In Demand

As we approach warmer weather and a new season of Spring, I've noticed a lot of moments where I've wanted to cry--happy tears, thank goodness--in little moments of seeing my boys grow. This week, for example, my 3.5-year-old excitedly sang the "Happy Birthday" song to his baby cousin at her first birthday party, which was a surprise milestone because the song used to scare him (when sung in large groups and he would run away or cry). This time he stayed in my husband's arms, cheering and clapping the whole way through. That's another milestone: being in Hubby's arms. Because that meant I was holding baby brother. While my firstborn has always ADORED his brother, there's been so many times where Daddy had to hold the little one so I could hold and comfort big bro who wasn't so used to sharing Mommy's arms. But now, thankfully, we've reached a point where we can take turns a little, which fills my heart with so much joy I'm almost going to burst. I can hold my baby. And I can hold my preschooler. And they're both happy. It doesn't last forever, of course, because sometimes Baby 2 wants me NOW and sometimes Baby 1 has decided he hasn't had a turn in a while. But at least it's a little easier to balance than it was last year when I felt like my heart was going to rip in two instead. And, thankfully, my arms are strong enough to hold a 21-pound toddler or a 31-pound preschooler (even, occasionally, at the same time)!

It's wonderful to be in demand by these small people because it's their way of showing their love, and I've lived my whole life wanting to care for children. So while it can definitely be exhausting to be wanted all the time, I absolutely love it. (But do I want a third? No, I'm absolutely fine where we're at). 

Meanwhile, I've been adjusting to other, more specific demands than just "Mom." At 14 months old, Baby 2 has started asserting his opinion: it is very frequently "No" and going "boneless" in a back arch protest. Good thing I'm good at turning frowns (and babies) upside-down in order to bring a smile back. With a big brother to keep up with, Baby 2 is learning and talking very quickly in order to communicate his needs and wants. He sometimes says Mama, Dada, and please. But he frequently says: hi, no, yeah, more, that one, down, up, uh-oh, milk, bounce, and hurrah. He also adds random new words to his vocabulary, like shoe, shark, throw, juice, five, and cube (one of his favorite toys). It's really cute to hear his tiny baby voice and see the comprehension grow. He's even following small directions like "Go get your French toast," "Can you bounce the ball?", "Show me two [fingers]. Show me nose." "Can you give Mommy a hug?" and "Put your head down." While my firstborn had incredible comprehension at this age, he didn't start talking until after age 2 (and oh boy has he caught up with his peers!) so it's also exciting to see the language at this age because I never experienced it before. The boys have another baby cousin who just turned 2 so I'll be spending this year comparing and seeing if he starts to learn his animals like she does (I still remember her little voice saying "rhino" when eating animal crackers at Christmas-time).

Other recent milestones: the boys went on another trip to another state! This time we drove with Daddy to Arizona for my best friend's daughter's quinceañera. That's right, babies' first road trip together! We drove to Arizona at night to take advantage of the evening darkness, white noise, and bedtime. They ended up sleeping the whole 4.5 hour trip! We drove back during nap time, and they napped about two hours, so only about 2.5 hours where I had to entertain two toddlers in the backseat of a car (a lot of Bounce Patrol and high-five games ensued). I tell Big Brother that he's now been to four states: Nevada, Texas (twice!), California, and Arizona (he loves studying states)!

Big brother also had his Spring preschool progress report where his teacher excitedly showed me how much his handwriting has improved between the fall and the spring (he's been able to write his name for a while but it's much more clear now!). He goes potty by himself, has no problem asking for help, and is starting to play more with other kids. He still kind of prefers teachers to kids, but he's also still one of the younger ones and a Covid baby, so I'm not worried. It's adorable to see him start to come out of his shell as he plays chasing or high-five games with classmates and tolerates giant hugs from others. He also used a list students in his class to write every single one of their names on their own card for Valentine's Day. So I know they are all his friends.

Little brother has started walking in shoes, and while at first he wanted to just shake them off and sit (like a puppy wearing shoes), he quickly got the hang of it! This was especially helpful because of the nice weather--now he can walk and play outside with big bro too! Together they've blown bubbles, drove toy cars, and played with soccer balls in the front yard. Big bro also just started a soccer class this past Sunday since he really loves to run, and it should be a nice change of pace from gymnastics class (which was a lot of fun too, but he was probably outgrowing a little).

To entertain the kids, we've also started attending story times at the library where big bro loves to dance and the little bro likes to drink his milk in Mommy's lap. Hopefully, they'll both start to enjoy more of the "story" part soon. We do read books together when the boys choose (and at 3 years old my preschooler is already reading a LOT of words), but they don't always make it through an entire story just yet.

Our next major milestone as a family will be to update our family photo! The last one was taken in March of 2022 when Baby 2 was only three months old! He's changed and grown quite a bit, looking different, completely mobile, and such a vocal member of the family. He's even had his first haircut on January 8 and will probably get his second before the next photo shoot since his hair is growing super fast! I love it long, but it looks so cute when cut and tidy too. I'm excited to capture even more memories and commemorate our family fun and family love again.

Spring is filled with family birthdays and visiting relatives, but by the time we get to June we'll have our preschooler turning four years old! Maybe some summer vacations and definitely preparations for the new school year. There's a lot to look forward to as our family settles in to who we are and can spend more time together with activities in and outside the home. I don't think it's too demanding to expect some family fun with two toddlers (a preschooler who won't be a toddler much longer and a baby who can enjoy being one)!