Almost three years into this parenting thing and I am still being reminded how no one can prepare you for this roller coaster. And regardless of how you try, you will never get used to how kids just change things…
They change a lot of things for the better and overall just change how you operate. You rarely leave the house without a favorite blanket, backup milk, diapers, wipes, etc. You have to pick and choose outings based on naptimes or just overall crankiness. You count to 3 very loudly in the grocery store when you child is holding a bottle of wine. You promise that Dora can be watched when we get home from school and Diego will continue to be the pre-bed routine. You use “getting icecream” as a reward for being “good” in any place we happen to be. Things come out of your mouth that you know your mom said to you and you begin to have this weird reverse deju-vu feeling more than you don’t. You have your camera on you at all time because you know the minute you put it down, there will be a once in a lifetime shot that you must have for the blog/baby book/etc.
You take for granted that your kids will always be in fact kids…and you definitely take for granted that if they come out at birth with a clean bill of health, they will only suffer through some cold and flu symptoms and perhaps a broken bone or two throughout their lifetime.
But really the only truth to any of the above, is that as a parent you have to prepare for whatever may come…each day is different and you just never know what is in store.
Today Bauer is 15 months old and Bree is 3 months shy of 3 years old! Yep still 18 months apart…crazy huh??!!!
Bree and I accompanied Bauer to his 15 month checkup today and Bree was surprisingly calm and helpful. Bauer checked out great…95th and 97th percentile for height and weight…failure to thrive is not in this kid’s vocabulary. He screamed at the appropriate times, smiled at the appropriate times and even said a few words. Boy, are we blessed. We then went to checkout and while we were making his next appointment and paying our bill, a little girl and her mom checked out next to us. The girl had cancer – her bald head broke my heart and I’m pretty sure made it skip a few beats. Not every kid goes in just for well checks or ear aches…some kids have cancer and that is just too much for me to contemplate as a mom. But it was a welcome reminder to embrace the changes that parenthood brings and not take anything for granted. It also made me very glad that our pediatrician is one of our best family friends so I know we will always be in good hands if there ever is bad news.
We left the doctors’ office and a well deserved reality check to head home so Bauer could take a good long nap and sleep off his shots. While Bauer slept, Bree and I played “glue”. Basically we glue things in the craft bucket together. While we were playing “glue” Bree had to use the potty…I left briefly to get her a book and this is what I came back to:
I guess some of the craft bucket came with us to the potty! Oh my child is so entertaining.
Later in the day, Bree got a reward of a lollipop…and I look over at her watching an episode of Curious George and I laughed outloud:
This girl is officially one of a kind. She had taken two lollipops and was eating them together…yum!
She definitely keeps us laughing and Bauer keeps us on our toes with his constant turning the TV off and putting anything and everything in his mouth. But as always, these quirks change by the day, so you have to just laugh and remember that you will miss this down the line…at least that’s what “they” tell me!
Tonight we headed to Home Depot to look at washer and dryers (yes, our dryer decided to break two weeks before we move). I really went into Home Depot with the thought that Sean and I would have a good in depth conversation about our next washer and dryer set. We may not end up buying but we would both have a good idea about what we wanted. How can I still be so delusional??? The kids were with us. How many conversations do Sean and I have that are meaningful when the kids are with us and not asleep or in their carseats. Not many if any! But again, like I said, it will take a long time for me to not operate like I did in my former life (pre-kids). In that life when something broke, you go look at new ones and decide what to buy and buy it (if you have the money). Done deal.
In this life, we need to just look online and have them deliver!
One day I’ll remember my own piece of advice!
Until then, I’ll just laugh at myself and apologize to Sean!
