The Best Before Bedtime

The time of day I have the most fun with Luke is the 20 minutes before I put him to bed.  From the time I bring him upstairs until I put him to down and say goodnight Luke is always in a good mood.  While down stairs with the rest of the family he shows us he is tired by rubbing his eyes and generally being cranky.  As I pick him up to bring him upstairs for sleep he gets his second wind.

I lay him down on his changing table and take off his outermost layer of clothing for a diaper change.  About this time Luke gets talkative and starts kicking around like mad.  Of course the diaper change gets postponed so I can pinch, tickle, play with him.  This all accompanies Luke giving me these really big mostly toothless smiles.  After a while he discovers that without the bulk of clothing he can reach his feet and entertains himself with his toes while I get his diaper changed.  When it comes to putting on his footy "jammas" he is remarkably helpful.  Once I get his hand in the sleeve he straightens his arms out and he pops his fist right out the end.  If he would lose half an inch in each leg getting him zipped up would also be a breeze.

While taking his bottle is when Luke starts to settle down.  As he is drinking his body relaxes into my arms and he has started rubbing / running his hands through his hair.  Once finished I stand him up on my lap where we exchange one more smile while I try to get him to burp.  Pretty soon after that he starts to thrash around a bit like he is tired of being held.  Once I put him down we exchange one last smile, I tell him I love him, and then I leave the room closing the door behind me.  Most nights he doesn't fuss; just plays for a few more minutes and falls asleep until the next morning.

I feel sorry for the rest of the parents in the world.  Sorry because they don't have a great kid like Luke.