Bedtime With Daddy

*Posted by Randy

A few weeks ago, we welcomed a new sitter into the Biggs house so that we could have a night on the town. I thought I would make her life a little easier by quickly jotting down a few things pertaining to Jack’s bedtime routine… it was somewhere around bullet point number fifteen that I thought I wonder if this is getting a little out of hand? Jack has become a master of extending his routine by making small (and very cute) requests that always seem harmless at the time; naptime, though, has become an at-least-twenty-minute ordeal. My sweet boy’s routine:

- After bath, Jack dons his white tee shirt and boxer briefs (“just like daddy”)
- Jack visits the potty and brushes his teeth
- I turn on the light switch then hoist Jack up to turn off the light using the pull.
- Jack or Sally (his kitty cat) turns on the reading lamp.
- I open the Bible and ask Jack to choose his three verses (Matthew 1:7 is a must...yes, that’s the genealogy verses).
- I choose my three verses (while Jack encourages me to “choose” the other ones he wants).

We take inventory:
- Blankie. Check.
- Other Blankie. Check.
- Sally. Check.
- Owen (kitty cat #2). Check.
- Polly (kitty cat #3). Check
- Big Bible. Check.
- Little Bible. Check.
- Water. Check.

- Jack jumps out of bed and he or Sally turns off the lamp.
- After he climbs back in, I say a prayer for him and for someone we love.
- He says a prayer for his friend, Parker.
- I tell him a story.

Favorites include:
- Spiderman goes to the park
- Spiderman goes to the water park
- Spiderman goes ice skating
- Spiderman buys a new car
- The Mean Little Prince (one that Kristin invented after a particularly *ahem* special day with Jack)
- David and George (a modern play on David and Goliath)

- I sing Jack a song (Silent Night or the OU Alma Mater).
- I put on his covers.
- We do “hugs and kisses”.
- He asks me to get ice for his water.
- Yes… I get ice for his water.
- We do “’nother hug” (and ‘nother kiss too… his hugs never come without a kiss).
- I put on the covers again (which he has already kicked off).
- We say our “goodnights” and “I love you’s”.

The best part for me is our Bible reading. It used to be one verse and a few other books, but Jack just wanted more Bible, so now we have ditched the books altogether. I noticed once that I paused to clear my throat, and I guess Jack thought I wanted him to “read.” The next thing I knew, he was spouting off the genealogy verses one after another. We’ve become intimately familiar with Uzziah, Jehoram, Jotham, and plenty of other Old Testament figures I had never heard of before… in fact, the friend the Mean Little Prince visits in the story is named Jehosaphat. He has been memorizing books since he was two years old, and it seems like he won’t be satisfied until he’s got the whole “Little Bible” down pat. I will continue to relish every prolonged minute in the meantime.