Archives for June 2009

Today was a great day.

I took Daniel and Annabel to “Family Preschool Storytime” at the public library.  There is a wonderful children’s area with fun puzzles, games, a coloring table, toys, and of course, tons of books.  Every Wednesday morning, they have a storytime program which consists of 30 minutes of crafts and 30 minutes of storytelling with music.  I usually just take Daniel.  It’s our one-on-one “Mommy and Bean” time.  Annabel stays home with her “GG.”  Today GG was sick, so I decided to brave the storytime by myself with two kiddies.  It’s not that I’m a big wimp, but Daniel and Annabel are at two tough ages.  Daniel does not like to sit still and sometimes has a tendency to run away from me.  Annabel wants to be out of the stroller, but she can’t be left alone for a second.  My fear is that I have to run after one child while I leave the other one unattended.  I also really enjoy the one-on-one time with Daniel.  It’s a treat for me and he loves all the undivided attention. Today, with both my kiddies in tow, I was a little nervous.  But it was GREAT.

Annabel was so pleasant in the stroller.  I gave her board books to “read” while Daniel and I made a fun ocean scene during craft time.  We laughed while Daniel glued on starfish googly eyes and colored the ocean green and blue.  Annabel even helped color the starfish bright pink.  They loved it.  Then, during storytime, something amazing happened.  For the VERY FIRST TIME, Daniel walked to the front of the room and sat down right in front of the librarian.  Annabel sat on my lap and I watched Daniel as he listened intently to each story.  Then, he participated in a sign language poem, shouted out colors during a game, and played with egg shakers and scarves during the song portion.  From time to time, he would turn and look for me.  He would give me a BIG smile and then turn around and continue.  I almost teared up.  I was having so much fun watching him.  For the very first time, I could picture him in preschool.  I often wonder if he’s ready to go into a three year old program.  I felt like I was experiencing it.  Just last week at the library, Daniel would listen to five minutes of a story and then run down an aisle of books or try to sit in a chair.  He was so distracted.  But today, he was a new kid and it was so cool to watch.  It was just GREAT.

Later in the afternoon, I took Annabel to a follow up appointment at the ophthalmologist.  Annabel had eye surgery in February to unplug a clogged tear duct.  It was non evasive surgery, but she did have to go under.  It was scary.  She came out of it with flying colors, but then I kept noticing that her eye was still watering.  The doctor said it would just work itself out, but we should definitely come back in three months for a follow up.  We went in today and the doctor gave us two thumbs up.  Annabel’s eye looks fine and we would just have to do an annual check up.  That felt GREAT.

Then we came home and Annabel WALKED.  She decided TODAY was the DAY and she just walked across the room.  The light bulb went on; she found her equilibrium; and she said “Okay, no more crawling. I’ll walk now.” Annabel is almost 16 months old so she is definitely a late walker.  Because she is my second child I wasn’t really worried.  With Daniel, forget it! I worried every time he was a day late on any milestone. I was wondering when she was going to get the hang of it, but I wasn’t concerned.  For the past month, she has only walked two or three steps before she fell down to crawl.  But today, she WALKED! 

It was a GREAT day.

Now that Annabel is almost 16 months old (!), I am hit with the reality that I no longer have a “baby” in the house.  Yes, she will always be MY baby, as will Daniel, but she’s now a full fledged half-walking (half-falling) toddler. Annabel completed our little family tree so there are NO MORE baby branches in our future.  I have my two amazing kiddies and I feel lucky and blessed everyday.  I feel complete. But I still think about all those LAST baby things.

There was the LAST box of cute newborn diapers.  The LAST time I would ever wear a maternity top or nursing tank.  The LAST baby bottle.  The LAST can of formula. The LAST sippie cup.  The LAST time we would have a Baby Einstein play mat or baby swing in the house.  The LAST time we would have a backwards facing car seat. 

But there are a few “baby” things I still can’t let go of and it’s not because I’m super sentimental.  It’s just that they still WORK for me.  For example, my daughter still sleeps in the SLEEP SACK. When she was a newborn, I would swaddle her in this amazing swaddle blanket.  Then she got so big so fast and outgrew the swaddling process. So I put her in the sleep sack and she loved it. She’s now in the “extra large” version and I’m sure she will outgrow that in a couple months.  My husband thinks I should get rid of it now, but she sleeps great in it. She sleeps for 2 hours at nap time and for 12 hours at night, so I’m basically not going to mess with it.

And then there’s this:

It’s “BABY” OATMEAL.  Daniel loves oatmeal and ate this everyday with bananas for breakfast when he was a baby.  Then he ate it when he was toddler and now he is almost three and STILL eats it. I just add milk and microwave for 30 seconds. I add bananas and lots of berries and it’s a perfect breakfast. The “baby” oatmeal is basically the same as any other instant oatmeal except it’s finely ground for babies.  I tried to give him the standard packets of instant oatmeal a couple of times and he did not want it. I am usually pretty strict when it comes to food options. I keep trying new things and my kids are AWESOME eaters because of it. They eat fish, chicken, beef, pasta, fruits, veggies, eggs, potatoes, all the basic adult foods.  But this was one battle I just didn’t want to fight.  Plus, when Annabel was born she started eating “baby” oatmeal too.  It just became easier for me to let them both eat the same oatmeal.  And they still eat it now.

Finally, there is Daniel’s CRIB.  Again, it’s not that I want him to sleep in a crib so I can remember the baby years.  He truly LOVES that crib and sleeps GREAT in it.  He was only 17 ½ months when Annabel was born so we had to have two cribs at the same time.  Since then, I’ve just been waiting for the day when Daniel would scale the bars and come running out.  He did that once, but never again.  So I decided to (again) go with what worked and not rock the boat (or bed) so to speak.  But he’s almost three and it needs to go.  We have been researching toddler beds and twin beds and need to make a decision soon. 

I think, as a parent, we all have that “crutch” or something you don’t want to give up JUST yet, even though parenting books, or parent peers, think you should.  I think it all boils down to the basic fact that every kid is different and every parent is different.  Do what works for you.

Speaking of growing up WAY too fast, my adorable niece and goddaughter Madelyn turns five today.  Happy 5^th Birthday Maddie!  You are a “sprite” – the perfect mix of spirit and light.  You have an infectious smile.  You constantly “wow” us with your smarts.  You are so fun to be around.  I miss you!