Whose Girl are You?

This is about a moment from August 9, 2011...I didn't get the entry finished that night, but here it is now.

For many months now (I'm not sure how long) I often ask Baby Girl, "Whose girl are you?"  And for many months she would always say, "Mama!"

Then she started figuring out that she could play along with us.  If Hubby asked her and she replied with Mama, he would say, "Aww..." like he was hurt.  And I would say, "Yay! Mama's girl!" and she would giggle.  But if he asked her again, she would say, "Daddy!" And he would say, "Yay!" and throw her up in the air.  She LOVES that.

Just a few days ago she started responding with whoever asked the question.  If Daddy asked her, she would reply Daddy.  If Mama asked her, she would reply Mama.  The person asking would respond with a yay and the other would reply with an aww.  She enjoys being in control of the outcome.

The other question that happens at night, following the whose-girl-are-you question is, "Do you want Mama to put you down, or Daddy to put you down?"  Almost always, it's Mama.  Every once in awhile she requests Daddy.  So, when she says she's Daddy's girl, we'll ask if she wants Daddy to put her down.  She usually says, "Mama put you down."

Well, tonight, she turned the humor up a notch.  We went back and forth with the whose-girl-are-you question for several minutes, with yays and awws and her being thrown in the air and many many giggles.  Then, out of nowhere, when I asked her whose girl she is, she responded with her brother's name!  Hubby and I just burst out in laughter.  So, I repeated the question, "Whose girl are you?"  And she again said her brother's name (the little guy).  We had some more giggles.

But here's where it went from fun giggles to a straight up heart-warming, precious moment.

I said, "So, do you want (brother's name) to put you down?"  She said, "Yeah, (brother) put you down."

I said, "Okay, (brother), go put (Baby Girl) down."  And I thought he would protest, or act confused.

They grabbed each other's hand and walked down the hallway to her room.  He turned on the light, grabbed a book, climbed in the rocking chair with her, and started to read a bedtime story to her.  Then, he turned out the light and sang her a song.  Big brother came in to join them.  They said our nightly prayer, then walked her over to her crib.

Hubby and I were just standing in the doorway, in complete and utter awe.  They went through the entire bedtime routine without any prompting.  It was beyond sweet.

Now, they can't lift her into the crib, so I had to step in at the point...but wow.  As I was leaning against the doorway watching this, I had a little conversation in my head about how I'd love to go grab my camera and snap a picture of this amazing moment.  But no way in the world will I step away and miss even a second of this.  So, there's no tangible picture to share...it's just for Hubby and I, stored up in our brain and in our hearts.

Thank you, Lord, for this amazing display of love and pure innocence with my kids.  They act irritated with each other most of the time, but this, this, what a gift.  Thank you for the confirmation that they do, indeed, love each other.  Even in the midst of all the normal sibling chaos throughout the day.  Thank you.  Thank you.