 I put the baby down for his afternoon nap, grabbed my cup of coffee I had been attempting to drink all day that is now ice-cold and decided to scroll through photos from the last year or so; that last part was a mistake.
I love looking through my pregnancy photos, hospital photos, and photos of my sweet little boy, I could do it for hours, however, I end up crying every single time. This time, it got me thinking about how much has changed in just the eight short months that I have had my baby. He learned how to roll over, sit up on his own, eat real food, crawl, stand up by himself (while holding on to the couch or crib rails), and even say mama and dada! Before we know it, he will be walking, talking, off in school, graduating, and one day, maybe even have a little one of his own! I know, I know, I’m getting a little carried away.
 All of this thinking made me discover something;
    Everything is bittersweet, when it comes to children.
Of course I get excited when he reaches a new milestone, in fact, I help him reach them. When he was learning how to roll over, I would put him on his side and entice him with toys to convince him to roll all the way, lay on the ground with him for hours and roll around to show him how it’s done and turn him over and over again until he eventually figured it out on his own. When he finally did, I cried.
 “My little baby is growing up on me! He won’t need me anymore!”
I thought.
Patio Umbrella //  (The best Dada in the world – not for sale)
Every little milestone my baby has hit, I’ve helped him reach, and yet, every milestone that he has hit, I have cried.
As parents, we obviously want our children to succeed, accomplish new goals and continue learning and thriving, but every new ‘thing’ our babies learn, is another step closer to them being independent. Before we know it, our little seven-pound eleven-ounce bundle of joy will be a year old. Then two, then five, thirteen, eighteen and so on. He will go off to school for the first time, have a sleepover for the first time, have his first date, learn how to drive, and many more. I’m sure I will cry every single time, but I guess that is part of the joy of parenting.
Everything is
b i t t e r  s w e e t .
Shorts //  Sneakers Â
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How did I make it all twenty-six years of my life with no one ever telling me this would happen? People always say:
they grow so fast
it will fly by
 they will be teenagers before you know it
appreciate this time before it’s over
and yet, no one ever warned me that every day I will want to jump for joy but crumble with sadness over every little thing my baby learns.
(one week postpartum, crying because ‘he’s just so cute when he sleeps’)
Don’t get me wrong;
I wouldn’t change a thing.