My Busy Baby

At this time last year, I could not picture in my head what it would be like to have a mobile baby in my home. Whenever I tried to picture myself as a mother, it would always be with a tiny newborn. I could picture so clearly in my head rocking the baby to sleep. And giving it baths in the kitchen sink. I saw myself giving bottles and pacifiers and kissing a tiny baby goodnight.  But for some reason, I could never picture myself with a baby beyond those first few quiet months. I couldn't imagine a baby being at the stage that Rhett is now.

And what Rhett is....is BUSY. That baby never. slows. down. He can make a mess out of anything. He enjoys it! Parenting right now mostly consists of watching him dart back and forth in my living room, destroying everything he can find.

Bath time no longer consists of me sponging around an umbilical cord stump with a moist sponge  Think you can give this kid a bath and stay dry yourself? Think again. 

Feeding, of course, deserves a post of it's own (I'll get there some day). Here's a preview:

I always thought it was so strange that I couldn't picture myself with an older baby. All of the care and attention I knew he would need just didn't fit in my lifestyle back then. I couldn't even imagine it. And right now, I can't imagine much beyond what we're doing right now either. I keep thinking of what our summer travels will be like, with Rhett crawling all around hotels and other peoples' houses. And I have to stop and remind myself: "not crawling. He'll be bigger than. He'll be walking". I can't picture it. Just like I never could for this stage. We are so unbelievable blessed by this little boy. Every day is filled with so much fun and laughter. He has brightened up our home and our lives in ways we never imagined the day we brought him home from the hospital. He keeps us busy, certainly. But in that busyness, we are having so. much. fun. And now I can't remember what filled our days before we were constantly chasing him down. 

For my next trick, I will make this stack of DVDs disappear