My time with Aurelia and Felix

I had a new experience last night. I spent the night at Peder and Sarah's house, while Peder and Sarah spent the night at a local hotel. Aurelia has spent the night at my home many times, but Felix hasn't. In fact, he and I haven't spent much "alone" time together at all. It just hasn't worked out until last night.

Things went fine until bedtime. I rocked him and read several books, then put him in his crib, and turned on the music. For about 2 or 3 minutes, he was quiet, but then he started to cry. Clearly, he wanted his Daddy. He called and called for him. I let this go on for a couple of minutes, thinking he would tire out and lie down to dreamland. No deal. So, I returned to his room and picked him up. We rocked some more and I read another book, and tried putting him in his crib again. He curled up and went to sleep.

When it was Aurelia's time for bed, I followed her routine, and she went to sleep. All was peaceful until around 11 pm. I heard a voice crying, "I want my mama. I want my mama." I couldn't tell if it was Felix or Aurelia, so I stood in the common hallway to listen. It was Aurelia. This really surprised me. I stood by her bed and told her a story (one I made up), and then rubbed her back for a little bit, and she went to sleep. Off and on during the remainder of the night and early morning, I heard Felix cry, but he would return to sleep on his own. Both kids woke up cheerfully and ate a good breakfast, and then we played some more.

Mid-morning, Peder and Sarah surprised us. They came back to spend some time with us and to take us to lunch. Then we all went to their hotel and their little family went swimming in the pool, while I sat on the deck, enjoying watching them play. It was a very relaxing time, and a good ending of our time together.