And We're Out Of The Baby Phase?!

I had a lovely Mother's Day weekend complete with a pedicure, a delicious breakfast, a spin class and some adorable hand made gifts from my kids.  This was my fourth Mother's Day and as I reflected on motherhood in general, I was left with the realization that we seem to be all of a sudden out of the baby phase?!

I know its not really 'all of a sudden', my youngest is two and it did take two years for her to get there of course, but lately my baby days seem to be far behind me.  I just bought the sheets that will go on my daughter's big girl bed and we will soon be moving the crib out into the garage and trying to figure out what to do with it.  I will be sad when we move it out, but am also really happy - we finally feel like we're not in crisis mode all the time!  I use the word 'crisis' with humour - we were never really in crisis.  But the sleepless nights, the nap time/feeding time routines are behind us, in fact, most of the time I don't even take a diaper bag out with me anymore as the list of what we need to leave the house has gotten a lot smaller.  Both kids can drink from cups, sit in regular chairs and eat regular foods, etc.

No more diaper bag!

We are also having a lot of fun!  Babies are cute, don't get me wrong, but kids are fun!  I love playing games with them, watching their creativity and their interests develop.  I love seeing them develop real friendships, ask questions and be curious about the world around them.  There are also a lot more things that we can do together, which I love.

And there there is the perk of feeling a bit more like myself.  While my kids are always on my mind and by no means self sufficient yet (when does that happen?  8 or 10 years old?) I do feel like I can focus a bit more on me and things that I used to have more time for.

I will miss my babies being babies (although getting a new niece at the end of July will satisfy my need for baby sweetness) but am also looking forward to a great summer!  Last summer we seemed to be divided a lot as my daughter was still having two naps so my husband was out and about with my son and I stayed close to home with her.  This summer, we are ready to explore all kinds of adventures as a family and I can't wait!