Mitchell was very sick last week, so we didn’t get out of the house much. We spent a lot of time cuddling. Sick Mitchell just likes to be held.
One afternoon, Ashleigh, Mitchell and I were snuggled together on the couch, with Mitchell in the crook of my left arm. I had just gotten a new book, The Reading Bug by Paul Jennings, and had flicked to the end, which lists ‘brilliant books’ by age and development stage. I was reading the titles out loud so we could work out how many of them we had.
Me: Guess How Much I Love You?
Ashleigh: Yes.
Me: Miffy books.
Ashleigh: No but we’ve gotten them from the library before I think. Is Miffy the rabbit?
Me: Yes, I think so. My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes.
Ashleigh: No but (cousin’s name) has that one and we’ve read it before and it’s really funny.
Me: My First Board Books.
Ashleigh: We’ve got lots like that.
Me: One Woolly Wombat.
Ashleigh: Sunning by the sea! Two cuddly koalas sipping gumnut tea!
We continued through the books for babies (and owned most of them – forget chocolate; most of our household budget goes on books!) then moved on to books for pre-schoolers.
Me: Angelina Ballerina series.
Ashleigh: No, but I like ballerinas. Can we get some?
Me: We’ll have a look at the library. Berenstain Bears.
Ashleigh: No… ooh, yes, are they the funny bears that go out the window? Bears in the Night?
Me: Yes, that’s them! Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Before Ashleigh had a chance to answer that one, a little boy’s red locks entered my frame of vision. Mitchell climbed into my lap and looked expectantly towards the book I was holding, then turned to face me.
“Bear? Bear? Bear?”
His eyes were half-closed. His nose was red on top, and snotty below. He was coughing and sneezing and should have been miserable.
But he was smiling. He’d just heard the first line of his favourite book, and was expecting me to read the rest.
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And because the moment was so beautiful, I did just that.
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Earlier this month, Ashleigh was the one who was sick. She also loves a cuddle and a book to read when she’s sick, but mostly just wants someone near to comfort her.
She had a series of sneezes in a row. Achoo, achoo, achoo, achoo. I hugged her, got her a drink of water, then sat her down on the couch with a blanket and rubbed her head.
More sneezes came. Achoo, achoo, achoo, achoo.
And when they stopped, she reached out for a cuddle and said, “Mum, I really love you. I wish my sneezes said ‘I love you’ instead of ‘achoo’.”
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Kids are funny. Sometimes you expect them to be gorgeous. You know that a heart-melting moment is on the way, and you’re prepared.
And sometimes, they hit you out of nowhere. BAM. Gorgeousness. Affection. Sweetness.
Love.
Have your kids squeezed your heart this month?
— Update 30.7.2014: You may also like to visit Beautiful moments part two (pictures) —
Beautiful! I love it when children LOVE books and reading. Even if they are snotty and sick! I’ve never heard of ‘The Reading Bug’. Is it a good read?
I’m reading ‘James and the Giant Peach’ to my class at the moment and they beg for it every day. I love their enthusiasm! We just don’t know how James and the insects are going to escape from the sharks….very exciting!
Definitely recommend it! It’s a great read – and some recommendations seem counter-intuitive but are brilliantly explained and the more I think about them, the more sense they seem to make.
And hooray for Roald Dahl!
Oh poor sick kids. I have one home at the moment, she missed her school excursion yesterday and was so sad. It broke my heart. Funnily enough they are studying Eric Carle books in class. Miss E loves them 🙂 (As do I)
Eric Carle is a genius. And I hope your little one is feeling better now (both physically, and about having missed the excursion).
Brown bear, brown bear was an absolute favourite in our house for ages. I had to reconstruct it a few times as it got pulled apart so they could see all the pages at the same time!!
So many of our books are held together with sticky tape! Our copy of Brown Bear is a board book though – a little sturdier.
Love, love, love! I loved reading this – their love is so a reflection of yours for them xx
Thank you! That’s a such a lovely thing to say, and I can’t stop smiling!
oh, aw. You have captured these moments so beautifully. I have just put all of mine to bed, and now I want to go and hug them again. xS
Hugs make the world go around! (Or something like that…)
My youngest told me he was going to marry me the other day, I could have just melted into my bed!
Haha, that’s so adorable!
Oh, the cute 🙂 My son is doing the Brown Bear and other Eric Carle books at Kindy at the moment and cant get enough of them. That list sounds fab, Ill have to chase it down and check it out!
Hello from #teamIBOT
I highly recommend the entire book. I hope you find it!
How super cute are they?!!! I love the things they come out with sometimes. My four year old is always surprising me. Although she did tell me she doesn’t like my new glasses. Thanks for breaking it to me gently :/
Oh no! Sometimes they just don’t like change. I promise to give you an honest opinion in three weeks. (Three weeks! YAY!)
Oh that is just priceless! What a gorgeous kid.
I had a moment like this yesterday with my 8 year old. Hit me from nowhere, but so beautiful.
They’re almost more beautiful when you’re not expecting them!
An absolutely gorgeous post! It’s not exactly heart warming but it cracked me up..tonight I had music on and I skipped a song and Dyllan exclaimed ‘aww mum, that’s my jam’. Haha!
Thanks! And that’s still heartwarming – gotta love the laughter! That’s gold.
OMG…that it is just truly adorable, Emily! My boys are totally melting my heart these days. N snuggles with me in bed and his hand will grab my face, pull it close to his and he’ll whisper, “I love you, Mama” Sigh. It always comes out of nowhere. That’s so true.
I had another one the other day – A hugged me as I was putting new linen on her bed and said ‘Thanks for making the bed smell nice’. (I promise it hadn’t been THAT long since I did it…)
Gorgeous little moments Emily, I feel like we are eavesdropping on your family’s childhood. What wonderful memories they will be. Hope your house feels better soon.
Eavesdrop away – I have plenty more stories in reserve, kept just for us. x
Love beautiful moments and fortunately have many! My just five year old LOVES books too. Was just talking about our upcoming holiday and he looked concerned. “What about my books? Can I take my books?” Bless him!
What a fantastic question! Yes. Books are always welcome on holiday!