Tee's super adorable baby boy turned one yesterday! What a milestone! Congrats Tee and hubby and Happy Birthday little A! We loved being at the birthday party and gorging on the delectable cake :D
Tee has come to visit family - and us, the all important friends :) from across the seven seas. I think I can safely speak for Emm too when I say we were waiting more to coo over Tee's baby than catch up with her ;) And he's soo worth all the fuss. I can also safely say that all the kids in the equation don't dislike each other - yet. We had a couple of play dates that went quite well. The babies ignored each other, then got a little curious and slightly pally to the extent that R took (snatched, more like) a biscuit that A offered him! There were some shows of possession here and there, but they came and went before things escalated. I guess that age is (fortunately) yet to come.
All of us were just talking about how mommies are not super-thrilled about the first birthday - it reminds us that our babies are growing up fast and are not really babies anymore. Emm has still got a half year before her little cutie officially becomes a toddler, so savour every minute, Emm!
R has lately been showing streaks of independence here and there - isn't that what all mommies ostensibly want? He climbs on and off the bed by himself, wants to drink and eat with his own hands in his own messy way and decides where he wants his little legs to take him. But even when I proudly share his little achievements, one tiny part of me feels somewhat excluded, like I am being 'relieved' of some duties that I have come to identify myself with. I admit to daydreaming of the time I won't have to lug bottles, snacks and diapers around, not plan my meagre social life around nap times and be able to type just one short email without the fear of R wandering off to a non-toddlerproof area. But I secretly dread the day when R will no longer need a mommy-cuddle before bedtime, when he won't look expectantly at me to laud him when he manages to kick the ball, when he might find giving his mommy that sloppy open-mouthed kiss too embarrassing.
I know at each age and stage new joys replace the ones they have outgrown, and we take on new roles by no means less important or satisfying than now. But allow me a moment to miss the warmth of my baby snuggled in the crook of my arm, nursing contentedly, as the wriggly toddler squirms out of my bear hug to be let loose to explore his expanding world.
