Listening to My Son

Here I am, trying to get some work done while my son is napping a few doors down. Today has been kind of an exhausting one. Bubby has been a little bit of a wild man lately, what with the tantrums and the destructiveness and all. I keep telling myself, "this is age-appropriate behavior, this is age appropriate behavior"... But let's face it: 1 year old's aren't very nice sometimes! And they certainly aren't easy to keep entertained. I'm currently trying to help my son become a little bit more independent during the day while we're at home- encouraging him to have playtime by himself for periods of time. Sometimes this is difficult (for both of us), because he wants to be right by my side 24/7, and because I feel guilty when I am doing my own thing for longer than just a few minutes. I WANT to be able to play with and cuddle with and read to my baby all day long. But I also know that at his age, it's developmentally appropriate and healthy for him to have some autonomy from his parents. Plus, a mom's gotta get some things done around the house during the day!

Anyway, as I'm sitting here thinking about all of this, my thoughts are taking me back to one year ago, when Bub was just a little baby. What a sweet time that was. The days were consumed by nursing, bottles, snuggles, cooing, smiling, and staring- staring at the beautiful, perfect baby I got to be with all day long. Sometimes my heart aches just a little bit because I miss those days so much. There is nothing quite like having a newborn, nothing in the whole world. Life is crazy, fast, tiring, and stressful, but oh-so-beautiful. And I know that I will never experience anything like those days again, because having your first baby is different than having your second, third, etc. (from what I'm told). At times I find myself feeling guilty for not cherishing the newborn days with my son more, for letting the days slip by so quickly. But I remind myself that this is how life goes- even when we try to hold on to the present with all our might because we are so happy or so in love or so excited or so mesmerized, time will always keep moving forward. And most importantly, I keep reminding myself: Enjoy your baby boy every single day! During every single stage, every single age, love him NOW and be thankful that he is growing and thriving and getting bigger! Remember that every day is an adventure, and with every year that passes by, you will always wish that it could have passed more slowly!

So, enjoy today. :) Even the mundane days. Actually, ESPECIALLY the mundane days!