I remember, especially when I was pregnant, some people telling us that kids change things. With a hint of foreboding, they imparted this …. wisdom, let's call it. And though it is clear they love their children and that their intentions were good, there was no denying the negative subtext to be read from their words. I recognize the struggles they were hinting at are individual most likely, and something I'll never know fully about. But I have to think that on some level they were alluding to some generalities when it comes to kids and so on that tangent….
I tend to ask Ryan often how he feels now that we're parents...now that Navy is here. In a split second he responds with the same sentiments of my heart … he loves it. So then I think back on what those people had to say, about change and such. And I feel this way. Sure. Of course things change. How could they not? This little person is here now, completely dependant on us at all times. That kind of responsibility demands a certain amount of change from how we used to do things. I mean, before, there was no little person ;) But I'll also assert that things haven't changed that much in the ways that truly, deeply matter. We still try to live the life we love, she's just along for the journey. So we nurse here, and we diaper change there. We sneak naps a little more often then we used to. We don't stay out late with friends…. as often ;) But we still adventure. Now as three versus two. And while that reality may now be filled with little diapers and midnight nursings and spit ups when you just changed her into a fresh sleeper…it's also filled with this little mini person who's the most perfect blend of the two of us, who's caused us to smile so much and for so long that our smile lines have reached new depths, permanently etched into the corners of our eyes. It's filled with a joy so deep and so vast that all of a sudden, the sacrifice of some of the more trivial things of our earlier youth is blissfully forgotten in the midst of the embrace of a family hug that is three now, not two. It's filled with loving phrases like 'you're doing an amazing job, mama' and 'Navy girl your smile is calm and truly kind, just like your daddy's' versus 'what movie do you want to go to tonight?'*
So back to those warnings about parenthood… we're trying to think of it this way instead. We want to dive into the adventure of parenthood with the pragmatic understanding that children change things, of course they do! We expect no less. Somedays will be very challenging while others will be deliciously easy, with most falling somewhere in the middle. Our adventure continues on exactly the path it was supposed to. We're doing our best to learn from it and love it. We aim to lift one other up throughout it. We're working hard to be grateful for every single day we get together and to relish in each season of life, dirty laundry, poopy diapers, sleepless nights and all. Because this much is inevitable…mid-season, we can feel overwhelmed by change and challenge. But looking back on the past seasons of our life, most of us would agree we are filled with a nostalgia for the sweetness of that season versus as distaste for the struggles it might have presented. I know I always am. So I'm hoping we relish the sweetness while it's here as well as when we reflect on it many years from now. To do both would be the ultimate in living a joyful, present life. When I keep all this in mind, the 'change' that children bring seems like far less of an inconvenience and a lot more like an essential component of the life I've always wanted.
NAVY AT 3 MONTHS
Sleeping is still a family affair with your bassinet beside our bed, all cozy in the dark as we settle in for the night, Lincoln snoozing away on the floor. No real regimented schedule has been determined just yet and we like it that way. We all seem to be getting enough sleep and everyone is happy. We're flexible and we're adventuring and you seem to be so happy to be along for the ride. Sometimes you nap in your bed, sometimes in your swing, sometimes on the road and sometimes on me. You're such a happy baby, flexible and easy to have along wherever we go. Sometimes we finish a marathon of a day, where we've been out of the house for 9-10 hours and I'm amazed we did it all with you. We've nursed on the fly, you've caught naps whenever you've felt like it and the rest of the time you're pretty easily entertained. You like your stroller but you also love to be held. And if you're held, you're definitely facing outward. You want to know what's going on at all times. I can see some extroverted tendencies in you and every time I do, I'm like 'I feel ya little lady. I'm the saaaaame way'.
You're toes get tight in sleepers unreasonably fast because you're the longest, leanest bean :) You wear them as long as you can, and then we snip the toes of the sleeper and cover your little feet with socks because you're too slender to go up another size just yet. So cute. You're easy with your smiles. You flash them for anyone who crosses your path and you seem to make their day when you do. You coo and mimic all the time and it is so sweet. Youv'e started really finding your voice, cooing really loudly and croaking a little at the end with your scratchy little voice. 100% A.DORABLE tell you! We can hear you through the whole house when you do it, which is saying something considering sometimes Ryan and I can't hear each other even when we're trying to yell through the house haha.
You rolled over for the first time a couple days after you turned 3 months and I was floored. We had a guest over and you surprised us both. Right over into a little push up position :) You've found your hands and you stare at them and sooth with them. You reach out for toys with the greatest concentration and you wrestle them back to your mouth the second you grasp them.
You follow our conversations with great interest and seem to smirk or look perplexed at just the right time. It cracks us up how much you seem to understand whats going on. You are the sweetest little soul and each day with you is better than the last.
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