Time flies when you're having fun...

This weekend, I was talking to my friend Julie, who just got home from the hospital after the birth of her baby girl. Hearing her talk about those early days brought back a lot of memories for me. No matter how many books or articles you read, nothing, absolutely NOTHING can adequately prepare you to be a parent. You actually can't believe that they are going to just let you leave the hospital with this little person, without even having to pass a test or anything. I remember getting home from the hospital and thinking ok...now what? It was actually a bit anti-climactic after all the hustle and bustle of the hospital - someone new coming in every 30 minutes to check my monitors, administer medication, watch me breastfeed....oh the horror. There are certainly parts I'm hoping to forget. People kept telling us "enjoy them, they grow up so fast!" and we would think, what the @#$% are they talking about? Those first few weeks went by like dog years. We realized there is a "honeymoon period" where the baby is asleep for the first couple of weeks of its life. At first, you actually find yourself getting a little bored. Then, one day, the baby actually wakes up and realizes it's alive and out in the world and reality sets in! We were so exhausted from waking up every few hours for feedings. Even though there wasn't much Dayven could do to help feed Wyatt since I was nursing, he'd get up with me in the middle of the night for the first couple of weeks, then doze on the couch (no doubt offering his quiet moral support) while I fed him. Even our dog, Oliver, wasn't getting much sleep. During the daylight hours, we walked around the house like zombies, trying to wipe the cobwebs from our foggy brains. We felt like war prisoners being subjected to sleep deprivation experiments. Ah...good times. But that's all a distant memory now. Time is really speeding up and the fun is just beginning...

Yes, my little man is starting to grow up. He is starting to look more and more like a little boy now, rather than a baby. I'm both excited and sad about this fact. When I look at his baby pictures, it is hard to remember him that small. Last week, we moved him to his big boy car seat. No more baby seat for my little man. In other important news, big boy has moved up to size 3 diapers. Yep, no more weenie size 2's for him. Those are for babies. He loves to feed himself. Never mind that it takes twice as long and makes a complete mess. I'm forever picking soggy puffs cereal out of his high chair, stroller, and any other surface he touches. I'm starting to notice we leave a little trail of cereal everywhere we go, like Hansel and Gretel. We're always able to find our way back to the car! He loves to drink from his sippy cup, but he's a little confused by the concept of gravitational flow. He puts the cup in this mouth, leans over and drinks vigorously, then stops and stares at the cup, perplexed by the fact that nothing is coming out. He has not figured out that he must tip the cup UP to get the liquid to come out, regardless of how many times I show him.

I may not miss those early days, but it's all worth it now when I look at this face...

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