The Peek, or Sometimes it Feels Like, Somebody's Watching You.

I brandish my kids randomly and with no regard to safety.

Never in my 34 years on this earth have I wanted to eat a face so badly.

(please read in the second person. thank you.)

We still peek at you girls, every night. Okay, sometimes I bow out because I'm a little tired or just don't feel like it, but Mommy does it every night without fail. She's a rock.

Our house, being as old and woody as it is, makes traversing into your cozy little abode a silence-shatteringly creaky affair. However, I've made a mental map of all the safe spots to step on; so while I may look moronic stretching my gait to weird extremes, I can usually keep it relatively hushed. By the time we finally make it to your cribs and hover, you usually haven't made a peep.

We don't linger for long. Just long enough to look at you and make googly faces. I like to daydream about how great it might be to hop into bed with either of you, curl up and sleep the rest of the night there. I wouldn't even steal your monkey/froggy.

Sometimes you roust yourselves a bit, which can be entertaining. Both of you, when this happens, will normally just stare at us, trying to comprehend what we're doing there. It's rather unsettling sometimes, looking down at you and seeing those two big black spots that are your eyes, knowing they're open and gazing back at us. You never really react, just stare for a bit, then flip over and succumb to sleep again.

In an effort of utmost futility, we cover you guys with your blankets. We know it won't last more than a few minutes, when you'll kick them off and go back to being cold, but we do it anyway because we're parents and it would be unthinkable not to tuck you back in.

After the tuck in, we head back out, retracing the non-creaky steps. Leaving is tense; for some reason I feel like we're rushing out just as you're about to wake up, and it's a race to the door. This is the same feeling I used to have when I had to go to the basement as a kid, and was keenly aware of the monsters behind me when I ran back up the stairs.

Once we're out and safely back in our bedroom, we usually talk for a couple minutes about the funny positions you guys were in, or the weird noises you make while you dream, or just how cute we find you.

I'm amazed there was a time in my life that I didn't get to do this every night.

Day two hundred and ninety one.

Abs was in an on-again, off-again pony tail tonight, which is a look that we are absolutely in love with. If only she didn't pull it out after just a few minutes.

We'll never let her out, NEVER!