Growing up

It's so fun! I've probably said this before, but I'll say it again. And again: My bestie told me one day that she wanted to freeze her daughter's aging process at 18 mos. She said it was just such a fun time and she didn't want it to pass. Then, at 2 years old, she said the same thing. And at two and a half: you guessed it! Same thing. When I was struggling through the fussy infancy of Brooklyn, my friend was there to reassure me that it only gets better...and better...and better. And I'm here to report the same! With every stage comes new excitement, and I want to bottle it up!

Bryson wants to do EVERYthing his sister does. Down to putting barretts in his hair, and patting baby dolls on the back. (Jax swears this won't last long, but I think it's sweet!) He loves being independent. He doesn't want ANY help eating. If we try to spoon feed him, he'll push that spoon away faster than you can say 'uh oh', as the food goes flying across the dining room and splatters on my wall.  He's been using utensils for at least 6 weeks now, which is a rarity for such a young child. I still have to remind Brooklyn to use her fork. (Insert phrase: "See, baby Bryson's using his fork. You're a big girl, right??!") Sometimes I find myself wondering, what are the benefits of being a big girl? Mommy doesn't carry you anymore; you can walk. Mommy doesn't feed you anymore; you feed yourself. And the newest milestone: Mommy doesn't bathe you anymore; you take showers all alone...like a big girl! Being a big girl is fun...but I love it when she needs me. When there's no substitute for my kisses on a boo-boo. (not even a princess bandaid!) When nobody else can read her bedtime story the same way. When she's marching along in front of me and turns around with her arms open wide "hold me, mommy!". I've been seeing those days of neediness slip away from my lil man, too. Since graduating to a new classroom with only one nap a day, he's exhausted after school. In fact, one night when I was just getting settled to read a bedtime story, he climbed down from my lap, walked to his crib and tried to climb in. He wasn't interested in my story. He just wanted some shut eye! But I wasn't ready yet! He got an unusually long back-patting that night.

I love watching our children grow up. I think it's SO much more fun than infancy. But it makes me miss the baby days. Life is a funny thing. People say it flies by. But I don't necessarily agree. I think the problem is that we're molded to look at what's ahead. Look at what tomorrow brings. There's nothing wrong with that. But if anyone's discovered how to bottle up the childhood innocence and unfiltered emotion, I beg you! Share it with me! Because I look forward to the future...but I don't want to lose what I have now.