Singing Baby

Beth has been suffering a cold the last few days. She coughs and sniffles and has trouble breathing. Poor little thing. All of my kids act differently when they are sick. Ammon moans and mopes around. Sarah throws a lot of tantrums and makes everyone else miserable. Nathan just keeps on playing. Bethie remains as sweet as she can be.

Two nights ago, she woke up coughing. She was in and out of sleep while coughing for about an hour. I finally gave up on sleep and took her downstairs. She immediately woke up and sweetly said, "Water, please?" Then she said, "Poop?" That's how she asks to watch Winnie the Pooh. I put it in for her, because then I can sleep on the couch. It's not a great parenting technique to let your kids watch movies in the middle of the night. But for me, it's a smart parenting technique because then I get to sleep, and, as all parents know, sleep is essential for patient parenting. After the movie, Beth went back to sleep. When she woke up in the morning, you would expect her to be at least a little grumpy and miserable. But, not my Beth. She smiles and laughs and asks sweetly for whatever she needs.

Last night, Beth woke up crying. I think she has a little earache. I put her in my bed. She snuggled in and tried to sleep. She loves to sleep cheek to cheek with me. This is sweet, but my poor neck. It is a painful experience. Last night, she snuggled and cuddled, but couldn't fall back to sleep. Finally, in her sweet little voice, she started singing, "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" and then the "ABC Song." She stayed cheek to cheek during the entire serenade. She sang and sang until she sang herself to sleep. Even though she kept me awake during my precious sleeping time, I couldn't help but wake up with a smile. And a neckache.