I have some crazy angst about wanting to soak up every single minute of Gabe at every age – I want to ‘enjoy that baby!’ because as I’m constantly told ‘It goes so fast!’ I spend the majority of my waking hours with him, but I still worry that I am not going to remember enough. That unless I somehow record every funny thing he does, every thing that is so utterly Gabe – the way he clutches his Snoopy while he walks, the way he grabs my face with both hands and kisses me for several long seconds with an “Mmm…bah!”, the way he asks me to read the same five books a dozen times a day – that somehow it will slip away from me.
That somehow he’ll be seven years old and I’ll wonder where time went.
Sitting on the couch with Gabe between us watching the West Wing and eating veggie burgers. Riding our bikes along shady streets and stopping to play at a park. Picking Gabe up to peer over the balcony to watch the garbage truck come each day. All these little moments that fill my heart with love now. He is my heart and my soul and I want nothing more than to just be with him every moment of the day.
Except when I don’t.
Sometimes my patience is thin and toddlers are known for their patience-testing powers. It’s true. That’s why they are so persistent and have special Whiny Voice Mode. I hear that doesn’t go away for a while, though.
Some days are challenging and I just want a break and it’s only 10:32 am.
And, yet, I know these are the days I’ll look back on fondly as some of the best of my life. So I feel awful for getting frustrated with such a sweet little boy.
Thankfully, my toddler quickly forgives me when I get angry and my patience regenerates itself often.
. . . . . . . . . .
Snapshots of Gabe Right Now
(who is 5 weeks away from TWO OMG)
He is ornery like his father –
He found a purple ink pad and wanted to look like Effie Trinket. He also pressed it against his ear like it was a phone. We died.
A go-getter like his mother –
“You guys don’t want to measure me again? FINE. I’ll measure myself.”
A half-and-half fanatic like his parents –
He grabbed it off the table and I took a picture before snagging it out of his hands. It’s cool. No worries. He only got a few sips.
A complete goofball –
Carrying pillowcases to the laundry room. He is actually incredibly helpful these days – putting dirty dishes in the sink, turning off lights when I ask, and he can even press the elevator button now!
A butter-lover –
“Cow! Moo!” And then he ate through the package.
A funny little fella like his father –
FAKE LAUGH. I’m calling it, Gabe.
I feel much the same way. Not all moments are gems, but that is what makes all the sweet ones sweeter right? Now that we have another coming so soon I’m determined to make sure we let Ian still be little, he doesn’t need to grow up any faster now than if we weren’t adding another child to our family. I feel like its going to be and extra challenge to remember those tiny details of what makes him him at each age but those are the things I want to remember about raising him, not when he hit certain milestones and such.
Just the other day, as I was reaching for my camera to capture a Gavin moment, I was thinking how it’s getting harder and harder to catch his essence in photos alone. It’s not just putting the ink pad up to the ear like a phone (or, in our case last night, a slice of apple), but it’s watching him try to balance it between his shoulder and ear, hearing him say ALLOE and the look of success on his face as he sees our faces light up with smiles. How do you reduce all that into a few photos? It’s so hard – so, I absolutely echo your anxiety about this time, these experiences slipping through our fingers.
He’s super-adorable Ashley! I can imagine that you want to soak up every single second with him. I only get to see my niece and nephew about 1-2x a year and they do grow up so fast! It’s true. Every time I get to go home, they’ve grown so much! I definitely think that I’d get frustrated with them, if I saw them every day! ;)
Oh!!! I miss him so much!
Children are such a blessing. Enjoy every moment (as it seems you are! ;) ) He is sooo adorable! If you ever need a break, call me! :)
I feel the same way about Topher. Some days I can’t wait for naptime/bedtime and other days I keep going in to check on him, hoping he’ll wake up because I miss him so much :) He’s really been wanting to grow up lately – calling us “Mom” and “Dad”, trying to pick out his own clothes, asking for a big boy cup instead of a sippy. At least he still lets me wrap him in his Blankie and carry him around like a baby sometimes …
SO CUTE!
Ya know, one of the few things I’m actually really concerned about in regards to becoming a home (eek! just a short few months!!) is how quickly time flies by. I’ve heard that with a baby/child, time flies even faster. I feel like I can hardly keep up now! And also about the frustration. I know that I will be that person to get frustrated with an irritable toddler and I may even shed a few tears about it. But I’m afraid of the effect it may have on my little boy. And he’s not even born yet! LOL. Well, I guess now starts the worrying for the rest of my life anyways, right? :P
Adorable, adorable pictures! :) I think you just captured the feelings of most moms I know- the time goes fast overall but sometimes oh so slow!
Gabe is getting SO big, I can’t imagine how you feel seeing him every day! My nephew just turned 9 months and just THAT amazes me- wasn’t he just born? Time just flies. He’s such a cutie though & you really seem to be soaking in every possible moment with him. I feel like as bloggers we document our lives so thoroughly because we feel like we won’t remember our lives without it, but the truth is along with all your posts you’re going to have fond memories of this time of your life for EVER. My mom constantly brings up times of my life from 20+ years ago and can’t remember what we had for breakfast. Hehe :)