Rare Form

At Breakfast w/ Santa two weeks before Christmas

Earlier this month we had one of those nights when Morgan was in rare form. It was a weeknight. Nothing unusual happened at daycare that day. But from the minute we got Morgan home, she was an emotional disaster!

She cried at everything that night. Eating dinner. Not eating dinner. Standing up. Sitting down. It didn't matter what we did, she cried. It was one of those times that tests your patience as a parent. We were walking the fine line between comforting her and coddling her the entire evening.

So, we did something we never do. We put her to bed early. Almost an hour early. I remember that she fought it, but I can't remember how long it took her to fall asleep. Certainly not more than 10 minutes.
And so, the next evening when we picked her up from daycare, I think Jeff and I were both secretly wondering if we would have the strength/patience to endure another night like the one before.

So you can imagine the sheer gratitude and overwhelming joy in our hearts when Morgan behaved exactly opposite from the previous night! The entire evening she was all smiles, hugs and love.

"Let's cuddle," she'd say before throwing her arms around our necks and giggling.

"We're family," she'd proclaim before puckering up to get kisses from each of us as we all watched Rudolph snuggled together on the couch.

I like to call these "heart swell" moments, but this one was so much more. This one was our precious 2-year-old reminding us that it is all worth it.