The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

As I see Emma getting older and turning more into a little girl and less like a baby, I realize there are some good, some bad, and some just down right ugly truths about this transition.

The Good:
Emma is becoming more independent.  She is content to play by herself for longer periods of time.  I can sit out a coloring book and some crayons and she's good to go for a while.

Furthermore, with the new toddler bed, she'll usually get up in the morning and come play in the living room.

This is considerably better than the crib days when at the crack of dawn I would be summoned from a deep sleep and have to bound out of bed to rescue a screaming baby.  Yes, she still wakes me up early, but at least I can hang out in the bed until I've got my wits about me and am ready to get up and face the day.

Just felt like adding a pic of Emma's bed head...

She's also able to feed herself now.  No more sitting and shoveling pureed nastiness into an unreceptive baby.

In her Derby "hat"

The Bad:
With independence comes curiosity.  This little sponge likes to imitate everything Mommy & Daddy do.  Now don't get me wrong, this can be totally cute sometimes.

 

But that also means we've got to start watching what we're saying and doing.  She also loves to try new things and investigate how things work.

Daddy teaching her how to golf.

But this does result in kitchen cabinets being emptied (repeatedly), PDF's (public display of frustration) when things don't go her way, and endless temper tantrums.  (No photos of this, and believe me, you don't want to see it.)

The Ugly:

Some ugly truths about babies becoming toddlers?  Well for starters, when I pick Emma up from the nursery at the gym, I used to get sympathetic looks.  Like, "Oh, she just had a baby and she's trying to loose her baby weight."  But now, since lil' princess isn't a baby anymore, there's no sympathy (or excuses) for my extra "fluff".  (Again, no pictures, entirely too disgusting.)

There's a considerable increase in the number of times we get asked, "So, when are you having baby # 2?"  The closer we get to Emma's second birthday, that whopper of a conversation starter increases exponentially. 

 And the ugliest truth of all?  You'll eat your words.  As hard as that baby-phase was and as many times as people would tell me "Cherish every minute of it" (and I would think, "No way, I can't wait to be past this stage"), I find myself looking back at baby pictures and missing our sweet cuddle time.



The first day we brought Emma home.  June 2009



You realize you're little baby will never be a baby again.  That every fleeting moment with your precious little one will soon become only memories for the scrapbook (which may/may not be completed before she goes off to college).

So as I do my little balancing act that is parenthood, I am thankful that the good is so good, the bad is not so bad, and the ugly, well, that's censored for toddler ears.