Time has gone by way to fast, way to quickly. The past few months have been a blur with developing a Mental Health Organization to start our own business with family and well trusted friends... and the daily life with my 2 bambinos. Caleb will be 8 months old this upcoming week! Sophie will be 3 in a couple of weeks... wow! Time sure does fly.
Looking back on Sophies developmental milestones, and the comparisons of others, I get sad and almost ashamed that Caleb is "behind" in areas... but it occurred to me the other day watching him lay on the floor watching his sisters every move... he is not behind! He is his own individual person- why should I compare him to others? Sophie is a do-er... a mover, one to strive to do the best... Caleb is my watcher. He is content to sit and watch the world move around with their busy selves, stressing out and rushing life to the next milestone... he is eager to watch the movements, the sounds, the lights and take it ALL in. So my soon to be 8 month old son will not sit up on his own because he will arch his back till he flops over wanting to lay down instead. He will not push himself up on his hands and stay on his belly... he is content to roll over onto his back and then when he gets bored he is content to lift his legs, grab his chubby toes and roll over on either side. He has no interest in anything else to drink, no bottles no sippies.... baby food is a joke to him as are teething cookies... however a popsicle he may share with you! He will bite you when you think it is cute to stick your finger in his mouth and feel his 2 bottom teeth and the next 2 coming in on the top... and he will laugh and giggle if you tell him he has stinky feet. He does not want to wave goodbye.. nor does he care to clap his hands... he is amused if you amuse him, just don't ask him to take part in it. He is at his happiest on my hip, wrapping his arm around my back and holding on for dear life... so don't make fun of him for wanting to be with his "mama" as he now calls me.... yes he is a mommys boy and he is okay with that! He loves to touch faces and will giggle at almost anything. Want to make him stop sputtering (he does not really cry but sputters and sounds like he needs a spark plug change)... put him on the ground and let him watch the world around him :) So no, Caleb is not behind... he is his own individual.
Sophie, my little furry of "let me help and try" has always exceeded all milestones. She talks on a 4-5 year old vocabulary at the early age of 2, walked by 10 months, full sentences at a year.... she is my do-er. She takes excitement out of the little things in life and looks past the bigger things that we as society push on kids. She is amused with mud puddles, junk mail and a simple dandelion. She begs to take tubbys and last night I let her take a shower at her Nannys. She was moving kind of odd, almost like she had to go to the potty, or soap was in her eye or that she was very uncomfortable in the shower. So when I asked her what was wrong, she replied on the verge of tears... Happy Tears that "I am so happy" and she was actually dancing! Her arms were going in odd directions, one foot up kicking to the back, one jumping on the floor, her head down and this what I later realized was, a laugh of pure delight! Sophie is her own individual too.
My kids have taught me a lot about life, and the recent lesson: Look at everything around you and absorb all information, don't rush, take your time and enjoy the small things in life that people often look over.
