Living in the Moment

Kalin makes me laugh and smile. He’s so full of energy, which can be exhausting at times, but also makes life fun and interesting. My parents came up yesterday afternoon to visit with us. It’s good for me to see other people interact with Kalin. It makes me appreciate his adventurous, daring spirit rather than getting frustrated and annoyed at pulling him away from things and telling him "No". I feel like there are some days where the phrases "No, Kalin, get your fingers out of the VCR" or "Please don't touch the trashcan, it's yucky" or "Please stop pulling all of the books down off the bookshelf" come out of my mouth 100 times each. I've had to learn the art of distraction, which isn't always easy with him. He can be very determined to get somewhere and will completely ignore my voice and attempts. But when visitors come (which I love!!) they end up pointing out all of the amazing things Kalin is doing and has accomplished since the last time they saw him. These are things that I have noticed but since I spend everyday with him, may not have seen them for the accomplishments that they are. Part of the reason is that some things happen so gradually it kind of escapes my notice until it's pointed out to me. For instance, Kalin can now stand up on his own for a couple of minutes at a time and maintain his balance while waving his arms or playing with toys. He's been working on this for a couple weeks but it wasn't until last night when my parents were taking picture after picture and videos of him that I realized how far he's really come since the last time they saw him. I realized that I had been so focused on encouraging him to take a step that I hadn't really noticed how long he could actually stand.

I want to be able to marvel at and praise even the smallest milestone accomplished while encouraging him even further in his development. At the beginning of his life EVERYTHING was so exciting. The slightest smile, tracking objects with his eyes, reaching for objects, lifting his head off the floor during tummytime. All of these things warranted pictures, videos, and e-mails or phone calls to family to share the good news. Now I find myself saying more often, "Oh, yeah, he's been doing that for awhile."

All this to say, everyday he's learning new skills: physical, intellectual, and emotional and I want to make sure that I recognize and encourage each and everyone of them.