jasper has this less than charming habit of waking up several times during the night.

sometimes, he justifies his open eyes and walking legs with his age old excuse, "i had a nightmare that swiper was trying to kill me". however, one touch of his chest reveals his heart isnt pounding madly, which makes me think he's okay, and therefore i feel completely justified in muttering a few words of prayer with my little wanderer, and then commanding him back to bed.

his own bed.

there is NOTHING better jasper would like than to join his father and me in our "cosy grown up bed". when charles goes on business trips jasper, nickels to nothing, will appear by my bedside every night, not touching, just standing beside me. looking. waiting for me to wake up. and if i take too long, he places on finger on my arm. and then i wake up. and he asks if he can sleep on charles' side. sometimes i say yes. and i always regret it, because jasper is a mover and a shaker type of sleeper.

this summer when we were on evacuation number two, we spent the night at a best western. jasper started off the night sleeping in the closet (don't be so skeptical, it fit jasper and sebastian quite nicely) and by 3am, he wormed his way into bed with me. by 7am, if the bed was a clock, jasper was reading six o'clock, while i was ten past four. so i got out of bed to do a wee, and with pam and bob watching, we observed jasper sliding over, until he had overtaken my side of the bed.

at predator ridge, while jasper was still getting over whatever lingering side effects he had of being evacuated twice, jasper got up int he middle of the night from his upstairs bed and came down to me, where i was sleeping in a single. i told him to do a wee. he did, and then asked if he could join me in bed, whispering, "because i am so very scared, mummy and i don't want to wake up the girls." i didn't want that either, so i let him join me. and then at 5.30, i was awoken by the very unpleasant realisation that my son was weeing on me. "oh mummy i am so sorry…!" he sobbed and tried to clean me wtih a clean t-shirt.

you get my point. when jasper sleeps, you want him to stay there. for the night.

but when he wakes up, he can be very very funny.

he treats you like you are the Godfather or the Pope. after you are awoken, he grabs your hand and rubs his face against it several times, back and forth, back and forth. he kisses it too, passionate smacks.

i just love him, but i do wish he slept more. and better.

they're home from swimming.

more soon.