Transitions

Like many a business man will tell you transitions are important, critical even. A smooth transition from one thing to the next can make all the difference in the small details of the everyday operations of a company to the big picture of a company's success. And because every family is just a small business every mother will echo those sentiments.

Transitioning from playtime to bedtime is such a large part of any mother's day. The ritual for most children's bedtime includes baths, pj's, brushing teeth, stories, kisses, hugs, drinks, and the likes. Perhaps the biggest transition in my day is the items that must be carried out in order for me to leave the confines of my home and expand our adventures to the great world beyond; getting dressed, combing hair (give or take on certain days), putting on shoes and socks, getting coats for everyone, and buckling all my kids into their safety contraptions called car seats is a process that efficiency can minimize but will never eliminate. And so in life I have learned to embrace these transitions.

I am a little hyper at times; I might have a short attention span. I am always excited for my next adventure, but a little part of me is already missing the last one. And so it is that some transitions are bitter sweet. As many of you know Travis and I are pretty sure that we are done having kids. And so each moment with Kody has become its own kind of ritual. We remember when each of the three other kids went through that phase. We think of how we'll never experience it again. And sometimes that is bitter sweet. But more often than not I am happy and excited. We are entering the next stage of life and our babies are growing up.

Here is our Kody eatting breakfast. I love his still sleepy eyes. His slightly swollen face. His ravenous appetite from waiting so long between meals. An average breakfast for Kody is a male adult breakfast. This morning he had two eggs, two pieces of toast, half a bowl of cereal, a glass of milk, and water. Pancake mornings he eats five usually with a side of meat or something else. He's not a baby anymore with an appetite like that.

His newest skill although not perfected is his love of trying to walk. He will walk around our house and then stop and look up to me waiting for my smiles and claps to show that I am so proud of him for doing it. Walking is such a big boy skill, but needing that approval makes him still a little boy. In the mornings when I go and get him his blanket and pacifier, which he still uses to sleep, are almost always thrown outside the crib. I pick him up and he always reaches for them. He puts the paci in and snuggles into his blanket for a minute or two. I then always ask are you ready to go eat. He smiles and heads for the door, but not before I say we need to put the blanket and paci in the crib. Today he picked up his blanket and tried to walk it over to the crib instead of crawling with blanket in tow over. He was laughing as he tried to master walking with the extra weight of an object throwing off his sense of balance. After a little cajoling he tossed his binkie in the crib too. He is so grown and learning to understand all of these little phrases. I can talk to him now and know he understands even if he isn't talking back.
Then there are those moments that he is still more a little infant boy than a toddler. And it is that love of tearing stuff out that most reminds me of that. Cupboards still are being empited, bookshelves are being cleared, and toilet paper is still being unwound if left unattended. There comes a time when at around 18 months to 2 years old your kids stop trying to do that stuff. They know it isn't allowed. Kody is still testing those boundries, but it won't be long before he learns since we have entered the constant use of the word no phase and time out phase. It is at this juxtaposition in my life that I am appreciative of all of life's transitions, the ability to wait with anticipation for the future, the love of the moments I am experiencing now, and the sense of loss for those things that no longer will be.

Here's to little boys becoming men, little girls becoming moms, and moms learning to appreciate the small things in life.