Oh, grow up!

It's funny. I often remember hearing the words "Don't be in such a hurry to grow up!" when I was a kid. I understand what my parents and other adults were trying to say. Kids grow up too fast...childhood flies by before we know it and we miss the sweetness and innocence of how we and our kids were/are in their younger years.

But what about newborns? I found myself thinking last night as I was feeding Max at 3 AM; "I hope you start sleeping through the night soon, Sweet Pea." During the day I found myself thinking, in turn, "I can't wait until you...hold your own head up, sit up, crawl, start talking."

Then it finally hit me. I had a hard time remembering many details of when Tyler was a newborn. It was a haze of fatigue, bottles, diapers, spitup. I was in a hurry for Tyler, the individual, to arrive. I'm not really in a hurry for my sons to grow up, I'm just in a hurry to get past the helplessness and repetitive nature of infancy so I can get to know the person my son will become.

But I don't want my earliest memories of Max to be a blur. I'm going to make a conscious effort to file away specific memories of holding Max, feeling his warm breath on my neck as he snuggles in to sleep, smelling the sweet baby smell of his hair, feeling the grip of his little fingers around my thumb as I feed him, tickling his feet when I change his diaper...

Yes, this part is a hard part; but it has it's rewards too. I don't want to be in too much of a hurry for Max to grow up.

Off the subject, we got another nice surprise from some co-workers of John's. Thanks to the J&J account team for the great gift basket! I've never received one of these fancy layette baskets before. Sweet!