I have been in kind of a sappy mood about the kids lately. For instance, Jake no longer wants us to help him dress, get something out of the fridge (unless it is too high), wipe his behind after he poops (not that I am complaining on that one), etc. He is growing up like a little weed right now. In a few weeks from now he will start pre-k. I remember my mom always said, "Just wait until they start school, then time starts to really fly." Well, goodness. I'm not sure I'm ready for it to go any faster than in does now. Right now, he wants to snuggle at bedtime, he tells me he "loves me everyday" which I think means he loves me a lot/always. Whatever it means, it always gets me.
And then there's Connor. This boy. He makes me shake my head, want to scream, and usually makes me laugh out loud all in the span of 2 minutes - which if you know Connor is also his favorite measure of time. "I read two more minutes," "just two more minutes", etc. My wild child that the childcare workers at the Y informed me was biting another child yesterday, only to find out the other child was Jake. Is it wrong that I was relieved that it was Jake he was biting? Anyhoo, this is the same child who races after you to give you "one more kiss and hug" and just tonight requested that we sing "Jesus loves me dis I know" several times before going to bed. I want to bottle up the way his voice goes from his deep little voice to a high pitched way all in one sentence.
And let's not forget Tucker. Oh, this one...The squeals of excitement, the way his little arms and legs kick and punch when they first see me, the ready smile he has for anyone that talks to him. I want to keep him all swishy and cuddly for a bit longer. I want to bottle up his little baby slobber and smell that sweet baby smell for much longer than it is going to happen. Soon he will be joining the big boys in their shenanigans, being the annoying little brother at least for a while, and adding the chaos in the house.
It is crazy how suddenly this all came on the other day. I was realizing how big they are all getting. And yes, I am fully aware that they are 3,2, and almost 6 months versus 21, 20, and 18, but still...My babies are growing, and before I realize it they will have become 21, 20, and 18. That alone makes me want to choke back a sob.
We have been really busy this summer with various things that our week becomes filled with activities so quickly. The boys started swim lessons 2 days ago, and I am sure I grinned like an idiot the whole 30 minutes. Watching them as a spectator on the sidelines gave me a different view of them as they bounced around in the water, eager to please the swim instructor. The busy nature of the past few weeks has made me realize it only gets busier from here on out, so I have to embrace all the time we have at home and try to enjoy all the crazy.
Another thing that set this whole Toddler Blues thing off was the other day watching them with a few other kids. I took the boys to the pool in the neighborhood. There were some other kids there, and the boys were happy in the kiddie pool playing by themselves. Then these kids came over. First, they splashed Tucker. Then, they announced that they didn't play with babies (meaning Jake and Connor). Okay, you little &%^, my kids were playing, and you decided YOU wanted to come over, so who's the dummy? I watched Jake's face crumple a little then they jumped out and went back to the big pool. THEN they came back with an armload (kid you not) of toys only to announce that they don't share. Okay, I read that article about kids sharing that was going around on Facebook a while back. I think some of it has merit, but I think the large amount of the article is BS. If you come over to my kids with 10 toys you can't possibly play with at one time only to announce you aren't going to share, then you are an annoying little jackass whose needs a reminder from this Mama about a quality I am trying to instill in my children about being NICE!! Because for the second time in about 10 minutes, I watched Jake's face crumble, and he got a really confused look on his face as he tried to assure these little boys that he didn't want to steal their toys just look at them. I announced loudly that if those little boys wanted to be RUDE then Jake should just play with his truck that we brought and leave them alone. I am all for kids not having their things yanked from them in an effort to share for the sake of sharing, but it is another matter to bring a bunch of stuff over and not let anyone touch it except for the one little friend that you brought with you. I wouldn't invite people over to my house, set out a bunch of yummy looking food, and then tell them they can only eat the canned tuna in the pantry. Manners, people, manners, and sadly we are lacking them these days. They were only kids being kids, but it is our job as parents to steer our kids in the right direction and maybe what always comes naturally isn't the nicest thing to do. Like when I wanted to snatch them up by their hair and throw them in the deep end of the ocean, for instance...Instead, I was kind (sort of) and tried to be a good example for the boys. Whew! Sorry. I didn't really know that was coming out when I started typing it. Anyhow, they ended up playing somewhat nicely with the boys even though I hope that we don't have to endure their company on a regular basis.
The point of all that was that it hit me that there will be so many times that those little faces so dear to me will crumble in despair, or rejection, or disappointment. Most of those times, I won't be there to chase off the mean children, nor should I be. When you become a parent, you become like a lioness guarding her cubs, and you would do anything to protect them, even eat those little, not nice children who probably wouldn't make for a tasty meal anyway. In a few weeks, I will probably need to be reminded I said any of these things as the children will probably be making me crazy, but for now I will sign off with a few pictures of the kids lately.
 |
| Good sleepin' to be had at the beach |
No comments:
Post a Comment