Please pass me a cape and some Popcorm (n)

Sometimes, I go back in time through pictures or videos to when both of my children were babies.  It was such a special time, and I love to see their little faces or hear their voices before they fully learned to talk.  Then....I try to take a shower, and I am reminded how wonderful it is to have them just a little bit older and independent.  I can actually TAKE a shower longer than 3 minutes and most of the time, I can even wash my hair or shave my legs.  Not both...unless Zach is home.

But while I like that Jack is old enough to get up on his own and make breakfast, or Lucy can ...ok well Lucy can never be left alone, regardless of age, but at least I get to sleep in now that Jack is older.  He is my early riser.  Usually 5 am.  But now, I get to sleep til 6 because he can make his own bowl of cereal.  Just the other day, when I woke up, I found him eating a bowl of cereal he poured himself.  Now, it was Jethro bowl..aka HUGE.  And he used half gallon of milk on it, and is slowly cutting out Toucan Sam on the box as he gets down to the bottom, BUT...he did it all himself, and I got that blissful hour of sleep.

I have to admit, I do miss his kisses and cuddles though.  He's too big to sit on my lap and kisses from mom are gross? But every once in a while, I catch him trying not to grow up too fast.  Like when he is having a war with his army men in his room.  Or today, when he put on his super hero cape (that he said was for babies) and went outside to dig up worms.  But that was short lived.  An hour later, he was going to the bathroom and covering his penis.  I was like "well, you do know I have seen that before?  And if you don't want me to walk by and accidentally see it, why don't you shut the door before you pee?".  His face got all red. I bet he learns to shut the door from now on.  

Then there is Lucy.  Its a little bit different with Lucy for a couple of reasons.  First, she is our baby. Our youngest.  We cherish everything every last thing she still does due to her immaturity.  We hold on to her mis-pronunciation of words (tummy egg, PopcorM).  And then we also "lost" a year of her babyness to cancer.  So it was like her entire 3rd year of her life, she grew up in a matter of days.  Sometimes, we see that 3 year old in her.  It like she missed out on those years and tries to throw in a fit of independence here and there.  And while the "3's", I believe are the worst times for the parents, I welcome it from time to time from her.  

The other thing I have learned to love is the bathroom.  Not the one with the shower, but the one with the tub and lock on the door!!  Sometimes I go in there and hide.  Sometimes I turn off the lights, light a candle and escape with a bubble bath (but I only do that when Zach is home or the kids are sleeping).  But I have found that I have grown to love my 1970's bathroom.  Sometimes, I eat in there.  Usually that is steroid week when I am trying to sneak food without Lucy seeing it.  

So while I miss the baby days from time to time, I really do enjoy more baths, an extra hour of sleep, and the glimpse I get from time to time when my children are pretending to be superheros while eating popcorm ;)