"Baba's not here. Mama's here." I told him while trying to clean him of cookie goo. He didn't care. He just kept calling for his daddy. In early evening while Eran slept and being exhausted myself, I had the chance to lay down with Darian on the sofa in hopes he'd take even just a short nap. While we faced each other and I stroked his hair, his eyes got heavy and would start to close only to snap open. He rubbed his face with little hands and started to drift off again. Almost there! Then his eyes opened again, he looked up at me sleepily and said "mama."
All the frustration of the day melted away. All the whining, all the crying, all the weariness suddenly was worth it to hear him say "mama" for the first time. We snuggled up and both fell sleep peacefully until "Baba" got home. I was still half asleep, but was already telling Sharb about it. Sharb tried to get Darian to say "Mama" again, but Darian didn't. That's ok. I can wait until the next moment I hear him say it. Once was enough to absolutely make my day.
