To let them grow up or not...

[bfpengi]

I love watching my little girls grow into awesome little people, but there are also so many things that I'm going to miss. Take my 18-month-old. She currently has this funny squeaky voice that cracks me up. Even saying the word "no" is adorable. I found this video of her last night and it made me laugh and cry at the same time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=actXagCPyTc

Anyone else stuck in this boat with me? What will you miss the most as your baby grows up?

[nextcommercial]

She is SOOOO cute!!

I miss it all. I miss shopping with her, and lying on the floor watching movies before bedtime. I miss having her get into my makeup and spreading it all over the bathroom, but coming out all proud of herself.

I miss dance classes and sparkly glitter spray. I miss having her little friends sleep over and sneaking through the house late at night thinking they are being quiet.

I miss buying bathtub toys, and kid's music, and reading Junie B Jones chapter books.

I miss new lunch boxes in August, and picking out the best folders for school, and watching her pick out her first day of school clothes and shoes the night before.

I miss going up to see who's class she's in, and hoping her BFF is in her class. I miss school programs, and clarinet lessons. Parent teacher conferences, and school science fairs.

[journeymom]

I tried putting bricks on their heads when they slept, but it didn't stop them from growing. They're 15 y.o. and almost 11 y.o. I suppose I could keep trying.

But really, each new phase in their lives brings its own unique wonderfulness!

[carfreemama]

My only is growing and I don't like it ONE BIT! She is 6 now. I had no idea I would have so much fun with her. Nexcommercial, thanks for the reminder to cherish every one of those things while I can, no matter how "tired" or grumpy I'm feeling. It's true, each new step in her growth is amazing, but she's still young enough to be kind of "mine." She still prefers mine and dh's company to all others, for the most part. I dread the day that's no longer true.

At 42, we are now trying for another and the thought of not having a zany little person running around all the time is probably the biggest motivation. I know that one would grow up too, but at least it would delay the empty nest.

[mamabear<3]

Oh she is insanely adorable! My son is only one and I am already getting nervous about him growing up! We are trying for another soon and honestly, like carefreemama, that is what comforts me.

[meemee]

oh gawd she is sooooooo adorable. those cheeks how can one resist those cheeks.

aaaaah mama life is bittersweet isnt it.

motherhood is a celebration as well as mourning for me. i celebrate the new person i discover in my dd everyday - the sudden maturity, but i miss who she leaves behind. dd is 7 1/2.

i still kinda keep my moments alive by telling her what i love about her. all my memories of when she was little, what she did. i tell her too how hard it was, but mainly i talk about the little one i miss.

you know it sounds crazy but i miss her anger and frustrations too. thankfully even then sometimes her anger made me laugh. that she had sosoo much intensity in this tiny little person was just amazing. her laying on the sidewalk and screaming - oh that was sooo sweet. that was sooo HER!!!! or in the store because i wouldnt buy her something. she had a powerful set of lungs she used to full power.

but baby. i am a 'baby' person. oh i miss that little baby sooo much.

one of the compliments i always get is what a patient mom i am. i think its because i am at this place of watching my child no matter what i am doing - this place of mourning and celebration - this need to hold on to the moment because its soon going to be gone.

everytime i see her i am filled with this deep sense of blessing that i have been given the honor to walk the earth with a little person to guide me. she has so showm me how to be her mother and continues to do that.

i think though what i most celebrate as a mom is little things hse has said or questioned that have changed me for ever. she has been my worst critic and she has brought out the best in me.

[bfpengi]

I've tried bribing the older one...

I have a daughter turning 9 in a few days. I have tried to bribe her into not growing, but she does it anyway. She's a sweetheart though. Every once in a while she'll do things like put on footie pajamas (I still buy her one every year) or let me put pig tails in her hair, then she jumps in my lap and calls me Mommy.

About the anger being cute thing... gosh one of my favorite baby stories I tell of the older one is when she first said "no" to me. She threw such a tantrum. Stomping her feet, scowling and yelling "No, Mama!" All because she didn't want to pick up the raisins she had scattered all over the floor. I remember yelling back at her, scowling and stomping my own feet before I realized what I was doing... I was having a full blown argument with my 18-month old. LOL. Gosh her cute little scrunchy angry face was SO cute...