Stinky Face gets me every time.

Crowbar is my snuggler.

Out of the three kids, he is always the first to climb up onto my lap, bury his head in my chest and then look up with his deep blue eyes and say,

"I love you, Mommy."

Mommy.

He's the only one who calls me Mommy. Correction: He's the only one who consistently calls me Mommy -- and not just when he wants a new toy or piece of candy.

Sometimes when I put him to bed, instead of sitting primly on the edge, I climb in and nestle down with him under the covers. We snuggle close and talk about the day's events or read books. I stroke his hair, rub his back and sometimes even drift off to sleep for a minute or twenty.

It's delicious.

This week, Crowbar has been particularly snugly. I'm not sure why, but he's been sitting extra close and snuggling extra long.

I lap it up, knowing that some day my boy won't want to share these tender moments. Some day, he, like his older sisters, will get bigger and more independent. And some day, he'll be too big for the two of us to fit on his twin bed.

So for now, I savor these moments, careful to remember every detail and appreciate every curve of his sweet four year-old face.

The other night, as I put him to bed, he pulled back his Lighting McQueen comforter and asked me to get in and read him a book. He picked one of my favorites:

I Love You, Stinky Face, by Lisa McCourt

It's a story about a mother and child at bedtime and it reminds me of Crowbar and me.

"I love you, my wonderful child," she says.

"What if I were a super smelly skunk, and I smelled so bad that my name was Stinky Face?" the child asks.

"Then I'd put you in a bubble bath and if you still smelled, I say, 'I love you, Stinky Face.'"

While Crowbar giggles, I always get choked up a little.

When I finished reading the book, Crowbar "read" it back to me. Seeing as he can't really read yet, he turned the pages and recalled the story from memory. Hearing him "read," "I love you my wonderful child," made me well up a little.

When he finished, I looked up at me and said,

"I love you, Mommy."

"I love you, Stinky Face," I said and kissed him on his head.

As I closed the door to his room, I paused for a moment and promised myself to never forget that special moment.

I love you, my wonderful child.