The kids go to sleep next to each other in the same bed almost every night. Elouise, snuggled up with Rollie Rollie Midnight, her black lab with a red bow around his neck given to her by our friend Ghan.

Jacob primarily has a brown mutt stuffed in the give-it-to-me-give-it-to-me position. His was handed down from his sweetheart, Shira.

They sleep next to each other for the first few hours until Jacob gets me up to help him with the bathroom. It does not bother me to have my sleep interrupted. Too soon I will long for these nights I get to enjoy, helping him, holding him, cuddling him back to sleep.

Together in bed they snuggle close to their animals as I navigate the deadly waters of what book to read next; the one that Jacob selected or the one that Elouise selected.

But no matter, one of them will be asleep soon. I select the book based on who it will lull to sleep the quickest. The most near sleep gets the book he or she selected.

When Elouise goes to sleep first, Jacob gets the Wizard of Oz.

But he never falls asleep to it.

In every chapter there is some kind of disaster and then another kind of resolution. He asks to see the pictures every time I turn the page. When I show the line drawings to him, his eyes dart left and right devouring what he can, before I turn it back around and start to read again.

I have to dupe him into sleep by saying that I need to check on Mary, or turn the lights off. He is usually out a couple of seconds after I leave. Other times he lays awake replaying the story over and over.

The river the scarecrow the crane (who never made it into the film), the red poppies, the lion leaping over an endless pit. Good stuff kid. Sweet dreams.

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