Pea

No pun intended, but when it comes to bedtime, Jada is an absolute
dream. She doesn't throw a tantrum when I tell her no TV or horseplay
before bedtime, she puts away her toys, and she quietly listens as I
read her bedtime stories. Then it's a quick sip of milk, a good-night
kiss, and an exchange of "bye-bye" and "I love you" before I close the
door behind her and she looks at her books some more before dozing
off.

But tonight, Amy was right outside Jada's bedroom doing some paint
prep and I had the monitor on in the kitchen when we both heard a
"thump" followed by Jada wailing. We calmly but quickly went into her
room, turned on the light, and looked to see if she was OK. We
couldn't figure out what or who had fallen to make that "thump," and
assuring ourselves that Jada was OK, shut the lights off and said
goodnight to her.

Only she wouldn't stop crying. This was indeed highly unusual. We
let her cry for another fifteen minutes and then I decided to go back
in to tell her more directly that she was OK, that for whatever
"thump" noise had scared her, she didn't need to be scared.

Then I noticed her "Pea" book on the ground.

Amy's friend got her a delightful book called "Little Pea," which is
in heavy rotation on Jada's requests. I had read it to her that
night, and, as I often do, after I turned out the light I handed her
back the book so she could look at it some more.

Apparently, she dropped the book through the crib slats and onto the
floor. And the thought of being without her beloved "Pea" book, even
for one night, merited a cry we hadn't heard in quite some time.

I handed her back the book and she was quickly back to her quiet,
peaceful self. Through the monitor I could hear some flippings of
pages and some gurgling as she tried to "read" the story to herself.
She even sounded out some of the bigger, capital letters that she can
recognize now.

And within minutes, all was quiet.