pause.

Sometimes I just want to hit 'pause' and freeze this season of our lives. As challenging as the terrible threes can be, they're also so funny and awe inspiring to me. In one moment, Nate will ask me the same question eight times and, after getting an answer that he doesn't want, try to do it anyway. In the next moment, he's spouting off some quippy or intuitive thought that flits across his mind.

I had a conversation with a lady in Target the other day that started off with her asking my opinion of an outfit and ended with talking about the different ages and stages that she's watched her seven (!!) kids go through. With kids who are in their late twenties, all the way to 24 months, she said that "each year gets more fun". And she's right. Each year is an increasingly fun and rewarding adventure, but each year is also so precious. I wouldn't want to trade Nate's baby days for anything. That little chunk brought out a new level of love that I've never felt before and gave me a crash course into motherhood - 

Now, we're able to have actual conversations and I'm able to really appreciate his personality, his sense of humor, and help to train him to be the best person that he can be when he gets older. I've seen a burst in his language skills over the last few month; my child now uses prepositions, pronouns, and articles regularly and correctly! The fact that we are moving from child-caveman speak ("me hungry")  to full sentences ("I'm a little bit hungry. May I have a snack please?") is a huge deal. I think every parent with kids has said the phrase "use your words" about a billion times. It's exciting to finally be at that point!

For the record, I'm still convinced that Nate doesn't sleep as much as other kids his age. We had an unprecedented moment last week where Nate fell asleep at 8:00 p.m., but then woke up before midnight raring to go. Never again! On any given day, he can run laps, not take a nap, not have sugar, and still be running full steam at my bedtime. He exhausts me but I wouldn't have it any other way!