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It’s spring. The flowers are blooming. The sun is shining. It’s shorts and flip flop weather, my favorite kind. The day is beautiful, a windows down, music up kind of day (though I'm driving a minivan with a baby, so the windows stay up, and the music is from VBS, not really the rocking out with your windows down kind of music). It's a picture perfect spring day. [click]
I have a 5 year old, an almost 3 year old and a 4 month old. And I want so badly to freeze time right here. My older two are in preschool. As of the birth of baby #3, I'm a stay at home mom. The days can be long, but oh, the years are so short. The laughter, the snuggles, the big hugs and little hands that find mine, the smile that lights up my baby’s face - I don’t ever want to forget. [click]
There are only 2 weeks left of preschool. And then I’m going to watch my oldest walk down the aisle in an adorable cap and gown and I’m going to bawl like a baby. I’m going to take a million pictures and think about how before I blink, he’ll be in a high school cap and gown, getting ready to go out on his own. [click] In the fall, I’ll have a kindergartener. I know it’s cliche, but he was just born yesterday. And now he is this confident, funny, athletic, curly haired boy who will be entering a whole new, much bigger world. He is already clever and inquisitive and creative, but right now he will still crawl into my lap, and he comes to me when he is sad or upset. Every time he jumps into my arms I think, before long he’ll be too big. And I want to freeze the moment. [click]
Right now, their world is small. I know their teachers, their friends, their world, and I love it. I love these ages, I love having three little kids. Are there hard days? Yes. Do I have any kind of a social life? No. But I love this stage. These three boys that pile into a crib together and laugh and laugh and laugh. It’s quite a sight. [click]
I know that the older stages have lots to offer too. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it once there is a little more independence, I’m not spending a ton of money on diapers every month, I can run to the bathroom without being worried that someone is climbing in the baby’s crib. But oh, how I’ll miss the sweet baby snuggles. The little hands that find mine so easily. The excited little voices as they tell me about their day. The “one more book” at bedtime. The sweet innocence on their faces as they sleep. [click]
I just know that in 20, 30, 40 years when I think back, these days right here are the ones I’m going to look back on and long for. This spring is a sweet spot. The big boys love the baby. They play well together. The baby sleeps through the night, mostly, and is happy and content. Their little preschool world is so sweet. I can still dress them in coordinating outfits. [click, click, click]
But we are on the precipice of change. Kindergarten is coming up. Our church, which is a huge part of our lives, is getting ready to get a new pastor and undergo some major changes. My mom is getting ready to put her house on the market - the house I grew up in, the house my dad took his last breath in. Change is coming - and change is exciting, but it’s also hard. So since I can’t press pause on this sweet, fleeting, beautiful season, I’m soaking it in. Going on after preschool adventures even when the to do list is long and the house is a mess. Trying to remember all the adorable things these sweet boys do and say. Doing my best to leave margin in our days so I can enjoy, and not rush through, this sweet spot. Taking photos and tucking away memories. [click, click, click]