Friday, August 9, 2013

Wishing the years away, while holding tightly to the now.

I don't do this often, but there are days, that have me wishing for the baby stage to be done and over with! I know, I know. Years down the road, I will regret these feelings. I will yearn to hold my babies one more time.  I can already envision myself gazing at pictures of my little babies with tears streaming down my face and a wobbly smile on my face, wishing for a sloppy wet baby kiss, or a gaze full of love and innocence naughtiness. Or for one more glimpse of a toddling baby coming at me full force to give me a hug. I know this, and yet, I still can't help but be excited over the many adventures we will have together, as a family of four, once my baby isn't a baby anymore.

I can already see it. Us vacationing up north, going for hikes, maybe even setting up a tent and camping out, if the weather is decent. Road-tripping out West. Going for long bike rides. Eating out at restaurants. Going to see cute PG or G-rated movies. All the things we can't really do now, because we have a ticking-time-bomb baby. Simon was just reaching that stage where we could do more with him, right before Miles was born. 3.5 years is a fun age. We took him out to eat, we even went to the discount theater with him a few times - I never thought kiddie movies could be so much fun! We went on longer walks and let him play at the park without having to hover. We just did more.

And then came Miles. Rambunctious, lovable, full-of-energy, Miles. He turned our world upside down and made us put on the breaks. I wasn't prepared for it, even though we had done it once before with big brother, Simon. Miles yells when he doesn't get his way, whines for attention, walks...nay, runs away whenever he gets the chance and has such a short attention span. Taking him out is usually a quick activity, with us turning blue from holding our breath, hoping he doesn't throw a baby-tantrum, or whine too loudly. I'm sure it's just a stage. But it's been a long stage and I'm so ready for a time where we can go out on family adventures that last longer than 20 minutes.

A couple of weeks ago, we took the boys over to Como Lakeside Pavilion. They have local orchestral bands that play there during the summer months. I had just been there with a friend a few nights before, and so I knew that it was not only fun and different, but family friendly. We decided to give it a try as the weather was unseasonably cool and comfortable and the prospect of being outside with my little family sounded nice. We arrived just before they started. We sat down near the back, off to the side (family safeville) and settled in for a fun night. Peter had retrieved Miles from the stroller and was holding him as the music started playing, "Pop Goes the Weasel". I glanced over and there he was, all snuggled up to his daddy, almost glaring. He looked so comfortable, but his face was another story. He was clearly nervous. He sat there for 10 whole minutes with hardly any expression on his face. I took quite a few pictures of him, because he was cracking me up. Where was the feisty little guy that could only sit still for 5 seconds?




                                                         

I finally couldn't deal with the cuteness any longer and reached out for him. He came willingly and snuggled in for another 5 minutes. My mamma's heart filled with gratitude for the special gift of snuggling with my 16 month old.


The spell was broken when Peter and Simon went off to find Ice Cream. But he stood contentedly, holding on to the chair in front of me, bopping to the music and woofing like a dog anytime he saw a puppy. The boys came back a few minutes later with ice cream, and the rest is a messy, sugary history. We left during the intermission, happy, sticky people. It's nights like these where I'm okay with putting the breaks on and just enjoying the now. The future will come soon enough with fun adventures of their own.

6 comments:

  1. I TOTALLY get this! And thanks for reminding me that it really will be OK when the kids are older and I have no more babies. There are wonderful things about each stage of parenting! I was just thinking this about baby's first year. First I don't want them to ever lose that fresh-born, skinny, wrinkled look. But then they look so cute with baby chub! And then even though first teeth mean they're getting bigger, they look so cute then too! I don't want them to crawl, or walk, because it means they're not my little baby anymore, but then when they do... such adorable sweetness! So yeah, even though it makes me sad, I can look forward to the day when we can ALL go out to eat or to the movies and I won't have to "bounce bounce rock" a baby to sleep or hush a noisy toddler. Sounds like fun times to me! I think if we just make the most of each stage in our children's life, we won't have many regrets.

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    1. Well said. That is exactly how I feel. Making the most of each stage is key! I remember thinking that each stage just got better and better with Simon as my firstborn. Everything was new to me. It's been a little different with Miles, but maybe that's because he's my baby and second born. Each child is different and their journeys are different too. Makes life fun and exciting! :)

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  2. love these pictures. :) And I totally know what you mean - I'm kind of not ready to be stuck at home for two naps a day/etc. with a baby for the next year. But this too shall pass - pretty quickly as the past four years have indicated!

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    1. So quickly! I blinked and our firstborns are already driving cars (at Como Town - lol!).

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  3. I love this so much, Jes! I wish I knew Miles like we knew Simon at that age...you make such fun,sweet, adorable kids. <3

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    1. I wish you did too. He's a hoot. I was thinking that about Max the other day when I saw a picture on FB. He's growing up so fast!! Makes me sad. We should post more videos of our little men so we can hear their little voices and see their funny personalities. It's not the same...but it's something!

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