It happened just like that. You’re not a baby anymore.
When you decided to potty train yourself over a year ago as a toddler, I thought it was a fluke. “Surely he’ll regress,” I thought. My other boys were much older when they potty trained. I didn’t want to set my expectations too high.
When my kids were babies, I couldn’t WAIT for the day when we’d be done with diapers. I imagined when the day came, I’d yell from the rooftops, “NO MORE DIAPERS!!!” It was going to be great. I’d celebrate and everyone would cheer with me.
But it didn’t happen like that. You were becoming a big boy, and I didn’t want to believe it. You’re the baby and I thought I’d have a little longer watching you run around in your diaper. I thought I’d have a few more stories about kids taking off their diaper in their crib. A few more pictures of my baby in just a diaper sitting in the high chair.
Instead I have an amazingly cute boy running around in Spider-Man undies. I have a boy with a huge grin on his face while he figures things out on his own. I have a boy who is so proud to be a BIG boy like his brothers. He’s ready to join in on the action. He wants to wrestle, play with light sabers, and learn about Pokémon.
I don’t have any more reasons to walk down the baby aisle at Target anymore, and I miss that. You’re not even technically a toddler anymore. But I’m so happy for the stage that we are in, where I can take all three of my boys places without it being a huge ordeal (except when they fight 😂). They can walk and play together. They are like the three musketeers now (again, except when they fight 😂).
If I had known he would graduate himself from babyhood a littler early, would I have changed anything? I don’t know. But it’s finally sinking in how fast it really does go. They move to the next stage without us even realizing it sometimes. Today I’m going to appreciate this little BIG boy who is starting preschool this year. I’m going to notice all the cute things he does. I’m going to smile at the way he says, “Mama, I wuv you.” I’m going to take pictures of how he plays with his stuffed animals, and laugh when he tries to “fight” his brothers.
No, you don’t have to love every moment. But I’m going to take in both the delightful and difficult moments so I can love them later. Because even the hard moments are an important part of their story—and a part of YOUR story—and it’s a beautiful one.
It’s the fastest moving story of all time. Don’t miss it. ❤️
You Might Also Like:
- Before I Was a Mother
- The Unexpected Culprit Behind My Son’s Picky Eating
- I Wasn’t Prepared to be a Mom
