I’m feeling a little bit emotional at the moment. In a few short weeks Alice turns three. Three whole years old. Three means she is officially a little girl and I now no longer have a ‘baby’ or even a ‘toddler’ really. That makes me feel a little bit sad.
Being the youngest she will obviously always be my ‘baby’ but I can’t believe how quickly time has flown. And don’t even get me started on the fact that Molly starts school in September.
The day Alice was born was an absolute scorcher with the country in the midst of a heatwave. It was also our fifth wedding anniversary. Edd said it would help him not forget it in the future. He forgot the next year! I was induced three weeks early with Alice and she arrived pretty quickly, all teeny and pink, and very VERY loud.
How has that tiny dependent baby suddenly become so grown up? I think it hit me when I packed away all her age 2-3 year old clothes recently. I am well used to packing up clothes after two round of those teeny baby items making their way in to the loft but for some reason the fact that she is suddenly in age 3-4 seemed so strange. Molly can still fit in a lot of them herself so I now have two little girls in almost the same size.
Alice amazes me every day. She’s full of laughter and singing. And quite a lot of grumpiness. But in the main she is a lot of fun. Her and Molly play properly together now and watching them makes me smile a little bit every time. The baby toys have long gone and have now been replaced with make believe and those teeny tiny Sylvanian figures.
I sometimes wonder if Alice has grown up quicker as she strives to be like Molly. Wanting to play with the things Molly does and be able to keep up with her adventures. In truth Alice still loves to get out all the baby toys and play with those noisy plastic music making machines. I feel as though I shouldn’t have maybe packed them all away quite so soon.
She is also little miss independent. Happy to do as much as she can and takes great delight in doing things herself. She can often be found telling me to ‘shoo’ if she wants to do things alone. That said she still slips back in to baby roles and often asks me to feed her her dinner or help her with her shoes. I like that.
She also still loves cuddles and kisses and most of all loves being carried. By a much younger age poor Molly was being made to walk everywhere and do things by herself as I had a baby to cart around. Alice still stands at the top of the stairs in the morning and wants to be carried down or starts off walking to school only to hop in her buggy by the time we reach the end of the driveway (about 5 steps!).
In some ways I am looking forward to the next stage. To getting a bit of me time back. Of not being demanded 24/7. Although, I’m pretty sure the demands are still going to be there, just in a different way.
So it’s time to wave bye bye to the baby years. I apologise for the mush and I know the girls still have a lot of growing to do but sometimes I just want time to slow down. I want to cocoon them at this age and savour every second just that little bit longer. But equally I know we have many more adventures and memories to come and that each age will be just as much fun.
And before anyone says it’s time to have another I’m just not sure (but that’s probably another post). I feel so lucky to have my two gorgeous girls and that for me is enough. Besides, I like my sleep too much!
Image by Anna Clarke Photography
Oh Lottie this is lovely. They really do grow too fast! I remember the first time I heard my nephew called my sis ‘Mum’ instead of ‘Mummy’ and I could have cried. It was all a bit too grown up.
Just think of all the fabulous things you can do with your girls now that you can’t do with babies… so many new adventures ahead & fun girl stuff! They’ll both always be your babies though and nobody is too old for cuddles from Mummy, right? xx
Time does fly very quickly Lottie..It would have been just like yesterday, you brought her home from the hospital..and now today she is almost 3..All the best for your next level of Mommy game!
The boys have just started calling us Mum & Dad, Elliott mainly. They are 11 & 10 so we’ve been quite lucky although I can’t get used to it. Anabelle is picking it up too and it’s breaking my heart 🙁
The boys have got to an age (well actually have been for a while) where they’re our friends now and we hang out playing cards, games, cinema, bowling etc. We still get lots of cuddles too. No matter what age they are they’ll always be your babies. xxx
I’ve been feeling this way and my little one is only just turning 3 months! Bagging up his 0-3 clothes was emotional – no more newborn. He’s amazing me every day with all he’s learning though so I’m excited for the next step.
P.s I’m nearly 32 and would take a cuddle with my mum any day 🙂
Oh Lottie this has me in tears! I already feel like this about Hector sometimes – like I’ve blinked and suddenly he’s a toddler and it won’t be long before he’s a proper boy. Sometimes I catch a glimpse of him and I can almost see him at eight years old the way he holds himself or makes certain expressions and I get a lump in my throat. Ste and I often speak to people when we’re out and about – usually because they’ve commented on something to do with Hector – and those who have older children all say the same thing ‘it all goes too quickly…make the most of every single second’. It’s hard when you’re so exhausted but the saying ‘the days are long but the year is short’ springs to mind. I try to remember that when Hector is testing me to my limit on some days. And we’ll always need our mums. Always! I still need mine now!
It’s so true that it goes far too fast, even though it doesn’t feel like it when you’re battling sleepless nights etc! My little girl turns 2 in a matter of days and I can’t believe it, where did my baby go ? Each new stage is lovely but I’m sad for the one we’ve left behind. I try to remember this when I’m thinking ‘I can’t wait until she can do this or that or she’s old enough to do this…’ No, I CAN wait because it’ll be here before I know it. I think humans in general are terrible for wishing time away and having a child has made me really try to just treasure the here and now! X
Such a lovely lovely post Lottie, so true and so emotional, time flies so quickly I need to remember to treasure even the tough days as in a few years she’ll be all grown up! X
What a lovely post, Lottie. I totally agree with wishing time to slow down and my son is only five months old! People (especially my mother-in-law) keep asking when we’ll introduce “real” food already for example and I just want to treasure the time that he is exclusively breastfed since it’s one step towards being independent. Don’t get me wrong, I want him to be an independent man one day, but I try to enjoy every minute of him being my baby!