Good evening….

Last night, for the second night in a row, my children were both asleep by 7:15. I don’t know why this is so revolutionary, but I feel like a new person. Suddenly so much is possible. Since Mazin has stopped napping most days, he doesn’t need me to lie with him for half an hour at 8:30 in order to fall asleep. (And that means I don’t fall asleep for the night at 9!) Suddenly this whole window of time has opened up, and it feels so wonderfully spacious. I could do anything: train for a marathon, earn a physical therapy degree! (Or I could keep up with the laundry and actually read those parenting books accumulating on my shelf—a little more likely.) But really, all those big picture things that once seemed impossible now seem doable again. What a difference three hours in the evening can make. Last night John and I actually had a long, adult conversation about lots of interesting stuff that adults like to talk about, and we were able to connect like life partners are supposed to connect. At one point, we looked at each other and said, “It only took three and a half years!”

I know better than to get attached, though. Pretty soon Layla will stop going to bed before dinnertime, and it will be her turn to demand our evening attention. But we’re thinking maybe we can do things a little differently this time. Maybe before the afraid-of-the-dark phase, we can get her in the habit of going to sleep independently. Maybe, just maybe. She is already more independent around sleep than Mazin ever was. So there is hope.

Meanwhile, Layla continues to grow way faster than I would like. I still want it to slow down so I can savor every moment of her adorable, sweet babyness. Yesterday she rolled over onto her stomach for the first time. She’s been working at it for a while—but it really helps when she’s not burdened by those bulky cloth diapers! She can also now grab things and put them in her mouth to gnaw on. Sophie is a favorite, of course, but she’ll take anything, really. I think we can expect a tooth soon, as the drooling has begun in earnest—just as we were leaving the spit-up phase and thinking we could stay dry for a while. She is such a happy child, smiling and laughing and loving to hold your gaze. She is also quite serious about learning to move. Now she does doughnuts in her crib and winds up in surprising places. The day will come very soon when we will have to watch her every move and retire the tiny legos. I keep flashing forward to the moments when Mazin will get angry with her for wrecking his structures, but for now it’s all sweetness. He asks to hug and kiss her, and the other day he spontaneously pronounced, “I love my baby sister.”