Goodnight Moon

Dear Aimee,

Today we had a family day. We spent the day at home chasing you around the house, playing under the covers, and holding you while we watched PBS Sprout. We decided at 5pm to go to the mall to get a few things and take you to ride the Merry-go-round.

When we got to the mall, it was still daylight, but the moon was already very visible. For the first time, you immediately noticed the moon and pointed it out to us saying, "Hello Moon! The moon is in the sky!" As we walked from the parking lot
to the mall, you tracked the moon with every step and waved good-bye as we went in.

Your daddy and I have discovered that using the Merry-go-round as a reward is the most effective way to get you to behave at the mall, hands down. You usually hate doing anything that isn't your idea. If we want you to walk, you want to be carried. If we want you to sit in your stroller, you want to walk. When we were waiting for your dad in the tool department of Sears, I explained to you that I wanted you to be a big girl and walk, and that if you got tired, you should sit in the stroller. If you did these things, then you would get to ride the Horsies. You immediately sat in the stroller and stayed there for an hour and half until it was time to ride the horsies.

When we got to the food court, you obediently sat and began to eat your chicken nuggets. I was unaware that you were keeping your eye on the Merry-go-round and as soon as it stopped, you put down the fry you were about to eat, grabbed me by the hand, and led me to the line forming to get on the ride. You patiently waited the 10minutes it took the attendant to come back from his break, handed him the special coin you have to buy to get on the ride, and you picked a big black horse with pretty braids to ride on. The attendant took another five minutes to get the ride started, which was fine by us because it gave you a chance to pretend to ride the horse.

By the time the ride started and went around twice, all you could talk about was eating your "shickens" (Chicken nuggets) and going home. When I finally convinced you that your shickens were waiting for you to eat when the ride finished, you spent the rest of the ride waving and yelling "hi" to your daddy every time it went around to where he was waiting with Daniel.

When we walked out of the mall, it was already dark and the first thing you did was look for the moon. It was a little hard to find because it was really cloudy, but almost instantly, the clouds opened up where the moon was and you were able to find it. I carried you to the car and you spent the whole walk to the car with both arms high in the air singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". When we got to the car, you said "goodnight" to the moon and blew it several kisses.

It may sound cliche', but having you and our brother in our lives makes the world magical again.