Pages

Ticker

Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers

April 4, 2011

A Question I CAN Answer

So I’m not really sure when having children really gets “easier”…but I can definitively say that it just keeps getting more fun!

In the throes of those newborn days, my neighbor – whose daughter is two years older than the girls – told me, “Once they start sleeping through the night, it will get easier…and then it starts to get fun. And the older they get, the more fun it is.

For me the “fun” first started when the girls began to really laugh. There is so much joy in a chubby baby’s laughter, and I had such a fun time figuring out new triggers to fill the house with their raspy chuckles and high-pitched squeals.

And then the girls started to play with toys. Finally, I thought, something to “do” other than read and sing! (Don’t get me wrong…I love to read and sing…but so many days I’d feel like my vocal chords were just going to wilt!) The girls would squirm all around the floor and grasp and teethe on plastic cups and balls. It was such simple fun, and I remember thinking, “Wow, my neighbor wasn’t kidding!

And as the girls got more mobile, they began to play more and more.

And then they started communicating. It was fascinating to me – and so rewarding – to watch them put new baby signs into use. And it was so incredibly fun! This leant us a whole new world…looking out the window and signing bird, squirrel, airplane…going on walks and signing dog, cat, and car…and reading books together, pointing and signing the pictures on the pages.

The girls’ breakthrough in sign language was followed pretty quickly by them beginning to say words, and I thought that was the most awesome stage of all…to pick up when they began to say a new word, and see the joy on their faces when we understood them.

As their communication skills evolved, the girls began to employ their imaginations…and how much FUN is it to pretend to eat their “choc-it chip” cookies, drink their lemonade, and go shopping (in the den) for pineapple??? It’s just amazing to me to watch the evolution of the scenarios they invent and the new uses for toys they create…I never know what they’ll come up with next.

These days, the girls love to read and dance and sing and play. It’s so much fun for us to take them to dinner once a week, or for a frozen yogurt treat on Sunday afternoon…to walk a couple of blocks, hand-in-hand in the neighborhood, or take them to run free on the soccer fields…to build the highest tower of blocks ever known in our den, or to see them “squish” their hands in finger paint.

The girls laugh at us, at themselves, and at each other (which is perhaps the most.precious.thing.EVER.), and we in turn laugh at them.

Every month or so I have found myself thinking, “Yes, THIS is my favorite age.” And I tell my neighbor almost every time I see her how she was so right.

I do chuckle to myself from time to time, though, wondering how long this trend will continue.

In some far corner of my mind, I’m mentally preparing myself for the Law of Diminishing Returns to kick in at some point…as I’ve rarely heard anyone say, “Oh yes, the preteen years are just a blast!” :)

9 comments:

Jenner said...

I can so relate to this post! Like you, I said every month that THAT was my favorite age... and continue to do so!

Holly G said...

What a sweet post! I wish I could say that 3 is my favorite age, but unfortunately, it is not. My twins have gotten to the stage where they are often deliberately defiant. I'm not a fan.

However, there are still lots and lots of fun things we get to enjoy together. My son has learned how to make his own simple jokes, followed by "I'm so funny, huh mommy?" I think that's one of the cutest things ever. :)

Christina said...

Yea, 3 hasn't been an age Ive been jumping up and down over lol. But, I have found something about every age I love.

Rebecca said...

It is fun...I'm constantly finding new things that I love and that I hate. God, I just read Holly Ann's comment...crap, I'm not far from 3. Crap, crap, crap...this too shall pass, right?

Unknown said...

It certainly does keep getting better and better, doesn't it!? Each new age and stage brings something new and fun!! Its hilarious to watch Adam try to mimic his older siblings. He doesn't believe that he's only 2! ha!


April is Autism Awareness Month. I'm blogging about Autism all month long!
www.barbaramanatee.blogspot.com

Andrea said...

You made me remember how much I loved that very first laugh....,just as much as the very first real smile! I like you have loved something about every stage! communicating with them brings a smile to my face everyday! It is so much fun! I told someone the other day Molly and Luke are getting to smart for their pants! They replied yes, that sounds about right for 3!!

Marcia (123 blog) said...

My best was when they first started holding their own bottles (6 months) and then when they started communicating with us. That was THE BEST. I still love that I can understand my kids. I'd go crazy otherwise.

Physically, I loved the crawling stage - mobile but not too mobile and still relatively slow. :)

It's rainy, grey here and I've just had a big bowl of vegetable soup - winter is here!!! :)

Anonymous said...

hahahaha. i say that all of the time. that's why i started keeping a little daily account/journal of the fun stuff that they were doing. i wanted to be able to remember WHAT i thought about that age and what made it my favorite :)

MultipleMum said...

I love that you find the present better than the past and are not hankering for the future. I think they call it Mindfulness and Being Present and that is an awesome skill x