Phases

One of the best parts of being a parent is reliving your own childhood in a way. So many of the things we do with our kids are things that we did growing up. We remember our favorite toys and activities of our childhood and wander if our daughter will share our love of american girl dolls, or if our son will want to spend hours upon hours building houses out of legos with us. I still catch myself buying all sorts of age inappropriate toys for my kids. Ethan has a Thomas the train set waiting in his closet until he is just the right age for us to set it up. Gianna has a few my little ponies and books that I loved during my childhood that she has shown no interest in.Sometimes I still catch myself wandering down the older kid toy aisle daydreaming about hours spent building legos or playing paper dolls that I have to remind myself the ages of my kids and hike it back to the baby aisle

And as much as I can't wait to engage my kids in all my favorite activities I know that the day that they will be interested in those things will come as quickly as the day they grow out of those things.

From 9 months on Gianna was in a bubble guppie phase. That lasted until about a month ago. Bubba (bubble) was one of her first words and every morning she'd wake up, run into the living room and ask for bubba and milt(milk) Now however she screams if you turn on bubble guppies. It could be because now Ethan has started loving bubble guppies, and we all know that what one kid does the other doesn't like anymore, but now she has started requesting Belle or Little Mermaid. We are well on out way to the princess stage

Gianna's other favorite item was her baby doll. For her first birthday someone bought her this creepy doll. I was going to return it thinking Gianna wouldn't be interested but it was love at first sight. After that that doll went everywhere with Gianna. On walks, to the store, in the car and heaven forbid that doll didn't go to sleep with her. And if baby was misplaced for a second a thorough search of the house had to be conducted, with G screaming baby, baby over and over. She loved this baby so much that she even despised any other baby bought for her. The 50 dollar american girl bitty baby that was her big sister gift she refused to touch for months. Now though, like bubble guppies, baby is often left behind. She doesn't ask for baby at night anymore and there will be days before she finds her and plays with her. Now she will equally play with her stuffed animals and other baby dolls. I have to catch myself from running after her, offering out her once precious baby. When I do this I'm usually told no and Gianna resumes playing with whatever had her attention for the moment

I realize that like everything else these phases symbolize a part of her growing up. And with each new phase that the kids enter I will need to learn the process of letting go and let them grow up. Snuggling a baby doll for comfort will turn into playing Mommy, exploring her play house will turn into playing house, watching Bubble Guppies will turn in to watching shows more geared for her age range, and the disney music I blare in my car will turn into whoever is the current obsession during her teen years(thank god it won't be Justin Bieber, I'm so glad she is too young for that phsae!)

I know that one day I will hold these phases close to my heart. I will save her very favorite baby doll, a bubble guppie dvd and anything else that represent one of her phases in the hopes that at 10 years old she will want to sit on the couch, ask for milk and cuddle with me while watching Bubble guppies. Or that she may pull out her favorite baby from long ago and remember the hours spent playing with her. It's a funny thing about these phases, some hate the princess stage and do everything they can to avoid it, some hate the pop culture phase and swear their kids won't listen to that music and we all have those shows that our kids are not allowed to watch(spongebob I'm looking at you) But some day those phases we tried so hard to avoid or control will become something of the past and we will see a spongebob episode or hear a Justin Bieber song and instantly go back in time and see our little toddler dancing and singing along, or to our five, 10 or 15 year old playing with their legos and barbies and in that moment we may wish for that time back. That those moments would have lasted longer and didn't go by so fast

Right now besides the princess phase Gianna is in total Mommy mode. She has become Ethan's second mom. She asks for him when he wakes up, tells me when he's crying and walks around asking him if he's hungry or if he is ok. She also likes to pull down his diaper for me and notify me when he has pooped or peed. I hope this stage lasts awhile. I will enjoy it as long as I can and when it's over I will keep the memories close to my heart, and move on to the next phase all the while letting go of my little girl more and more.

On a side note, don't you hate when you are on a total role pouring your heart out in a blog post, writing profound thought after profound thought until your baby crawls over and starts screaming and crying and biting your leg. Yea it happens every time I sit down to blog. One day I will have amazing, perfectly written posts. Until then thanks for reading all of my rambles and going with it