Camera records. What girl and brother do at night? What was causing it? Like asleep? Maybe nightmares? They had checked off a lot of common kid ailments. So what could it have been? Whatever was going on was causing more frustration than anything else. Her kids weren’t telling her anything. If they knew the reason behind everything.
Valerie felt blessed to have kids. She knew she was quite lucky her children, Vivian and Levi, got along so well. Valerie knew some siblings bickered endlessly, but her kids loved each other. Levi took his big brother’s duty seriously. The two siblings slept in one bedroom.
It was economical for Valerie’s two-bedroom Santa Monica house. It had always seemed to work out fine. Valerie first started noticing something strange, but she overlooked it and she thought that it was nothing to worry about. But then it got worse with her son Levi. She noticed that her little angel was tired like he hadn’t gotten much rest. But that couldn’t be the case, could it? She asked. Her son was concerned if anything was the matter.
Levi looked up at her and just shrugged his shoulders before continuing to eat his cereal. Wouldn’t be the last time either. Her kids were normally bundles of glee, but recently her son was drained of all his energy. Why wouldn’t he tell her what was wrong? How about you guys sleep in our bed tonight?
She knew she had to step in to solve things, but Levi didn’t seem pleased by this idea. He just shook his head. Even Valerie’s daughter didn’t give her any information. She just shook her head and said, Levi got my Binky. Maybe she meant her blanket.
Had she given it to Levi or had he snatched it from her? She decided to check their beds the next night to make sure everything went well. Valerie was luckily no stranger to electronics. She decided to set up a camera in their bedroom. Valerie lay awakened in bed trying to think of what could have been going on.
It was a sleepless 8 hours to check the cameras and find out the truth. Levi looked like a fatigue little zombie. The last few days Vivian seemed to be happy though, wolfing down her breakfast. Maybe Levi was struggling to sleep. Maybe nightmares.
As soon as they left to go play, she decided to check the recording from the previous night, but the footage would have her in disbelief. Vivian rolled in her crib and then stood against the railing and looked over at her brother. Levi, I’m talking to you. I want to lay down in your bed right there while taking my baby, she says, looking over at her dog.
Levi sat straight again. Levi stood up and walked towards the crib. What happened next completely melted her heart. Levi said.
She watched as her little girl started to climb the crib walls and Levi rushed over to put a stool under her feet and things only got cuter from there. Valerie watched as her tiny Todd got up and gripped the railing. She wondered if she’d figured out the latch system, but then suddenly her daughter swung her little leg up and over the edge. Her mom’s heart screamed with fear. For a kid, it was a long way to fall to the floor.
What happened next made her eyes go wide. Levi jumped out of bed and dragged over their kid’s stool. He placed it just under where his sister would land and watched carefully as she maneuvered her way down, offering help if she wanted. It was at that point Valerie called her husband Chris, over. His eyes went huge as she pressed pause and caught him up on what was happening.
When she pressed play again, the next scene sent their laughter echoing through the house. Viv turned around and said, oh, I forgot my Binky. Levi rolled his eyes and said, oh God, you’re Binky. She rushed back to the crib and grabbed a piece of material. Levi giggle.
That’s your PJs. Her daughter paused and looked back at the crib scaling Bangit’s sign. Must have seemed like going up a mountain. That’s okay. But just before she could crawl into bed, Levi’s big brother instincts caused something.
You forgot your baby, he whispered. He was only a year old, but he approached the crib like it was nothing. He scaled aside and grabbed the blanket and dull. However, by then, Viv seemed to have forgotten something important and was already on the other side of the room. Levi reached out over the railing and waved it to Dolly.
Hold it, he instructs. The light bulb in Vivian’s head goes off and she realizes she’d forgotten her vital nap equipment. She rushed back and snatched the item. Levitan hopped back in bed and lifted the cover so Vivian could join him. It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning did the next phase of their little ritual appear.
Levi woke up and poked his sister. Get in your bed, he said, helping Vivian up from her drowsy slumber. He carefully put her back in her bed, covered her with her banking, and tucked her doll under her arm. He finished it off with a Pat on the head and a kiss on the cheek before returning to his own cupboards. As the touching scene ended, Valerie and Chris looked at each other.
They both had tears of joy in their eyes. The entire thing was so cute they felt like their hearts would explode. However, there was something else important they knew they had to do and immediately they now knew why Levi was so tired. But they now knew that there wasn’t anything serious going on. It was just a brother and sister looking out for each other.
Valerie immediately posted it on the family’s social media site. What was the world’s reaction? It’s no secret every parent thinks their child is to be his knees. However, from the outside, maybe a gurgling burp or screaming tantrum over mismatched socks wasn’t going to tug at many heartstrings. That’s okay.
It’s totally normal. At most, Valerie hoped her closest family and friends would get a kick out of the whole thing. Then the likes started to pour in. Only a couple of days later, the video spiked to over 50,000 views. But that was only the start.
Comments from all over the world poured in. Everyone was so touched by the scene, it wasn’t long until the video reached over a million. Then Valerie got a phone call she would have never thought possible. The Ellen DeGeneres Show wanted to fly them out to be on it. Both she and Chris giggled with glee.
Even Vivian and Levi understood the idea of a free vacation that glutted a plane ride. Only a few weeks later, they found themselves sitting beside the famous host. Valerie’s stomach fluttered with nervous butterflies. But as her kids took their reins and talked with the host about loving each other and even a bit of summer camping, she relaxed into the adorable conversation. The feel-good story was something everyone loved, but she had no idea there was another surprise coming.
Ellen grinned at them and said, all right, well, we want to do something for you Because we know that you love Disney And so Shutterfly loves stories like this. So we want to send you and your family to Disney. An assistant came out and set an enormous gift basket in front of them, Complete with fast passes and a luxury hotel stay. It was more than they had ever imagined. But it wasn’t the dream family vacation that held a special place in their hearts.
No, it was something far more profound. First, she and Chris knew that no matter what, Vivian Levi would be there for each other. The second part stretched across the entire world. The conversation the video sparked was out of this world. It was a heartwarming swirl of ideas on politeness, kindness, and inclusivity. It reiterated that now more than ever, people need to stick together. Valerie was truly blessed to have such amazing children.