The Little Things

When you have a baby everything changes.

People tell you that all the time.

Especially when you have a teenager, and then announce that you're expecting.

People like to point out how crazy you are for starting over.

They especially find it crazy when I tell them that Cole will be

a freshman in college when Stella starts Kindergarten.

People also like to give lots of well-intentioned advice to pregnant women.

They tell you to sleep when the baby sleeps,

and that they grow up so fast (don't I know it!)

And they love to ask how it's going-

wondering if you're getting any sleep with a newborn in the house.

Wondering how Jim, a bachelor until his late 30's, is adjusting to parenthood.

But I wonder, why is it that people rarely share the real dirt about parenting.

Taking care of a baby is exhausting and frustrating sometimes.

Everyone who has done it remembers that- or maybe they don't.

Maybe, in an act of pure self-preservation, people's minds allow themselves to forget.

They forget the exhaustion, frustration, fear and pain that goes along with parenting an infant.

Instead, the mind remembers all of the wonderful little moments

that allow us to do it all over again, and miss it when it's gone.

Things like the snuggle naps....

We all love the snuggle naps at our house.

Also, things like first smiles.

Tiny fingers

And tiny toes.

We all remember the tiny yawns

and newborn milk breath

and the first giggles.

I want to preserve all of the memories.

Both amazing, and not so great.

I want to share them with Stella when she's bigger

and she asks me to tell her what it was like when she was a baby.

I like that I can share all of the everyday happenings with all of our friends and family

through the blog.

It forces me to take time each day to think about the little things.

Those little things that would otherwise get pushed to the back of my mind

and would likely be forgotten over time.