Ack!

I arrived at work this morning and the plastic bag I had my lunch and pump pieces had fallen off the seat onto the floor of the car. I was horrified to see as I was picking up the pieces of the pump that it looked like it had dirt on them and I was even more horrified to see that there appeared to be dirt in the bottom of the plastic bag.

I was grumbling and complaining that I had managed to pick up an apparently unclean plastic bag (since I got it off the counter instead of out of my usual bag storage spot) when I suddenly realize that it wasn't dirt....it was crumbs from a bag of oreos that I didn't realize was open.

Hmm...does this mean that Jo gets chocolate milk today?

Being a parent

This morning I was thinking about how you end up doing and saying things as a parent that it never occurred to you you might do. This morning I was freshly out of the shower when Jo started crying and I went to pick her up. Her nose was running and sure enough she rubbed her runny nose all over my chest.
Maybe it is just that all of my children are so young still that there are things that if I really stopped to think about them would make me just go "ewwww."

I have picked buggers and been forced to eat things that had previously been in someone else's mouth when the boys INSIST on sharing. I have said things that I never dreamed would come out of my mouth...like "get down off the table" or "stop poking that giraffe in your sister's face."

There are also the things that are really hard to do to/with your children because you don't want them to hurt but you know they will be better for it: like holding your child down while they draw blood to determine if there is an infection, or holding them while they get a shot, or trying to get everything clean while you are changing a diaper and the child has diaper rash that you know stings.

Being a parent is one roller coaster ride.

Readiness & Modeling

It is amazing to watch children grow and change. They all do it at their own pace. Benchmarks are somewhat useful to know what to expect, but every child does it at his or her own pace. I suppose there are somethings that you can encourage or "train" your child about but from what I have seen there are just somethings that they can't do it, don't show interest, are unwilling to try....and then suddenly the interest is there and the ability follows...often very quickly.
I really think that the ages they put on toys are a bit misleading. There are toys that might be safe for younger children, but (at least so far with my boys) they were not able to really play with the toy for a long time. We have had a puzzle since we were about 1 year old, but the boys didn't show much interest in it (they mainly used the pieces...which had handles...as instruments). Then suddenly when I was unpacking toys at our new house I saw Doug play with one of those shape sorting toys. He was pretty accurate and did it by himself, whereas before he could only do it with a lot of coaching. He then proceeded to floor me at my sister's house because he did a puzzle with 100% accuracy and no hesitations.
I know, also, that playing with older children over the holidays has forever changed Doug & Andy's play patterns. I will be interested to see as we get back to our normal routines what they still do after their exposure to both their cousins and now children of family friends at Nana and Pop's house.

Jo, I think, is about 1 to 2 weeks ahead of where Andy was with physical development. Andy always was my "gross motor" boy. He crawled, walked, etc. almost a full month before Doug did. Well Jo doesn't always choose to crawl still, but she can, and she is definitely able to sit up from a tummy position. She has started pulling up to stand up. She's not cruising along yet, but I think it can't be far behind. She just wants to keep up with her older brothers.
I was actually grateful when I had twins right off the bat, that they didn't have older siblings to try and keep up with. I am reminded, however, how important it is to have that peer group or role model to motivate them to take the next step. I am also thankful that my children are still young enough that most of the time I can make it a peer group of my choice because I do want my children to be able to navigate their own way in this crazy world.

I am reminded that having children is like ripping your heart out of your body and letting it walk around. At least the process of giving them more freedom to roam is gradual...