Changing

I found this post in the drafts. I wrote it some time this summer. Even though it was written a couple of months ago, I thought I'd post it.

In some ways it seems like forever since Dominic was born. And in other ways it seems like just yesterday that I was dreaming of my someday family.

And then the kids were born and it was a constant stream of "taking care". Little babies and children are so dependent upon us for everything. Every bit of food, every sip of water, every change of clothes is a long process. Then they become "independent" and want to do everything themselves. But since they are learning there is either a lot of helping or a lot of cleaning up after involved.

But I realized something this summer. My kids are almost past this stage. Oh, they still need a ton of help with things, but they can do so much themselves now.

There have been a couple of very scary mornings. For some reason I didn't wake up with the alarm. So I woke up later to a quiet house. I went to check on the kids and couldn't find them. They had woken up, gotten dressed and gone outside to play. They didn't wake me up because they didn't need me. I now make sure that I'm awake before them and they know to come check with me first.

They can get their own water, go to the bathroom, get dressed, clean their rooms and can even feed themselves (although I don't allow that). We are entering a whole new phase and I'm relieved that I'm not always cleaning up messes and mopping up spills, but a part of me misses those little moments when I'd help them get dressed or reach something they wanted.

I wouldn't want them to stay the same (at least not forever), but I'm loving the sweet little hugs and kisses that I still get. I know it won't be long before those are gone as well and I want to make sure I cherish every moment.