insistent that I put Caleb on the floor and "move, Mommy." Apparently he was looking more huggable than me, and me holding him was standing in the way of her completing her morning cuddle mission. I wasn't certain of her motivation as she headed toward him with arms outstretched, so I asked to make sure she wasn't about to push him over or poke him in the eye.

"What are you doing, Abby?" I asked politely.

"Abby cuddle Cabey," she replied matter-of-factly. "Cabey having big squeeze!"