An Ode to our Couch

We have a couch.

It's a lovely couch.

Though not so much lovely in looks as in comfort.  It's long, deep, and insanely comfortable.  In fact, I would venture to say its the most comfortable couch I've ever sat on … or slept on.  I found it through the want-ads right after I graduated from college.

Note:  this was before Craig's List existed … there was a thing called "the classifieds" which served the same purpose but was more expensive.  People in Tennessee called them the want-ads, I suppose because you looked there for things you wanted, and I would be remiss if I did not point out that the correct pronunciation of "want-ads" is actually wawnads … I used this word in conversation with a NY friend last week in telling her the story of our couch and she had no idea what I was saying … the accent does come through rather thickly sometimes still :)

Anyhoo, the blessed couch came to me all those years ago and has stuck with us through more moves than I would like to count.  It almost didn't make into our current flat, but thanks to the perseverance of a few courageous men from our church, the dining room window was forced to allow it in.  The couch is actually starting to show its age, and beige is not really best upholstery color for raisin' chillin's (if you'll excuse another Tennessee-ism)…

Remember tiny newborn Benjamin, all passed out on the couch after his first walk at the park?

Benjamin and Daddy both have developed a special bond to the couch … a long time ago, Daddy actually took the cushions off the couch so he would have something to sleep on when he moved into an empty apartment right before we got married.

And Benjamin's bond to the couch is what brings me to the whole point of this crazy little post (you can tell I haven't written in a while, right?  WORDS WORDS WORDS!  They're bouncing off of everywhere!  I can't control it!)

Anyway, Benjamin is like his mommy and prefers to wake up slowly, so our habit has been that Mommy gets him out his crib when he wakes up in the morning or after nap, and then we go snuggle on the couch for a little while until he feels he's ready to face the daunting world of a toddler.  Sometimes its five minutes, sometimes its closer to half an hour depending on his mood.  But lately, he's wanted to just chill on the couch on his own … he gets done snuggling with Mommy, and then just wants to do some chill-axin by his lonesome.

And now we're actually thinking of replacing the Couch with a sleeper sofa, since our guest room will be lost to the nursery in coming months.  Guess I'll be gettin' myself on those new-fangled wawnads they call Craigs List.

And can I just say that after-nap hair has got to be the cutest thing ever?!?!  All frizzy and sticking out everywhere.

And today was house-cleaning day, so forgive the lack of cute outfit … sweats and old shirts for the both of us today.  (Thank goodness he can't turn the camera on Mommy yet :)

And can I finally say … HE IS NOT ALLOWED TO BE THAT BIG!  What happened to my tiny fuzzy-headed newborn?