Babies Kissing Mommies!

I have no doubt that all of my children love me. I know this because they each have their own special way of letting me know.
My oldest daughter, Kyla--who is nearly 13 and quite a reasonable age to be publically embarrassed and humiliated by my every action--insists on leaning over in the car and giving me a hug on her way out the door to school. And, at night, if I ever let her go to bed without tucking her in, she will physically drag my butt out of bed and up the stairs for a goodnight hug and kiss.
Raleigh and Izzy are my cuddly girls. Raleigh never hesitates to find me the second she or I return home, smiling with her pretty little dimple, then throwing her arms around my waist and tucking her head in for a hug. Izzy is much the same--always smiling, climbing into my lap for a cuddle, hug or kiss. She throws her arms around me so tightly at bedtime I nearly have to pry them off.
And Sophie--whose affection is the most elusive of the four girls--comes to me frequently for comfort when she thinks the whole world is stacked against her(namely, her sisters). She's good for a cuddle on her own terms, but the most heartfelt gesture is to draw happy little pictures of birds and hearts and puppies on little pieces of paper with touching captions like "I love you mommy" and "Mommy and Sophie." Sometimes she slides one into my laptop. I hide them all over the house, so when I come across them I am reminded that my "wild child," too, has as softer side.
And Levi--though his love is sweet and tender, his kisses are hard to come by. He is the first of the five who did not give kisses freely from the second he learned how to give them. Sure, he'll come to me for a cuddle at night with his thumb in his mouth, leaning his head lovingly upon me...but he holds the real deal--those sweet, wet, open-mouthed "soap opera" kisses--ransom.
It's no surprise he's inherited the "mean German streak," or, in lay terms, hereditary stubborn nature, that seems to have been passed mainly down the female side of my family. Some days, I'll get 7 or 8 kisses in a row. Most days? I'm lucky if I even get one. Fortunately, Levi does not just single me out; he is equally evasive with Kevin and the girls.
I have tried everything I can to increase the frequency of Levi kisses.
I have given him a mantra: "Babies kissing mommies" (said in a singsong, sickeningly syrupy voice) and even googled images of babies kissing mommies to reinforce this important bonding ritual. He loved looking at the pictures with me; however, the routine did not translate.
I tried to have my cousin demonstrate "babies kissing mommies" at a wedding reception with her tiny little blond boy. Miraculously, Levi got caught up in the moment and gave me one kiss...but the other baby's mom got many,many more.
And, (I am not proud of this one), but I almost had it out a couple weeks ago with a stuffed animal named Sally. Sally is a seal puppet Izzy purchased with her holiday money a few years ago from the book store. Levi adores Sally and Sally adores him. She has such a presence in our home she has taken on anthropomorphic qualities. And,on Kevin's arm, she gloats at me and challenges me every time Levi gives her scores of french kisses. Sally is very lucky to still be among us.(Though she is on the endangered list....you'd better watch it, Sally)!
Finally, to add insult to injury, Levi developed a "fake-out" kiss that goes something like this: He moves in for the kiss...fake puckers and pops his lips while leaning closer, then quickly turns his head to the side and laughs at the very last second. This one is especially frustrating and nearly always elicits a fake cry from me, which sometimes scores me a kiss. (Kevin is jealous because this tactic only works for me).
However, since Kevin and I are equally distraught over the kissing dilemma, we decided it was time to get to the root of the problem: Did we scar him? We may have sort of pushed Levi in the direction of not freely giving kisses early on when he just began to give them by emphatically shouting "NO!" and "Don't you give mommy/daddy a kiss!" while he was mid-pucker. Perhaps it was our jealousy of each other that drove the poor boy to this state in the first place.
We have taken note that Levi intends for us to earn his kisses. He's quite the clever one and will not be outsmarted. For instance, if you follow him when he tugs at your pants leg and make him a bowl of ice cream, you might get a kiss. If you are a sister who rolls him around in a plastic storage tub, you will most likely get a kiss. And if you lie down with him and read "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" and "Moo Moo Brown Cow" over and over and over again...chances are pretty good a kiss is coming. It seems this child has the entire family wrapped around his tiny, sticky little fingers, and he knows how to cash in his chips. Or, kisses, as the case may be.
For now, I'm holding onto every little precious kiss I get--and trying to figure out how--and when--I'm going to settle the score with Sally. And, I will continue to revel in the fact that each of my children love me. In their own, very special ways.
--A