The phrase I've heard and continue to hear is "they grow up fast". Now initially when you first hear it you tend to think time stands still when your with your child. You act like you don't know how to blink anymore. You take a thousand photos continuously. You try to video tape everything. And most of all you slow down for a couple weeks, even months if your lucky enough to not have to head back to work too fast.
"They grow up fast" - could not be anymore true. I look back about a year and 9 months, Ella is 21 months old (basically 2), and I think about holding her for the first time thinking "I made a human". It was so surreal to think that they needed you for literally EVERYTHING. And I mean EVERYTHING. From eating, to nap time, to cuddling, to changing the diapers, I loved every second. Fast forward a year and 9 months I now have this almost 2 year old who thinks she can fly. And let me tell you, its magnificent. She's magnificent.
She is able to to let me know exactly what she wants and she does it with manners, which I give my self a pad on the back for. Its the little "Pwease" I hear and the finger pull to the drawer with the paint and crayons. Its the pointing and asking for the juice box, its the moments she now lets me know when she's finished going potty and wants a diaper change that amaze me. Now these may be not huge things I mean she's not climbing a mountain yet. But to see the transformation from a baby who basically was told exactly what to do and when to do it, with some of the time refusing. To a toddler who knows exactly what she wants, with also sometimes refusing.
One thing I would consider my self failing at lately is capturing every moment. I used to take a hundred photos a day. Today I take maybe 1 or 2 if the opportunity arrises. I work 60 hours a week now, between two jobs, sometimes more if I have a tournament to coach on the weekends and the one thing I miss more than anything is having more time. Which is why I don't pull my phone out to capture everything. So let me correct my self, this is one thing I have been better about. I am enjoying the moment. So parents put the phone down. Live in that moment with your child.
And to Ella, my baby girl, when your 18 and finally get the link to this site. I hope you live in every moment, I hope you keep your eyes open to everything surrounding you. I hope you notice even the smallest changes surrounding you, from a leaf falling off a tree to the sky going different colors.
