Can you wipe my bottom?

One of the things I most feared before having Graham was how I would keep Levi and Ben (mostly Little Ben) from getting into trouble while I was nursing. Thanks to the television (yes, I'm sure my kids' IQs will be drastically lower due to watching some TV), the boys have usually been pretty good during this time.

Typical of a toddler, Ben doesn't really understand the idea that I can't give him what he wants at that exact moment. I try to think of things that he'll need before I sit down to nurse, but of course, things usually come up. While I have gotten pretty good at fixing meals, getting drinks, breaking up fights, etc. while nursing, I also want Ben to learn that his demands can't always be met at that instant. That means that he is often pulling on my shirt and screaming for "milk" or "water" while I'm feeding the baby. I also often end up with bags of pretzels or crackers thrown on my lap or on top of Graham. Sometimes even injuries occur when Graham's head becomes a train track for Ben's trains.

Levi is a different story. Although only 3 years old, I've been caring for a baby for most of the time that he remembers, and he rarely asks for something while I'm nursing. He is very protective of his baby brother and doesn't usually want to get in the way of me caring for him. In fact, whenever Graham is crying, Levi likes to let me know that I need to feed him. Thanks, Levi!

All of this brings me to what happened last Friday morning. It makes me laugh each time I think of it...

Early that morning I was downstairs talking with Levi and feeding Graham while Ben was still sleeping. We were in the middle of a conversation when he ran out of the room. I heard the toilet flush about a minute later so I knew where he had gone. I wasn't really paying attention because my back was to him (and I was still half asleep), but I heard his little footsteps coming unusually slowly toward me. Our bathroom is at the other end of the house from the hearth room so it took him a while. I then heard Levi trying to get something out of the pantry.

"What are you doing, Levi?" No answer, but I was about to find out.

He slowly waddled over to me with his underwear and pants down at his ankles, handed me a wadded up piece of toilet paper (that's what he was getting out of the pantry), turned around and bent over with his hands flat on the floor and said, "Mommy, can you wipe my bottom?"

Priceless.