A Sneak Peek

I'm mildly obsessed with my son.

Lately I have been going to work before he gets up, so I haven't seen him in the mornings. This makes me miss him, obviously.

This morning, about 45 minutes before he usually wakes up, I let my need to see him get the best of me and I peeked into his bedroom expecting to see the gentle rise and fall of his little tummy (which, by the way, he loves to show you now when you ask "where is your tummy"....genius).

It took me a minute to realize that what I saw was his beloved raggie being waved lazily in the air in the semi-dark room. He was facing away from me, sucking his thumb and staring at the bumper on his crib, and waving his raggie in the air, which he loves to do.

My initial reaction was "THREAT LEVEL MIDNIGHT" and to step away from the door quickly and quietly. I was not ready to get him up for the morning and still make it to work at a reasonable time. Nine times out of ten, when I shut the door he hears it and demands to be let out. Then Appa and I are trying to get ready while distracting him from diving into the empty bathtub with his toothbrush.

Today, not a peep.

So naturally, I was insanely drawn to watch him some more. I lasted about 10 minutes before sneaking another peek. This time I was almost finished getting for work, so I was more prepared if things took a turn for the worse.

Instead I was treated to about 3 minutes of Little Bug in "nature." It was like some interesting Planet Earth show, only for babies. Little Bug was rolling around in his crib, cooing secret things to his raggie and exploring the textures of his crib bedding like he has done countless time before. At one point, something must have struck his fancy, because he did this crazy army roll into a sitting position and sat high and alert (but still didn't look toward the door). Turned out he wanted to turn on his aquarium for some mood music. It was fascinating to me.

I tried to go back to getting ready, but by now I was hooked on my kid. I broke my own cardinal rule and went in to get him out of his crib before he started calling for us.

I'm so glad I did. Baby boy got a huge smile on his face and immediately stood up and said "up." There is something extra cuddly about him first thing in the morning, similar to hot bread right out of the oven. Instead of getting him ready for school, he and I sat together and read books, sang songs, hugged, and laughed.

I was late for work, and it was totally worth it.