Easier

Something has happened around here, and I'm a little afraid to blog about it. I know as soon as I write it down, it will change. I know that there are two little sets of eyes that secretly know how to read this blog and usually change what they are doing if I write about it. But, alas, here it goes in the name of documenting their little lives.

Things seem to be getting easier around here. I believe we are graduating from parents of very small children to parents of little kids. There were three mornings in a row that my children didn't make a sound until 7:30AM, two of those mornings were 7:45AM. "Big Deal!", you may say. To us, it is a VERY BIG DEAL. Max spent months getting up around 5:30. Now, he seems to be content to hang out in his crib for a little while when he wakes up. He isn't waking up screaming and crying, but rather calling for us. This is such a huge step for him. It was always so defeating to be woken up with a screaming child in the morning. It immediately made me grumpy.

Charlotte is spending much longer stretches of time entertaining herself. She is finally discovering that it is OK to be by yourself. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy doing things with her - but there is only so much dollhouse a mother can play.

They entertain each other! Not for any length of time, but for a few minutes at a time. Long enough to throw laundry in, or start dinner.

Speaking of dinner, Max is no longer completely losing his mind at 5:30. Up until a month or so ago, it was like clockwork. 5:30 would tick by on the clock and he would start screaming. This made dinner time not so fun. It limited our afternoons. Now, he can be pushed to 6 or even a little later for dinner without a total fit.

Max is communicating all of his needs. I can tell about 98% of the time what it is he wants or needs. He is speaking lots of words - most only Judd or I know, but it is a great step in that direction. He is putting multiple words together - "I want milk", "I do", "I love you", "I want that". This has helped him become a much happier little boy.

I took them to the zoo last week and thoroughly enjoyed my time with them. There were no tantrums and only a little whining. They were so good. They stayed with me and walked through the zoo. We looked at animals and talked about them. They played and laughed. I wasn't exhausted at the end. I was just so happy to be there with them.

I know that this may seem like a weird realization to come to. Shouldn't I always enjoy them at the zoo? Shouldn't I always be happy to be there with them? The answer is "No". I didn't always enjoy taking both of them to the zoo. It was hard last summer. Max was a baby that didn't want to sit in a stroller. He was still nursing. He screamed when he was tired. I wanted to just stay at home, but we did things for Charlotte's sake.

I asked Judd the other day if he was nervous or scared about entering the next phase. Not the phase where you have tiny babies, but the phase where you have little kids. He didn't say that he was nervous or scared, just excited about what the next 10 years or so will bring.

I'm loving who these two little people are becoming. They are so sweet and fun to be around. Countless times this summer Charlotte, Max, and I have just laughed and laughed at things. We find the same things funny - that is so important to me - that we continue to laugh together. I'm so happy to be their mom.