I was going through a box of pictures and notebooks and came across this page that I put down about a year ago, when Archer had just turned two...
Well, now we are full in the trenches of learning about independence. Archer has progressed from naming things, to naming things he wants, to telling us what to do - "Sit here! Door open!" And when he wants something he's able to describe the sequence that must happen in order to get his way - "Jacket! Shoes on! Hat! Door open! Outside!" And me? I'm along for the ride, simply following his lead and prompting "Say please, say thank you" every step of the way. God forbid I should say "Just a minute honey." It might as well be eternity I'm asking for! He's gotten the hang of saying "yeah" to be agreeable, but doesn't hesitate to tell me "No no no!" when things aren't going quite his way. And I think the tantrums are more frequent now because of his realization that he sometimes can get his way, and not knowing why it won't always go his way. He's realizing that he can influence us more and his world is getting bigger, maybe faster than he can keep up with.
And now, a year after writing that I realize how far we've come in this last year, full sentances and being able to describe to me not just what it takes to go outside ("Need my jacket, open the door") but to warn me of the consequences of not following the rules ("I'll get cold, the dog will run away").
A few days ago, when David woke up in the morning, he walked into the living room to find that the berry pie that had been on the counter last night was now spread into little piles of berries all over the living room carpet. I guess Everett liked the pie crust but not the filling, because that's what he left behind. And after getting the spot cleaner out and taking care of the mess, one of the kids decided to go outside to enjoy the sunshine and opened the door and out went the dog! So David rounded up the dog by calling out that they were going for a ride. And once the dog was in the car, Archer insisted on actually going for a ride. Once around the block, then back into the garage. The dog came in from the garage, the door was closed behind him, then the door into the house was opened and the dog ran inside, just in time for the kids to come back into the house from the back yard and let Everett right back outside again. And to me, what's even more impressive than this story is that when I came home that afternoon, Archer was able to relay the entire story to me in complete detail.
The amazing thing about parenting is that when you first start out, you think you know what to expect (messy diapers, then they learn to crawl, then walk, and talk...) but there's nothing to really prepare you for what's about to happen in your life. Messy diapers are much more than you could have anticipated (Shelly regularly requires a bath after a diaper can't contain everything and she's got poop up to her neck), crawling and walking mean constantly watching out for every possible thing that could be in their path and trying to anticipate it (Archer fell down on the day he took his first steps and we had our first trip to the emergency room for stitches). And talking means not just learning words but learning how to use them and suddenly before I knew it there's a little boy in my life expressing his opinions on everything happening around him. And so I think I know what to expect with Shelly, since I'm already experiencing it with Archer, but I also have a feeling she'll bring her own set of surprises as she gets older. What will her opinions be? How will she relate to me the things that have happened to her each day, and what will be important to her? I can't wait to find out!
And now its your turn:
What was your biggest surprise in becoming a parent? What did you least expect but most enjoy about having kids?
Well, now we are full in the trenches of learning about independence. Archer has progressed from naming things, to naming things he wants, to telling us what to do - "Sit here! Door open!" And when he wants something he's able to describe the sequence that must happen in order to get his way - "Jacket! Shoes on! Hat! Door open! Outside!" And me? I'm along for the ride, simply following his lead and prompting "Say please, say thank you" every step of the way. God forbid I should say "Just a minute honey." It might as well be eternity I'm asking for! He's gotten the hang of saying "yeah" to be agreeable, but doesn't hesitate to tell me "No no no!" when things aren't going quite his way. And I think the tantrums are more frequent now because of his realization that he sometimes can get his way, and not knowing why it won't always go his way. He's realizing that he can influence us more and his world is getting bigger, maybe faster than he can keep up with.
And now, a year after writing that I realize how far we've come in this last year, full sentances and being able to describe to me not just what it takes to go outside ("Need my jacket, open the door") but to warn me of the consequences of not following the rules ("I'll get cold, the dog will run away").
A few days ago, when David woke up in the morning, he walked into the living room to find that the berry pie that had been on the counter last night was now spread into little piles of berries all over the living room carpet. I guess Everett liked the pie crust but not the filling, because that's what he left behind. And after getting the spot cleaner out and taking care of the mess, one of the kids decided to go outside to enjoy the sunshine and opened the door and out went the dog! So David rounded up the dog by calling out that they were going for a ride. And once the dog was in the car, Archer insisted on actually going for a ride. Once around the block, then back into the garage. The dog came in from the garage, the door was closed behind him, then the door into the house was opened and the dog ran inside, just in time for the kids to come back into the house from the back yard and let Everett right back outside again. And to me, what's even more impressive than this story is that when I came home that afternoon, Archer was able to relay the entire story to me in complete detail.
The amazing thing about parenting is that when you first start out, you think you know what to expect (messy diapers, then they learn to crawl, then walk, and talk...) but there's nothing to really prepare you for what's about to happen in your life. Messy diapers are much more than you could have anticipated (Shelly regularly requires a bath after a diaper can't contain everything and she's got poop up to her neck), crawling and walking mean constantly watching out for every possible thing that could be in their path and trying to anticipate it (Archer fell down on the day he took his first steps and we had our first trip to the emergency room for stitches). And talking means not just learning words but learning how to use them and suddenly before I knew it there's a little boy in my life expressing his opinions on everything happening around him. And so I think I know what to expect with Shelly, since I'm already experiencing it with Archer, but I also have a feeling she'll bring her own set of surprises as she gets older. What will her opinions be? How will she relate to me the things that have happened to her each day, and what will be important to her? I can't wait to find out!And now its your turn:
What was your biggest surprise in becoming a parent? What did you least expect but most enjoy about having kids?
1 comment:
My biggest surprise as a parent is how much joy comes to you as you watch your children grow to experience that next big thing in their life. At first it is just being able to crawl or walk or talk, but later it becomes school, graduation, baptism, weddings and then.... having their own children. The biggest thing that I never expected was what a glorious blessing grandchildren are to you. Of course you have to go through a couple decades of hard work as a parent to get there, but the joy that comes from a couple of healthy (well parented) grandchildren is incredible.
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