Sweetie Liam

Every morning, Jim gets Liam and brings him to me in bed. A few months ago, when he’d do this, Liam would happily smack me around a bit and then get down off the bed so he could pull the books off the bookshelf or otherwise wreak havoc.

Now, though, he crawls to me, lays his head on my arm, and curls himself into me. I pull the covers over us and just smell his hair for a while. He’ll stay until I tell him it’s time to go eat breakfast. Sometimes, he’ll lift his head to stare into my eyes or readjust his tiny little body so it fits better into mine, but mostly we just lie there quietly.

Even when he wants to play, he’s cuddly. He’ll say, “bap! bop!” and I’ll tickle his tummy or under his arm. He’ll giggle and wriggle around a bit, then wait. Then he’ll slap his teeny little feet against my thigh and I’ll say, “footie footie…FEETIES!” and tickle, tickle, tickle, until he’s completely dissolved in a breathless fit of giggles. He’ll search my face, looking for the glasses he so loves to grab and fling in one swift motion. When he doesn’t find them, he’ll bow his head a bit, like a bull about to charge, and plow his forehead softly into my face…and hold. Such an intense hug, this. It doesn’t matter that he’s crushing my eyeball or squishing my nose. “Wub wub,” he’ll say, or, “abm abm” and I just try, try to soak it in.

I don’t know what’s done it. He’s always been a snuggler – fiercely tightening his body into mine whenever I picked him up, even just after he was born. But now, it’s so much more conscious…we expect frequent hugs from him all day, now. And he’s constantly climbing up on our laps for a quick hug, then getting down again to play a bit…then up he comes again…I wonder if it’s because he’s finally weaned (by the way, WHEE!)? I wonder if he just got used to being around us so much more during vacation? I don’t know.

But wow, I’m glad.