Slow Down!

Do you ever feel like you must have missed a few weeks
when you look at your children?
All of a sudden they are doing things they couldn't do
just a few days ago.  
How does that happen?

Tonight as I was rocking Trey to sleep I
remembered how I used to hear, from more experienced
moms, that you should "relish every moment 
with your child- they grow up so fast!"  
I believe them.  With all my heart.

So, when Gracie was tiny I would try really hard
to just be in the moment.  
Just think about her.
Pray for her.
Hug her.
Hold her until her body would twitch, and
that's how I knew she was asleep.

Then came Jada, and again, I tried really
hard to do that same thing.  
I'm not perfect.  I forgot sometimes.
But, I would just think about her.
Pray for her.
Hug her.  
Hold her until her she wanted to be put into
her crib to snuggle up with her blanket and
fall asleep.

 

And now with Trey.  It's even harder to remember
to slow down.  Not worry about what's going on
outside his bedroom.  Are the girls brushing their teeth?
Why are they talking so loud when I asked them to be
quiet?  Wasn't there an email I was going to send to someone?
But, tonight.  I remembered.
I thought about him.
I forgot to pray for him (remember... I'm not perfect.)
Hugged him.
Held him until he was done with his bottle, and then
put him in his crib on his side, and covered him
with his red blanket (ahem... Gracie's red baby blanket), 
and then his KU blanket, and left the room.

I told Trey tonight he can't grow up so fast.  In the last two
weeks he has:
learned how to crawl normally (instead of the army crawl
he's been doing.  We say he pulls his lame leg behind him.);
started "traveling" after he's pulled himself up to something;
learned how to play ball (roll the ball back and forth);
learned to play Pattycake;
learned to wave goodbye;
learned to say, "AMEN!" while raising his hands in the air-
Chad's version of "SO BIG!"  

Thank you- you more experienced moms- for teaching
me to make time for cuddling my Childs; for making it
just a time for her/him and me.