Magic Lawns, Stickers Piled High and Love So Fierce it Melts Your Heart
It’s been a brutal couple of weeks around here. I took on more work than I reasonably had time for, and felt buried alive for the past several days. Mostly, I missed being present instead of preoccupied with my family.
Hindsight, 20/20 and all that.
Anyway, the cloud of looming deadlines has floated away, and I’m beginning to regain some sanity and a little sleep. After I got my son off to school Monday, Sweet Pea and I hung out. We played, with no distractions. And I got swept up in all the things I’ve been missing out on lately because I’ve been wound up so tight.
In January, Sweet Pea is starting preschool two mornings a week. She is beyond excited to go, but it made me (again) realize that time is fleeting. Even though I will have time to work or exercise, or — gasp! — shower, shave my legs and wash my hair all on the same day, I’m going to miss her terribly for those six hours each week.
So, here are the things I want to remember about the little person she is, right now, at age 2 years, 8 months old.
I love…
… the way she mispronounces some words, like “glubs” instead of gloves and “magic lawn” instead of magic wand.
… how she zips up my hoodie, and tells me, “The zipper is driving all the way up to your neck.” (Even though a little piece of my skin sometimes gets trapped in the zipper. Ouch.)
… that she is SO proud of herself after she completes a task in her gymnastics class. She squeals and screams, “I did it!,” not caring whose eardrums might be shattering.
… how her preferred place for stickers is on her forehead, and she is not afraid to layer them.
… the way she cuddles a favorite book AND a doll when she goes to bed at night.
… that her favorite episode of Sofia the First is “Princesses to the Rescue,” where the girls have to save the princes and kings from a dangerous green jaguar. In her eyes, princesses are anything but damsels in distress.
… how she hoards as many instruments as she can pick up with her tiny hands during music classes at the library.
… how she refuses to clothe “Tiny,” her baby doll. “Tiny likes to be naked,” she says.
… how she performs the most delicate and graceful dance moves when we listen to the Frozen soundtrack, which we have heard approximately 4,781 times in the past four weeks since I bought it.
… that she plays fetch with our dog, Lucy, even though Lucy is blind and it takes her five minutes to find her squeaky toy. Just like Lucy, Sweet Pea is determined to succeed, and that will take her far in life.
… that she says, “Thank you, your majesty” when I peel her a clementine or fill her Hello Kitty water bottle.
… how she manages to take a word she’s learned from her older brother, and unknowingly insert it into the funniest place ever. (We were all singing the Farmer in the Dell at bedtime the other night, and she ad-libbed: “The wife takes the penis, the wife takes the penis, hi-ho the derry-o, the wife takes the penis.” If only she knew how hilarious that was.)
… how much she loves Stevie Wonder. When she sings “My Cherie Amour,” she closes her eyes and waves her head back and forth just like Stevie, even though she’s never seen him. She’s just that into the music.
… when she looks me in the eyes and says, “You’re my mother, and I love you more than the whole, wide world.” Heart = melted.
… that she is confident and unafraid of almost anything. What an inspiring way to live.
I’m so lucky to be her mom.
The Wild Rumpus 
Oh man. She is all kinds of cute, isn’t she!? It’s so wonderful that you are writing these things down because as a mom you DO forget. And they grow up quickly.
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Thanks for reading and commenting! I did mainly write this so I would remember all this stuff, but I think the sentiment of it all is universal. Seriously, where does the time go?
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The more kids I have, the faster it goes. I remember it took like 100 years just to turn 18. Lol
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So sweet! I love this post Maisy. It reminds me of my own kids and how fast they grow. It’ll be a sad day in our house when my Addie starts saying her b’s and no longer says her favorite color is “glue”.
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Thanks for reading, Sandy! I know, such a fun age, but I know more fun is down the road as they get older.
So bittersweet.
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