Sleeping Alone???

This morning Dotty came into my bedroom saying, "I did it Momma!!!"

She had both hands up in the air wanting a "High Ten" (aka...the double high five). I am always happy to praise Dotty so I slapped my hands to hers and said, "That is awesome!!! What exactly did you do?"

Dotty was at that moment doing a sort of dance/running in place in a wobbly circle move (which made me think...this poor girl doesn't know the difference between "working out" and "working it").

When Dotty stopped her sad version of a victory dance she said, "I slept in MY BED all by MYSELF all night long!" (with emphasis on the "my bed" and "myself")

You see we are working on getting her to accomplish such a feat. She seems to think bedtime is a group activity.

Every night I lay down with Dotty until she goes to sleep (and most of the time I end up falling asleep too). When she is out (and I wake up) I go to my room. Most nights at least once and sometimes two or three times I hear a soft "Mommy???" from her room and the entire process starts all over again. Some nights I just give up and sleep with her until my alarm goes off.

So this morning Dotty was so excited she had made it "all night" alone in her bed.

I smiled and said, "Well you did pretty good. But don't you remember waking up and coming in my room and asking me to come sleep with you?"

She stopped and looked at me all confused.

I tried to explain in more detail, "I fell asleep with you and then went to my bed to sleep. Then at 1:30 you came and had me come sleep with you again."

Dotty still looked puzzled...then she said "You mean that was you?!"

Sometimes I have no idea what goes through a 4 year old's mind!!!

Dotty's Cooking Techniques

The other night Dotty was cooking for me in her kitchen. According to her my meal had been "Samurai-ed".

I think Tony's family must be a big fan of Samurai of Tokyo or something!

Perhaps Dotty has a future on the Food Network!

To Clear Up the Confusion

Tony just text me that he was the one who told Dotty the story of the Tower of Babel. He said she asked why people spoke different languages so that is how he explained it.

So I guess it wasn't divine intervention after all. I was also beginning to think Dotty would grow up to be a missionary or something. However...knowing how much Dotty loves her Tab and TV in general she might have to be a missionary in an area with great satellite reception.

So...there you go...mystery solved! Pretty funny too!

A Long Time Ago...In a Land Far Far Away...

Dotty LOVES to tell stories before she goes to bed at night. She wants me to tell her a story, she wants to tell a story, and (according to Brittany) she wants Daddy to tell her about 5 stories (he is such a sucker...most daddies to little girls are though).
Last night Dotty started her story in the way she always does...
"A long time ago...in a land far, far away..."
And then she added...
"Past China, and Egypt, and even past Las Vegas!"
I died laughing...I don't even know where Dotty hears the names to half these places. I know "Kai-Lan" is from China and occasionally the "Little Einsteins" and "Diego" have visited Egypt, but I doubt any Disney or NickJr character has been to Las Vegas...if so I missed that episode.

Then Dotty told a story that sort of made the hairs on my arms stand up. She practically told the story of the the "Tower of Babel" from the Bible. And the reason why I know this is because I have been trying to read a little bit of the Bible every day...some days I do better than others...and the night before last I read the "Tower of Babel" story in Genesis.

Dotty told her story about people building a tower up to the sky but that God (and she added his friend the "Giant") did not want people in Heaven because they would destroy it...so God threw dust on people so they couldn't talk to each other anymore and they stopped building the tower.

I promise to you...that is what she said!!! I would not have believed it if I had not heard it with my own ears. Now I don't know what all stories Dotty has heard in her Sunday school class or what Nana has told her or what they talk about at her school...but when I was growing up we heard about Noah, Adam and Eve, the burning bush, the parting of the sea, Mary and Joseph, and Jesus...healing blind men, making the lame walk, and of course being killed, buried, and rising from the dead...but I don't remember hearing much about the Tower of Babel...at least not until I got older.

When Dotty finished...I didn't say a word. She asked, "Did you like that story Mommy?"
I said "Yes honey...I sure did." I said it in almost a whisper.

Then I said a prayer...thanking God for all the wonder on this Earth...and especially for the little wonder that was falling asleep beside me.