We survived the first year. We celebrated the birthday. We still have no teeth, but we now have a toddler on our hands. Can you call them a toddler if they still don't walk? He's definitely not a baby anymore, though.
I miss the baby stage. Even when he wasn't sleeping through the night. It was easy - you fed him, you cuddled him, you could spend your weekends on the couch and he'd be happy to just look at your face.
Now?
Now we have opinions! And wants and needs and busyness. Oh so busy. Go over there, climb on this, dump out that. Having a toddler is tiring. Fun, yes, but tiring. There is less cuddling and more demands. Also, did you know how often a toddler eats? And how messy it is? The other day we got fed up and so E ate his dinner out in the lawn. He seemed a bit confused, but went with it. And when it was all done I hosed down his highchair and left the food he'd thrown for whatever wild creature wanted to eat them.
These days E is very independent, but only if he can also be completely attached to my side. As in he needs one arm wrapped around my neck, and anything less than that will be met with screams.
I know it's a phase, I know it's developmentally appropriate, and sometimes I even enjoy how much he wants to be attached to me. It just drives home how much we are this kid's world. His everything, and we are responsible for all of it. It's a lot to ask of someone.
It's a good thing we love him so much.
(And yes, I know that when he gets older and wants nothing to do with me, I'll be longing for these days... that's how life works, right?)
I can’t decide if the past 6 months have gone quickly or not. Sometimes it felt like a never ending slog that we were sleepwalking through, but on the other hand I swear we just celebrated F’s first birthday. Either way, we have an official 18 month old on our hands. And thanks to a sleep consultant, we are back on track with sleep and everyone is feeling more like themselves lately. F is back to sleeping and happily chatting in her crib, and it feels like at least one layer of stress has evaporated.
F remains the happiest Spearson, excited to be a part of things, and loves it when we go somewhere. She mostly gets mad when we try to remind her she’s a baby and can’t always do the same things that the older two can. Oh how quickly she’s going to demand equal treatment though. Already she fights back if someone tries to push her away.