The Sweet Life of Little Ones

I was reading my friend Kristen's blog, and her post today, "Things I Will Miss Someday" and it inspired me to write my own. You can read her blog here http://chinacat.dnsalias.org/roller/sunfrog/

So here is my own list of things that I love more than anything now and that I know will not always be. My little guys are growing up. One day they will fall in love, explore the world and make their way. I want my boys to grow up feeling safe, loved and happy. I want them to have confidence in themselves, adventure in their hearts and the strength to put themselves out there and take risks. I know that I will always be important to them, but I will not always be the center of their little world. Here are some things that I will most definitely miss.

I will miss the cuddles that I get while breastfeeding. That snuggle time is the best. The whole world seems to stop while your little one is craddled in your arms, happily eating and reaching up to grab your face. Pure contentment.

Warm, little bare feet in my bed. We have co-slept with both of our little guys. Little Man is off in his own room, in his own "big boy bed", but Baby Boy still spends the second half of his night cuddled up next to me. I will miss waking up, leaning over and hearing his soft breathing while sound asleep. Oh and those cute little morning smiles when we both wake up.

My boys adorable little voices. I know their voices are only going to get deeper and more grown-up, so I try to remember all of their cute little giggles and songs now.

Mixed-up little toddler/preschooler sayings. I crack up at all of my son's little "translations". For example he calls taxi cabs, "cabbage cars", and deodorant, "deodor-ade".

Sleepy face rubs. I will miss seeing Baby Boy ball up his little fists and run his eyes when fatigue sets in.

Naps with my boys. Nothing beats snuggling up with them on a rainy day, reading some books and taking a snooze.

Silly Dance Time. On a weekly basis, we put on some music, each grab a musical instrument and sing and dance ourselves silly. This is my older son's favorite time in the world, mine too. I know one day they will think this is beyond lame, but for now it is nothing but pure happiness and glee.

The un-jaded heart of a little one. I LOVE how my little guy will get excited for just about everything. You can tell him you're going to the library and he will jump for joy (even though we go 1-2 times a week...) A three year-old still gets so excited about an extra book before bed or making pancakes with mom on a lazy Sunday morning. A 16 year-old? Not so much.

Matchbox cars/Hot Wheels in every room and cabinet in the house.

Messy morning bed head.

The joy on my son's face when he sees me pick him up from school and the first big bear hug that I get when he sees me.

Baby giggles in a bubble bath. And all of the happy splashing that goes with it.

Cute little baby butts crawling across the floor after a bath. (And the mad dash he makes, FULL of giggles when he see me chasing after him).

Running through the sprinkler, with shrieks of joy, on a hot summer day. Followed by an ice cream cone, naturally.

I will miss my older son as a three year-old and my younger boy as a 12 month-old. Next year, they will be different little people, and so on for each year after that. Only now can I enjoy them at this age and all of the adorable quirks and joys that go with it. I embrace and love it all. Why can't we bottle some up to enjoy later? Ten to twenty years from now, I could go, grab that bottle from January 30, 2010, dust it off and enjoy Little Man splashing in his bath, getting into train flannel PJ's and telling me that he can't eat kale because "it is meant for rabbits not boys". I'd get to hear Baby Boy giggle with delight whenever I smell his stinky feet, sweet kisses on my face, his entire face red with tomato sauce from dinner and a head full of blond, bouncy curls.

I will miss it all, absolutely all of it. I love my life, I love my boys and I get teary-eyed just thinking about them growing up. This is just the perfect age for them to be. I can love them and they think Mommy and Daddy are just the coolest. Who can beat that? I will truly miss every beautiful, crazy thing about our life right now. I love it and I hope they grow up knowing how much I love my life with them. I love being their mommy and not a moment of my life goes un-appreciated. A mother's love just may be the most powerful thing there is or ever was.

Oh, and I'll also miss the little pitter-pat of footie pajamas running to my bedroom door each morning to say, "Wake Up, Mommy! It's a brand new day!". It certainly is, my beautiful boy.

*Get inspired and write your list,too. If you do post, share your address in the comments. If you don't have a blog, just share some here anyway. :) *