Baby

I think Audrey is cute.




Have I ever shared that opinion?



No?



Oh, well, I think Audrey is cute. Really cute. And not just because she's mine. I think her cuteness is entirely independent of any bias I might have as her mother. (Spoken like a true mother, right? :) Anyway...) As she gets older, more and more of her personality is coming out and she's so much fun. Especially now that she is talking so much. She's our little magpie – she is constantly chattering. And she loves to repeat everything she hears. And it's been fun to see how quickly she learns new words and expressions. My favorite new expression?




“Hi Baby!”



Now, I'm not entirely sure when she learned it the very first time, but she started saying it frequently - very frequently - when we were visiting Ukiah in December-January. And she mostly said it to my sister's cats.


Neither one is named Baby, by the way. Their names are Einstein and Watson, respectively. I didn't take any pictures of them this last trip, but here they are from a few trips ago.


This is Watson. He's a handsome cat.




And very soft. He's got the softest, most silky cat coat I've ever felt.


This is Einstein - with Audrey. It's pictures like this that make me aware of just how much she's grown. She was about eight months old here. This was the first trip where Audrey met Einstein and Watson. It was love at first sight. For Audrey.






On this most recent trip, any time one of the cats would come by her or even if Audrey would spot one of them from a distance she would exclaim, “Einstein! Hi Baby!” It was so cute. It's even cuter to actually hear it though. She loves Einstein and Watson. She had so much fun living in a house where there were cats – even if they did their best to avoid Audrey as much as possible. Most of the time they tried to hide from her – triggering Audrey to yell their names at the top of her lungs – like all the yelling was going to entice them to come near. It was cute seeing her with them. And even cuter to hear her call them Baby. I miss that.

It's Official: It's Way Too Fast

The world is full of clichés. You've probably noticed. You know what's annoying about clichés?


They're almost always true.


Which I guess is obvious because that's how a cliché becomes a cliché to begin with; if it wasn't generally true it couldn't be a cliché.... My point is I've discovered another cliché is true.








Are you ready?










Kids grow up way too fast.




That's the one thing I hear the most often about parenting – the admonition to make sure I really treasure this time with my babies because it passes too quickly. Seriously, I hear this everywhere – from my neighbors, family members, random people in the check out line at the grocery store. Everywhere. And most of the time it's coming from someone who is clearly an empty-nester so I've come to take that advice with a grain of salt (Can someone tell me what that expression even means? Where did it originate? And what does it really mean to take something with a grain of salt? But I digress...). I usually just think they must be remembering wrong - that maybe it only seems like it went really fast when you're looking at it from the-thirty-years-after-all-the-kids-have-moved-out stand point. So, I just smile and nod my head and thank them for their advice – not really absorbing any of it.




Until the other night.
















What happened to make me wake up and realize the truth of this particular cliché?








Audrey.





Of course it's Audrey.





She teaches me a lot.







And I'm sure there are many, many more things left on her syllabus.




Here's the story:



In the mornings, usually I'll put on one of Audrey's favorite musicals, put Luke in his crib or strap him into his little activity chair, and then try to take a quick shower before either one of them notices that I am missing. Some mornings I am successful. Other mornings... not so much. On those other mornings Audrey hears the shower, rushes into the bathroom, takes off all of her clothes as fast as possible, and then begs me to let her take a shower too. (And I'm really excited about her ability to undress herself. Really excited. Like, THRILLED. It's so much fun trying to talk my very willful two year old into keeping her clothes on in the middle of the grocery store... and the drug store... and the pet store... and the mall... and basically every other public place. I'm also really excited about her newest acquired skill of opening doors. It's really made nap time and bed time a little more interesting... but that's another topic for another time....) The point is: despite my best efforts, sometimes Audrey crashes my shower.

Well, a few nights ago, as I was filling the tub for Audrey's nightly bath, she got bugged about it being bath time. None of my explanations for why baths are important were working. She just got more upset. Then I asked her if she wanted to take a shower. She immediately smiled and said “Ciao!” - which I've since discovered is her way of saying shower. And so she took a shower instead of a bath. It was pretty funny watching my sweet, plucky two year old standing under the water and loving it. I don't know if I've ever heard of another two year old liking showers more than baths. Maybe she gets it from me – I'm much more of a shower person than a bath person but I just didn't think the preference would make itself known so early!

And at each bath time since, she's insisted on a shower instead of a bath every time. I really don't care too much as long as she gets clean and it helps prepare her for going to sleep... it's just funny to see such a tiny little girl taking a shower!

And it was last night, while I was sitting in the bathroom, waiting for her to finish her shower that I suddenly felt that first real pang of sadness that she's just growing up so fast. And maybe I really do need to do all that I can to relish and rejoice in these small moments of childhood. Because it really does go way too fast.





















Oh, and it's not just Audrey.












She's recruited Luke too. (Don't look so innocent, mister. You're not foolin' anyone!)














Yep, he's totally in on it.















A co-conspirator...




his second tooth just barely broke through his gums. The first one came a little over a week ago.







My babies are getting older!












And they think it's hilarious.