Alex-time

I think I've mentioned before that we call it "Mama-time" or "Daddy-time" when the boys get special snuggle time with one or the other of us.  Ethan gets Mama-time these days getting ready for school in the mornings and driving to school.  He has my undivided attention (well, undivided by the other boys who are usually sleeping anyway).  Cameron gets Mama-time regularly as I have to focus on him to feed him or put him to sleep and then he gets Mama-time at night after his brothers go to sleep.  All this time with Mama leaves Alex out in the cold I think and I've noticed it lately.  Alex gets Daddy-time during naps during the day or when Cameron is asleep during the day but he doesn't get as much Mama-time - if any - during the week.

I found a way to change that.  I do a lot with the preschool ministry at our church but am often too focused on the lesson or skit to be able to give Alex my attention there either.  Until now - I led worship a few weeks during the preschool sessions and let Alex "lead" with me - singing the songs, etc.  Then this past week I did the skit that was part of the lesson and had Alex do it with me.  He "pretended" to be shy as he normally does but he loved it.  I can't take full credit for this as it was the preschool director's idea to have our kids do our parts of the service with us to get them more involved as well.  Alex really loved it though.

This past week, Alex & I were the only ones that went to church.  I was helping to cover the preschool area during both services & Sunday school in the directors absence so Steve had Ethan & Cameron while I had Alex so he could do the skit with me, etc.  Cameron was really congested so Steve ended up keeping him home and Ethan wasn't feeling great either - evidenced in part by the fact that he didn't want to go to church (normally he'd live there if we let him - he loves it).  Alex helped me with the skit and then helped me run the laptop during the rest of the lesson and stood with me singing and doing the movements to the songs.  He was running everywhere but still listening to me when I tried to reign him in.

Then as we left church, he was singing one of the songs from our worship "Jesus is a good good fwend.  He's a good good good fwiend to me.  He's a good good good good good good good fwend to me." (the song doesn't have that many "goods" but Alex did).  When we got in the car, he was smiling and singing and stopped long enough to say, "Mama, I wuv you."  Then I had Christian music on the radio and "God is Not Dead" came on the radio and he changed mid-sentence from "good good fwend" to "roaring wike a wion" (roaring like a lion) and proceeded to sing that at the top of his lungs all the way home.

When we got home, Steve, Ethan & Cameron were sleeping so I got in Alex's bed with him and took a nap with him.  Granted he woke Cameron up so Steve didn't get much nap, but I still got to finish out my Alex-time with a much needed nap.  Sunday mornings (at least through the end of February) are now my "Alex-time."  Love that curly-headed, dimple-faced little boy - rotten though he may be.