Goodnight baby, I love you

Each evening, whether it be after a full day of errands, play dates, ice cream or just one spent at home, we have pretty much the same nighttime routine.  Sometimes it starts around 7pm, or if we have spent the evening adventuring, it may start a little later, but it always involves 3 key players, Damien, me and Max.  It starts off with some playtime in his room (tonight we finally got some video of Max crawling around!), followed by a bath if it's bath night, one of us changing him and putting on his pjs.  Then I usually read him a book while Damien spends his time on Max's floor, catching up on the days news via his iPad (sometimes falling asleep right there on the floor) and I start to give him his bottle.  He used to fall asleep during his bottle but those days have long passed.  Eventually, if he does fall asleep, I rock him a little longer and then hand him off to Dame, who kisses him and puts him in his crib.  I always put my hand on his chest and say "goodnight baby, I love you" before leaving his room.  Lately, he hasn't fallen asleep with the bottle or flat out refuses the bottle from me and the handoff to daddy takes place a little earlier.  On those nights, I sneak downstairs so Damien can finish feeding him and put him down in his crib.  I have tried to stay in the room with them but if he sees me, he just cries and wants me to hold him.  He has become a true momma's boy.  He will cry and cry until I take him and then he just starts smiling, as if nothing in the world is wrong.  If Dame has put him down, my evening still ends with my hand on his chest and the words I will probably utter to him for the rest of his life..."goodnight baby, I love you".

Here are some pictures documenting our nighttime ritual.  They are not all from the same evening, but are a good inside look at how most evenings go around here....