So it's the time of year again when my munchkin crew turns another year older. Their birthdays all fall within a four week span, and this time always makes me think more about being a parent than almost any other.
As I watch them run and climb and play, I remember when they were born, and how little they all were. I remember the quiet moments and snuggles. I remember the seemingly endless rounds of night feedings and diapers. (Well, we still have the diapers, though admittedly not as many as we used to with the super baby almost potty trained.) I remember when decisions for them were easier, or at least that there were fewer if them to make. But the place we are right now is pretty cool, so remembering just lets me see how far we have all come.
I see my seven year old learning so much! I never really thought about all the things that elementary school teachers teach our children every day, despite being trained as a teacher for up to third grade. My focus has been in infants ans infant care and development. Just watching little man learn to read step by step has been wonderful. Having a part of his learning has been eye opening. I am loving learning with the smart, energetic boy hape has grown in to.
My dolly is such a sweet caregiver. I have lost count of the number of times that she has packed a diaper bag for her dolls, or encouraged the super baby to the bathroom during potty training. And watching her learn with her older brother melts my heart. She so much wants to do the things he is, and by watching him is slowly but surely figuring it out.
Super baby is definitely not a baby anymore at three. He all but keeps up with the other two, and is an imaginative instigator on his own.
Knowing decisions I've made has helped them learn and become the little people they are is awesome and a little frightening. Knowledge and discipline they accrue now will follow them the rest of their lives.
Knowing how to be helpful, caring people.
Knowing how to work together.
Knowing how to use their voices, not only to be heard for themselves, but to speak up for those who can't.
Knowing the joys of learning and exploring new ideas.
Knowing how to work for the things they want.
Knowing that work and honesty will get you farther than deceit and an expectation of entitlement.
Knowing that love is always within your reach.
As they learn and grow, they prepare for the world waiting for them. Hopefully, the world will be ready for them.
Some days, I miss when my babies were babies. They were quieter, they snuggled more, they didn't fight and argue. But where we are right now is surely the best we've had. I can't wait to see what is to come.
