just a few more minutes of playtime

Friday evening playtime:

Parker was wearing pants last night before we had lasagna for supper....

The routine was supposed to be bathtime & then on to bed. I had taken Parker to the doctor earlier in the day because he had a horrible cough that was only getting worse & he was also running a slight fever...I had thought tonight would be the perfect night to put him down a little early.

While I was cleaning up the kitchen, I let Parker get down to play. Within minutes he had decided to dump out all of his toys from the big red bucket & roll around in it. From the kitchen, I heard him quietly singing "Rocking, Rocking..." (a song that his daddy made up for him & has sung to him since he was an infant.) Quickly, I grabbed my camera & just followed him around for the next several minutes to watch him play. What a joy! He loved watching himself rock around in the bucket in front of the mirror in his bedroom!

Where's Parker?The bucket was rolled into the living room so that he could play among the glistening tree lights. He was having the time of his life. I got down on the floor with him to join in on the fun of his little world. It was totally & completely perfect. I quickly forgot about how earlier in the day I was stressing over every little imperfection in my household...stickers & sticky fingerprints on the mirrors & doors, toys underneath furniture, a long to-do list that wasn't going to get done today...and how that morning I had totally felt like the mom on that Family Guy commercial...

Child: "Mum, Mum, Mum, Mummy, Mummy, Mummy, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mama, Mama, Mama"
Mom: "WHAT?!"
Child: Hi!

(Exasperation)

I'm sure no other mom has ever felt like that! ;) Anyway, sometimes it just takes a little time by myself followed by some sweet & simple moments like this to know what REALLY matters during the days.

I eventually asked Parker if he was ready for bathtime, to which he replied, "Nooo." He picked up all the toys & put them in his bucket like a champ though & I ran off to start his bathwater & get his pjs & bedtime things ready. When I turned around, this is what I saw...he had quietly gotten his barn & lined up all his people/animals & was playing with them. It was too sweet to interrupt so I gave him just a few more minutes of playtime. Shortly after I noticed the quiet scene, I asked Parker again if he was ready for bathtime. This time he answered, "Yeah!" & stood up to run towards the bathtub! All he needed was a few extra minutes of playtime...