my two kids

Britton needed to accessorize her walking attire with a nightgown, hat, goggles, gloves, and a scarf.  I love this age, where she's not aware of being self-conscious, doesn't worry about what the other kids think.  I wish it could last until she's an adult, out of the danger zone of adolescences, but I know it won't.  Heck, these days she may not even be able to make it to kindergarten without becoming aware of what's "cool" and what's not, giving too much power to her peers' opinions and not enough to her own.  

Having another baby has shot me directly into nostalgia for everything baby Britton.  Maybe it's because I have two examples right in front of me of a "before" and "after."  Barrett looks so much like Britton did as a baby, it's hard to not see Britton when I look at him.  So it makes me want to keep Britton bundled and safe, strapped to a vibrating chair instead of letting her explore.  One baby needs me all the time and my other baby is starting to need me less, and the shortness of three years is right in front of me.  

I spent yesterday preparing birth announcements to go out and updating Barrett's baby book.  Then, when Britton got home, she wanted to see her baby book.  It's amazing how much we put into remembering those little moments along the way, moments I know I won't remember on my own.  There's just too much in one life to remember it all.  I made the baby books for my children, so that one day they can look back and see how it all happened during a time they will never remember.  But, really, part of me made it for me.

A couple of years ago I stumbled upon a great blog post, one that I knew would resonate with me for a long time.  In it, the author wrote about childhood: 

"It's also a history lesson. The first four years of your life. Do you remember them? What's your earliest memory? It is fascinating watching your child claw their way up the developmental ladder from baby to toddler to child. All this stuff we take for granted, but your baby will painstakingly work their way through trial and error: eating, moving, walking, talking. Arms and legs, how the hell do they work? Turns out, we human beings are kind of amazing animals. There's no better way to understand just how amazing humans are than the front row seat a child gives you to observe it all unfold from scratch each and every day, from literal square zero. Children give the first four years of your life back to you.

Showing off his pinky