Connected

Last night, I went in to check on Teagan before heading to bed myself. It's what I do every night. I go into Zach's room and check on him, stare at him, adore him. I go into Teagan's room and check on her, wonder at her, watch her. Last night when I went in to Teagan's room, she was all askew in the bed so I gently moved her back to normal and got her blanket over her legs. She sleepily opened her eyes, saw me, smiled, closed her eyes, snuggled back into her pillow. And that smile... that special "someone who loves me and that I love is close by and loving me" smile... that smile stayed on her face until she was back into her deeply relaxed sleep. So I stayed and wondered at her... with that special smile now played out on my own lips... and felt so connected to my baby girl... I had told her last night that she was the first person to ever call me Mommy... she was my first baby... she was the one that taught me how to be a Mommy. I asked if she thought I was doing a good job as her Mommy- and she said yes (Whew!). I asked her, "What do you think I could do to be a better Mommy for you?" She thought about it a good 30 seconds (which is eons in 4-year-old years) and replied, very seriously but with a sly smile... "You could feed me gum every day!"