From babies to toddlers

As Oscar and Judah approach their first birthday, one thing is starting to become clear.  They are not babies anymore.  I first started to notice this astonishing fact when I realized that they don't really fit on the changing table anymore.  And it is making me a bit sad, which is very unexpected.  But the evidence is piling up:

Exhibit A - They are on the move.  Completely.  Oscar was a bit late to the crawling party and he is very sneaky about it, but he is scooting along with the best of them.  The one interesting thing about his locomotion is that he still tends to cry and crawl simultaneously, as if under protest.  But if we leave the room or don't watch, he ambles along with no complaints.  He has just got us snowed.  He knows if he whines enough we will do the moving for him.  But regardless of his manipulations, he is into everything, just like his brother.  Which means that  I can no longer sneak to my bathroom for a moment of plucking my eyebrows or stand in the pantry to snack uninterrupted.  I have to watch them all the time.  The days of them being stationary little buggers is done.  They are basically toddlers.

Exhibit B - They are playing.  Really playing.  With everything and anything.  Of course their favorite toys are not the plethora of gizmos from Target, but instead the remote control, our cell phones, the house phone, the fire place and the baby gates.  We tried to trick them by giving them an old remote with no batteries and a cell phone that isn't hooked up to a service, but they both saw right through that charade.  They know which electronic doodads are the real deal and they won't settle for anything less.  And they read too!  I was amazed to see them  both laying on their bellies tonight, turning the pages of a board book.  It was beyond cute, and I fully expect them to be reading War and Peace by New Year's.

Exhibit C - Food.  These kiddos are eating everything in sight.  Some common favorites are mac and cheese, ice cream, yogurt, chicken fingers and french fries.  They also adore bananas,  mango and tonight's special, green beans.  The days of baby food are pretty much behind us.  They feed themselves almost completely independently and are starting to reach for the spoon too.  Meal times have gotten a lot messier.

Exhibit D - Talking.  Neither of them are really saying anything "for reals" but they are close.  The babbling is just straight out of control.  Oscar is blowing raspberries and mimicking everything that comes out of our mouths.  They talk to each other, to the dogs, to their toys, and soon it is going to be real words.  I am thinking the first thing they will say is "MORE!"  In fact, when I load up their high chair tray with vittles, Judah is already going "MMMMMM" in excitement, especially when he sees gold fish crackers on there.

As they complete the transition from baby to toddler, I have realized I have to change my perspective.  I was always the kind of person that spent a lot of time looking forward to the next step.  While in high school, I couldn't wait for college, while in law school, I couldn't wait to practice, while pregnant, I couldn't wait to have the babies.  But since they were born I find myself wishing everything would go more slowly.  My mother in law always says she can't wait for them to talk, but I am in no hurry.  Once they stop being babies, they will never go back.  And I will miss the cuddling, the wide-eyed appraisal of the world around them, the soft baby skin, and all the other amazing intangibles of having two little creatures that depend on you for every need.  I know they will always need me, but their independence is bittersweet and I suspect that it will only become more nostalgic.  The past year of my life has been the fastest ever, and I have a feeling I will blink and they will be riding bikes.  I will blink again and they will be going on dates.

I guess it is just hard to wrap my head around all these changes.  I have said it before and I will say it again, one of the hardest things about being a parent is that as soon as you get used to one phase, everything changes, and you have to learn a whole new set of parenting rules (baby gates, cabinet locks, the dangers of loose change, when to brush baby teeth...) I feel as if I am starting over back at the beginning.  However, no matter how big Oscar and JJ become, how self sufficient they are, or whether they are dating girls, they will always be my babies, even when they are old and gray.  And now I know why my mom still calls me her baby.