Thursday, March 11, 2010

This week in Grace

Is it just me, or does time seem to speed up the older you get? Or perhaps this is some side effect of climate change. I mean, five minutes ago, Grace looked like this:


And then, I went to, like, go get a drink of water or something and she's this:

I swear, it's been the fastest nine months of my life. I know-- everyone says that about their children. But sometimes clichés are clichés for a reason, ya know? In the span of a few days, she's begun crawling and pulling up on furniture and eating paper (oops). Instead of napping, she practices crawling and stands in her crib. And when I go in the room to to lay her back down, she grins and squeals at me as if to say, "Shut up! Why didn't you tell me how AWESOME this is? I'm staaaannnding! Whoever invented this is a GENIUS!"
(This is cute the first ten times. And then I just want her to take her nap.)

I told Jason the other day, "It's all going so fast. I mean, I've been thinking. What if, in ten years' time, we wish we'd had a fourth? Some older couples we know wish they'd had more. I'm just thinking we should consider that." He looked at me and said, "Yeah, babe. You just keep thinkin'."

Not that I think I could handle four, necessarily. I am not a supermom. Really. I use television as a babysitter at least twice a day and our cupboards runneth over with Easy Mac. I don't make my own baby food. I hide from the kids. Sometimes, I wait till they go to bed and then I throw away their artwork. Otherwise, it would fill up the house! And I have a hard enough time corralling these three. Parenting Nate alone is like raising approximately 2.4 children. Nate, before you eat your dinner you have to put your underwear back on. No, Nate, I don't think God will turn you into a horse. Or a bat. Or a castle. Nate, don't bounce Gracie in the Jolly Jumper--when she cries it means she doesn't like it. Nate, no one wants to see your bottom again. (Public nakedness is an issue with the boy.)

So, the jury is still way, way out on whether we'll ever have another child. As far as Jason is concerned, the jury has been lovingly dismissed and sent home. But I like to think that the jury is just at lunch. A long, leisurely lunch. Like, they're sequestered like the jury in that John Grisham novel, all staying in a cheesy motel together and we could call them back if we needed to. We'll see. I should probably get this baby sleeping through the night before I think about another one.

Somebody slap me.









15 comments:

  1. Amy, Love. Take Jason to visit the jury at the cheesy motel, and you'll probably end up with #4. :-)

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  2. Ha Judy! I love this post. John Grisham novel indeed.

    And I can't believe Grace is that big! She's so much older-looking even than Christmas.

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  3. LOL Judy! Good point. :)

    I know, Beck. It's like in the last month, someone pushed fast forward!

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  4. Hey, that second picture was taken at Flower Power, wasn't it?

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  5. I'm so with you on this one. I have 4 now and would love, 5. Tino would so NOT want 5. My littlest is 5 now and oh how I miss having a baby in the house. Oh, and I totally think you could do 4, if not give him/her to me and we'll both be happy! :)

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  6. We have similar parenting styles, I think. Mac and cheese- check. TV- check. Hiding from the kids- check. Check, check, check.

    What's amazing is how quickly these kids grow up but we don't age at all! Miraculous, really.

    And oh, your kids are so very cute.

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  7. Becky--yeah, it's Flower Power. Good memory! I called you from there the day we took this pic.

    Mommy4...I can't believe your youngest is 5!! Time really DOES fly. I still remember when Avery was tiny!

    Cassie--I'm SURE we would be buds, if only we lived in the same hemisphere! We could loan each other Easy Mac.

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  8. I never, ever saw any reason to have more than two kids. Nevernevernever. Silliness, that trend.

    Until I woke up and my "baby" had learned to put her coat on by herself. And now I tell everyone I know that if I'd started earlier, we'd probably have three.

    But instead, the MPM dropped our jury off at their homes on his way to that little "procedure" a few years ago...

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  9. The photos of her in her crib are darling!

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  10. I don't think that face would ever get old. Endless cuteness :).

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  11. You can totally handle four! Doo it, doo it, doo it!!!

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  12. I agree with Kate!! :) She could be Chelsea Hubbart... kinda has a nice ring to it, eh? ;)

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  13. Oh, I mean Chelsea Kirby Hubbart. :) Remember how we named Ava "Kriby" before we knew she was a girl? And we thought it would be so funny if she couldn't say her "r's" cause she would say, "My name is kuhby hubbuht"... :) Ah, memories. :)

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  14. I can't imagine you *not* having another one, now that I think about it. That's weird to say probably!

    I love all those pictures! And I can't believe it's been nine months already either.

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