When the boys were little they wore socks that matched their onesie turtlenecks and when it rained they wore cute little rubberboots with frogs and ducks on them and had umbrellas they carried to and from school.
Now they barely wear socks except when they run around with no shoes on so I have to buy them in bulk at Costco. And raincoats are so uncool.
When they were little they watched Thomas the Tank Engine narrated by Alec Baldwin or Ringo Starr and I knew the names of every engine, not to mention every dinosaur from the Jurassic era.
Now they watch Family Guy when they think I am not paying attention and are learning the names of adult movie stars.
When the boys were little they wanted to go to the zoo or the museum and every time we had to load up with sippy cups and snacks and diapers and wipes and changes of clothes for any meteorological event.
Now they want to go paint-balling (or is it paintball gunning?) and I can barely get them to leave the house in shoes or a sweatshirt and the car is overflowing with LEGO Star Wars people and fruit-filled TimBits that no one will eat. Not even the dog.
When the boys were little all we had to say when they whined for something was, "You'll have to be good and ask Santa for that."
Now they have Excell spreadsheets and bookmarked websites for their Christmas lists and the Santa threat is losing it's potency.
When the boys were little I could get them to sit still together for a family photo with matching outfits. Of course those photos were taken with film and therefore are not readily available to post as I have yet to figure out how to scan all of the hundreds of photos carefully (but not scrapbookily) pasted in albums.
Now they hide when the camera comes out, make faces and refuse to put on clean shirts no matter how much I bribe them. So I resort to stealth photography with a super long lens and post the photos here
When the boys were little we thought we'd never sleep through the night. They tag teamed us waking up, getting sick and having night terrors.
Now they want to go to sleep later than we can stay up which means we never get to watch anything other than Animal Planet and Home Improvement reruns in the evenings. Unless, of course I am downstairs on the computer. Then they are watching Family Guy.
When the boys were little I thought I would never carry anything other than a diaper bag or backpack and would never be able to get dressed up and make it out of the house without spit up on my shoulder or sticky hand prints on my pants.
Now I carry a purse (well, sometimes) and have been known to leave the house with nobody noticing.
When the boys were little I thought they'd never grow up.
Now that they are bigger I know that children really do grow up in the blink of an eye.
Excellent post - precious pictures!
ReplyDeleteThose stages of childhood do go by so quickly, don’t they? Just when you think you’ve got it down pat – bingo – they’re on to another stage! It’s a continuous learning experience for both parent and child.
I’m still learning... ;)
It's a great post.
ReplyDeleteIt's a nice reminder to enjoy this time while my son is little, even when it gets a bit intense.
Great post...one that hits waay too close to home for me, but still great!
ReplyDeleteThe whole socks idea? yeah...I was laughing. we bought bags of socks for the obys this summer....red on the bottom for koji, green on the bottom for issei....pairs? doesn't matter--they're all the same!!
As my youngest is embracing his individuality and independence, mom is at home waiting in mixed emotions....but i'm sure you understand that!!
Moms of boys...we should start a special club!!
Have a great sunday!!
I'm all for a MOB's club. We have three in this comment section already.
ReplyDeleteOk, you're making me cry :) My baby has gone from a baby to a full-fledged toddler boy in the last two months - the crib is out of the room, he's using a new word every day, and running with the big dogs now. My head is spinning that all happened so fast. I see the light at the end of the tunnel where ALL of the baby-ish things will be gone - gates, booster seats and sippy cups - and I know, while I won't miss THOSE things, I'll wonder where my babies went? Now I'm crying again.
ReplyDeleteJen, I know. I find myself looking at the photos that flash up on my screensaver and getting all weepy at the ones of my babies. It seems like an eternity until they are out of diapers and cribs but then all of a sudden you are wondering when those chubby little legs and feet turned into monster paws that require $150 running shoes and the latest jeans.
ReplyDeleteFour boys grown into men..where did the time go? There were days I couldn't wait to get over and now looking back down the other side of time...the days flew by too quickly and I find myself longing to have those days back..
ReplyDeleteWow that's sad isn't it? Oops. I was going to say something witty about surviving the antics of four boys. But it's true. The time flies. One moment you've got one attached to your leg, with another on you hip. And the next they get into cars and drive away. Enjoy them!!
They do grow up in a blink of an eye. Some days I'm happy about that; some days not at all. Lovely post.
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