Midnight Snack

Tonight, as I was going upstairs to bed, I heard crying coming from Vander's room.  I found him sitting up in bed, holding his feet and crying as if he'd been crying for a while.  Rather than comfort him and put him back to sleep as I usually do, I picked him up and carried him down to the kitchen.  I asked him if he wanted a banana.  Surprised, he answered yes.  So I sat at the table with him while he ate his banana.  And I learned something new about him: he can open bananas himself!  All this time I've been secretly starting them with my thumbnail when he demanded I let him do it himself because Annalee can't open it on her own without smashing the whole top of the banana.  But he can!  He made it about halfway through the banana and asked where Annalee was.

"In bed, Vander.  It's nighttime and everyone's asleep."

He got down from his chair and said, "I go to bed too."

"Wait," I said.  "Do you want some of these?"  And I held up some Teddy Grahams that Nathan had bought on a whim.  (We never buy them.)

Vander's face lit up with simple pleasure and he said, "Oh yes!"

So he had some Teddy Grahams and milk.  As I sat with him at the table he made cute, impish grins at me.  When I tried to take a picture of one of them he got mad and told me "No pictures!"  But as soon as I put away the camera he smiled again.

We went back up to bed and he surprised me by telling me not to come.
"Can't I give you a kiss?"

"Yes.  But I shut the door."

"Don't you want me to cover you up?"

"No.  I cover myself up and I shut the door."

"Okay, then.  You shut the door.  Please do it quietly."

And he did.  I walked slowly to my room, marveling that he already thought he was too old at age two to be tucked into bed.  That moment, there was a shriek and a wail.  I rushed to his room and he sobbed in my arms, "Dark!  It too dark!"

After the brightness of the hall, it was pretty dark in there.  I got him a second nightlight and rejoiced that he is still little after all.  At least for a little longer.