Please excuse the blatant bragging about how awesome my child is in the post, but it is what it is.

Truck has always been my most affectionate child, from birth, and that's saying something given that my children usually require to be peeled off my legs in order for me to perform mundane household chores. Truck would be perfectly satisfied to sit in my lap all day and read, watch television, sleep, and even eat if allowed. I don't offer lap time nearly as much as he would like because there are other people in the house whose needs must also be met.

So lately, Truck has become more creative in the ways he ensures he will get his Mommy time.

He often invites me to come sit with him, and if the initial offer doesn't work, he'll look up at me, bat his long eyelashes, and plead, "Pweeeeze?" If that still doesn't work (and I admit I sometimes withhold just long enough to get to this point), he will slip his little hand into mine and exclaim, "Love you!!!" although it comes out more like "Yuh-you!"

It absolutely melts my heart, and I, of course, simply abandon whatever I am doing to go cuddle on the couch, where it gets even better. Sometimes he will sit on my lap, facing me, and position my arms around him. Other times, he wants to hold me, so he will crawl behind me, pull me back so that I am laying against him, and then he'll put his arms around me. I'm always worried about crushing him, but whenever I try to lean away from him, he emphatically pulls me back.

I don't take these things for granted, but I am used to them. However, Truck recently surprised me, and it was a moment too precious to not record.

I had just returned from a two day retreat, and Truck was understandably but especially attached to me. He had chosen to wait in the bathroom while I was showering, singing and chatting, and I think just generally happy that Mommy was home. As I dressed and dryed my hair, he left the room, returning a few moments later with a dress-up crown made with ribbons and flowers. He held it up, and said, "Crown?"

"Yes, baby, that's a crown," I answered, wondering how long it would take for him to put it on. He does have three older sisters and is well-versed in the art of dress-up.

"Crown?" he repeated, stretching his arm up. I then realized he was wanting me to wear it, so I knelt down and let him position the crown on my head.

Just when I though the moment could not get any sweeter, he stood back, smiling widely with satisfaction, and declared, "Princess Mommy."

Mercy.