Round 'em up

There are few things cuter than sitting on the couch and seeing a little bald head come into view, then the eyes, then the giant smile of your crawling baby. Bayla is crawling, and holy crap! is she fast. I joked to my friend that she is the reason babyproofing exists. She's a dynamo. If she wants something, you better go ahead and give it to her, but she's going to get it one way or the other. The gates have gone up around the house.
Let's take a moment to reflect on the fact that she is my Baby A, the one whose water broke, who had no measurable amniotic fluid for 12 weeks in which to practice moving around, who was so stuck that she was unable to move her head to her right and has been in physical therapy since she was 1 week old. She is a marvel. Looking at the odds, she and her sister shouldn't even be here. Harper is just the cutest thing ever. She can sit and play with a toy for a long time before she gets bored, and she loves to look up at you and smile. She's a daredevil, preferring to be upside down, swung, and "thrown" whenever possible. She studies people, faces, and situations, and she could be read to for hours. Or at least I think so; I'm happy to get 2 books in back-to-back.
The girls are 10 months old-- the golden age. Babies this age can do no wrong-- they're just little cherubs. Exploring, learning, laughing, playing, eating, sleeping-- it's awesome. Brady was about this age when I realized how much fun babies could be. And with all the work that goes into keeping this family happy and healthy, it's so rewarding to see Bayla and Harper doing all the things they're supposed to do, usually with smiles on their faces. There is of course, the Teething Monster, as my friend Rachael puts it. Each baby has one adorable little tooth, and the other ones just below the surface make them cranky from time to time.
Speaking of cranky, Brady will be 4 years old in less than 3 weeks. His tantrums have subsided for the most part, although his willfulness is in full swing. "You're driving me NUTS!" I told him yesterday. "You're driving ME nuts, Mommy!" is how he replied. Oh, man. Brady. He's continuing to struggle at school, and we don't know what to do about that. But at home, he's a helpful, sweet big brother and son. He LOVES his sisters. He's patient with them when they wreck his Megablocks creations, although they are not permitted to play with his fire trucks and Iron Man stuff. On Monday, Bayla was literally crawling over him while Harper was patting him on the head, and he couldn't get enough ("Mom, go get the camera!"). Last night, Bayla got into the Thomas the Train tent with Brady, and she couldn't stop laughing. You could almost hear her thinking, "I'm in here with my brother ALL BY MYSELF!" For his part, Brady ate it up, laughing along with her and cherishing his special time with her. He loves to tickle Harper, and Harper loves to just stare and laugh at her big bro. As I've said many times, there's nothing Shawn and I can do that's remotely as enthralling or funny as what Brady can do.
I am so grateful for our little family unit, and I am so happy the kids love and treasure each other. I can only imagine the battles in the future, but for now, I'm enjoying it.
I'm also enjoying thinking about the (hopeful) end of bottles and (certain) end of formula in less than 2 months. Hallelujah! We look forward to getting our kitchen back. They're already done with baby food, preferring to feed themselves whenever possible.
However, the thought of 2 mobile babies and a crazy preschooler scares the hell out of me. When everyone's going in different directions, I imagine I won't know who to help first. And you can't microchip kids, right, so we should probably keep an eye on them? ;)
And of course, the scariest thing: even though they're in the golden age, things are starting to matter. Soon we'll have to use sippy cups exclusively. And we'll have to get them to sleep through the night (right now, they each sleep through occasionally, but not regularly, and they almost never BOTH sleep all night. And if they do, Brady will have a nightmare or be up at 5. It's always something!). And then the discipline will start, and we'll have to make sure they're stimulated but not overstimulated, and we'll have to think about preschool, and they'll start caring about what they wear, and the tantrums will start, and OMG! they'll be able to talk and have vocal opinions! And Brady will start real school and it will really matter and he can't sit still and doesn't follow directions and is totally boneheaded (no idea where he gets that from...)...and...and... and... whew...it's a lot to think about.
So for now, I'll take comfort that none of the kids can open the baby gates, that Bayla is a great eater and Harper loves books, that Shawn and I are both employed, and with great employers, and that I'm still the boss of this house. And with that, I'm going to have a cookie. Because I can, and the kids can't reach them yet. Oh, wait, what about childhood obesity?!?!?