Growing Up

As a mom to 4 small kids it is so hard to “live in the moment” as they say. Most of my days feel so hurried to get from one thing (breakfast) to the next (cleaning up breakfast, putting the baby for a nap, making a morning snack, answering calls from outside to come help catch a frog or dragonfly). Lately it seems my two smallest kiddles are growing by giant leaps and the moments are passing by too quickly.

In the past month Calista has learned an amazing set of skills. She has learned to: sit up without toppling over; get on her hands and knees and rock back and forth preparing to crawl; eat puffs; wave and say “ba-ba” for bye-bye; wave and say “hhh” for hi; say “da-da” for Daddy; clap her hands and make a yay noise; and play So Big while putting her arms up. Can you believe a baby can learn all this in one month? Just 30 days? This little ball of pudge has 7 teeth already and weighs at least 20 lbs. She is just 8 months old, but already so in tuned with the world. She is child #4, but all these accomplishments never cease to amaze me. I rejoice inside and out each time she learns something new. Yesterday, when she learned to play So Big, I kissed and schmushled her (that is hugging while squeezing chubbiness all in one, okay I made that word up). I could feel her happiness and she could see my excitement. She discovered one more way to communicate with the world.

Kiddle #3 is changing fast too. He calls himself “Charlie Barley”. Over the past month he pretty much potty trained himself. He even runs in from outside to go to the bathroom, takes his pants and underwear off and goes to the bathroom. When he is finished he insists on putting everything back on by himself. (Sometimes his pants end up being put on upside down with both legs in one hole. He just pulls the waist up and the empty leg hole flaps behind him.) He washes his hands by himself when he comes inside, he can buckle the top latch of his seat belt, he can put his own shoes on. He is independent. He is two! Need I say more?

His favorite toys are cars from the movie Cars, he especially loves his Ramone car and sleeps with it almost every night. He loves the color green. He loves to blow bubbles. He loves to emulate his big brother and sister. He is a leftie. He tells me he loves me almost every day. He loves going places and meeting new people. He is super sweet.

Honestly, if I could have a little conversation with Father Time I would ask him to freeze them in their ages for just a little longer. I love the stage they are at and would love to “live in the moment” for just awhile more.