Anyone with kids will agreem with me when I say It’s amazing how quickly children grow. It’s true when they say children grow up too fast. Our little boy is around 18-months old now. Over the last few months we’ve noticed something “different”. I’m not exactly sure when this actually occurred, but somewhere along the way our “little baby” turned into a “big boy”.
It still seems like it was yesterday that we brought our little baby home from the hospital. He weighed in at around six and a half pounds, and his size “newborn” clothes and diapers were almost too big. When I would hold and cradle him in my arms, it was just like holding a doll. I mean, I knew that babies were small. I had held and been around my fair share of babies growing up. But still, when that little baby belongs to you, it just feels different. You want to be extra gentle. You want to hold him extra close. There are just so many new things when a baby comes along:
- It’s just such a neat experience to give him a bottle, and see him suck it down. It’s a lot of work for a baby to suck down a bottle, even though it’s only a few ounces.
- Giving him a bath in the kitchen sink was quite an experience. He absolutely loved his baths, and they really helped to calm him down before bed.
- He looked so tiny when we took him places and loaded him up in his carseat.
So many things have happened since those early days. He learned to walk, and now he’s always running around everywhere. He learned to climb up the stairs (though he knows that either mommy or daddy have to carry him down). He’s just become such a big boy. I gave him his first haircut a while ago, and that was a super neat experience. He plays in the backyard and picks up every rock and stick he can find.
Over the weekend, we went to my wife’s family reunion. They always have it at an area park, complete with a playground. Our little boy was getting restless after lunch, so I took him out to the playground. I don’t think he’d ever really “played” on a playground before, and I didn’t know if he’d be big enough. I carried him up onto the equipment and we walked around. They had a few little bridges that he was a little tentative about walking across, but after doing it once he caught on and was having a blast. We went down a couple slides together, crawled through some tubes (easy for Tyler, but much more difficult for daddy), and all that fun stuff. Then some of the other family came over, and I tried something else. There was this big tube slide, the biggest one at the playground. Tyler and I had gone down it together once. But, I decided to put him down the slide by himself, since there was family at the bottom to catch him. He absolutely LOVED it! When he got to the bottom and stood up, he just screamed. Only, it wasn’t a bad, scared scream. He had a huge smile on his face, and it was a happy scream.
I had begun to realize this a while ago, but there’s no denying it now: our little baby has turned into a big boy. On the one hand, it’s somewhat bittersweet. We really enjoyed Tyler as a baby. He was such a good baby, and we never had any trouble with him. I’m not saying that we’re disappointed that he’s growing up. It’s just that we’ve had so many great memories of him as a baby. Now, on the other hand, we are definitely excited about moving into boyhood and all the new memories we’ll be making.
With children growing up as fast as they do, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to be there and really make a conscious effort to make as many great memories as you can. Babyhood only lasts so long, and then it’s gone and boyhood begins. I must say that I’m grateful for all the memories I have of Tyler being a baby, and I’m looking forward to the new memories now that he’s moved on to boyhood.
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Modest Money
September 17, 2012 at 1:43 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
It sounds like that park experience will be a lasting memory. While I don’t have kids myself, it would be weird to suddenly notice that they are onto a new stage of their childhood. I’m sure now he’s turning into a ‘big boy’, you’ll have even more fun with him, but at the same time you’ll probably miss the times when he was still just a baby.
Justin
September 17, 2012 at 9:20 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Definitely! We’ve had a lot of good memories, and I know that so many more are on the way.
Lance @ Money Life and More
September 17, 2012 at 6:51 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Time flies even when you don’t have kids! I can’t believe I bought this house a year ago! It has been a whole year already and doesn’t even feel like it.
Justin
September 17, 2012 at 9:20 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Yeah, we recently passed the 4-year mark since buying our house. It’s crazy how fast it goes by.
My Money Design
September 17, 2012 at 8:13 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Savor the moments, Justin! He’s going to get very big VERY quickly! I just bought my son tickets to the Lego Expo!
Justin
September 17, 2012 at 9:21 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Ah, the Lego Expo! That sounds fun. I look forward to doing that kind of thing when our little boy gets older.
Holly@ClubThrifty
September 18, 2012 at 7:28 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
You are right…..they so grow up sooooooooo fast. Our youngest is about 16 months now and she has recently turned from a baby to a little girl. I love watching them grow up but it also breaks my heart.
I know just what you mean. Being a parent is awesome!!!!