stealthy

i have a toddler (2.5 yrs). i also have a baby (11 mo).
it occured to me this morning that my "baby" isn't a baby anymore.
i watched as he carefully navigated his way around our ottoman with precise precision so as to not disturb his older brother who was peacefully playing with his thomas the train coaches.

this stealthy 11 month old maneuvered his way so quickly, that before his elder brother realized what had transpired, the trains were well on their way to being fully slimed in the mouth of my so-called "baby".

it came as a surprise to me that he is working his way into toddlerhood. why do we always feel slighted when they start to change? as if i didn't have enough time with him when he was constantly needing to be fed, changed, rocked for hours on end, burped, bathed, and everything that comes with caring for an oh-so-little one. but, maybe i didn't have enough time. he wants desperately to do what the big kids are doing, and i find myself desperately wanting to keep him little. perhaps my instinct to keep them little is a part of my own desire to reminisce about their littleness. i find myself looking back at pictures of their babyhood with a naive glistening look in my eye. somehow i don't remember the severe sleep deprivation that spread from early pregnancy through his first 8 months of life....nor do i seem to recall the labor intensive energy required to do all of the things that come with babies. funny how that is. it's easy to forget the hard stuff in light of such delightfulness. i would do it all again, and probably will, Lord willing. but for now, i'll try to remember each day how little they are at that moment so that tomorrow i don't find myself in the same reminiscent state i am in today :)