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surprised by joy

02 April 2014

It should be a given, right? You have kids and you instantly bond with them and think they're adorable and become insufferable on all social media platforms with your endless albums of all of the milestones.

All
Of
Them

[Yes, I'm the guiltiest!! because ... hello this entire blog]

You hang onto their every everything ... smiles, likes, dislikes (that are always endearing), and quirks. Your whole life is turned upside down in the best possible ways and you start to caption their photos with things like, "heart melting" and "my heart" and "be still my beating heart."


Yes, exactly. A given.

Sort of.

While babies and toddlers (and older kids ... I'm just not quite there) bring tidings of happiness and jubilation ... they come with their fair share of moments that sometimes seem impossible to hurdle. I know you know ... the sleepless nights, the worry, the never ever ever ending feeling of being perpetually overwhelmed, and the fear that you just might never have an uninterrupted conversation with your spouse before a small person cries a cry that sounds suspiciously like they are faking their own death. You try to wrap your head around how you can love someone so much while simultaneously needing a very long break from their antics ... every 5-8 minutes.


But let's not dwell on the obvious. We live it all day! every day! Let's focus on the happy things that have surprised me about having small children underfoot.
And overhead.
Every day.

1. They are just like their parents. Over the weekend, Simon and I discovered that putting together a crib for the fourth baby is just as frustrating as putting it together for the first baby. There will always be that one finicky side rail that is supposed to easily slide up and down that will cost you 99 curses to finally get perfectly in place and this time it just about did Simon in, understandably. In an effort to emulate in the most helpful way possible, Sebastian jumped right in and started holding pieces up and then dropping them with a grimace and satisfying yell that rhymed with, "truck!!"

And later that night Julia brought me a tube of my mascara and wondered if I could give her, "eye mustaches" like Mommy. I let her live large and said sure. {She's come so far ... }

2. They are nothing like their parents. Whenever we head out on walks I put my blinders (sunglasses) on, my headphones in, and .... WALK. No funny business, no time for recreation or waving/chatting/smiling for Grace. But Julia? Oh, she waves and greets every single person we encounter. Asks them, "how was your day, tonight?" or volunteers her entire name. Apparently the apple falls pretty far from the introverted hermit of a tree.

3. They make me laugh. Every day. I walked into Sebastian and Theo holding my phone and all up in Siri's business last night and before they saw that they'd been caught I heard ...
Siri asked, "what can I help you with?"
Sebastian seriously answered, "I have gas"
Siri replied, "I'm sorry, I didn't quite get that"
... so sue me and my audible laugh.

4. I'm never alone. I know one of these days I'll grow accustomed to taking a shower and looking down multiple times to see a pair of beady little eyes surveying the incubating mother of a scene. But today is not that day.

5. They forget nothing. Julia was a flower girl almost 11 months ago and still asks Bash to recall that time that, "I looked extra beautiful at Mary's wedding?" ... and he nods a little white lie of, "yep."

6. They forget {and forgive} everything. 
 


Two minutes prior, Sebastian was belting his best blood curdling scream after Julia "accidentally" (jury still out) knocked him off his seat in the Costco snack bar and onto the ground resulting in an insta-bruised forehead. Very bruised. But he soon forgave and apparently forgot and let her lead him out to the promised parking lot with her usual, "hold my hand or a car will hit you and you'll die."

7. They don't care about appearances. 


 And that's refreshing.

8. They crazy.


And that's refreshing too.


38 comments:

  1. Oh boy I needed this! A great post that reminded me to count my blessings just a bit more than I have lately!

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  2. They make me laugh...yup. This was good for several audible laughs too!

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  3. Man, now I want to stop the lego fight that is going on in my house right now and just grab these little bundles of sleep protesting cuties and squeeze them, while whispering subliminal messages of nighttime slumber in their ear!!

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  4. Hahaha! It really is the best kind of crazy- to be so in love with them while they also maddeningly drive you up a wall with their poop shenanigans.

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  5. I really enjoyed this post :) We just had our first baby in February and I am already started to learn some of these things. Who knew how entertaining babies/children could be?

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  6. Love this! So sweet (but yes I snorted throughout.) by the way, totally nerdy observation but does your title have anything to do with a book by the same name? C.S. Lewis? Or coincidence? :)

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  7. This is amazing! I'm going to send it out to everyone!

    Also, it reminded me of what it's like to be siblings in a big family.

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  8. I love this list. Toddlers are WAY more work than I expected, but it's a nice reminder that the work is good. My daughter really does make my life a million times better, and is still helping me grow in ways I didn't expect when I got pregnant. Worth it.

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  9. I love to perma-surfer look Theo's got going with the teething necklace and sunny locks. Cutest.

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    1. ha. I know! he looks ridiculous but I would totally throw his hair in dreadlocks if I thought it would help ... alter his personality for the better ;)

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  10. Reading your blog makes me so excited to finally meet my little one! (Hopefully in the next 1.5 weeks!!) You have such a sweet fun family!

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  11. Haha I think the best line is "hold my hand or a car will hit you and you will die"! Love it!

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  12. I love this post so much! What a wonderful and fun description of your kiddos

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  13. I love it! Great post. Kids are sometimes the worst, but they are always the best.

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  14. I really loved this. Glad I'm not the only one who simultaneously loves their children and can't wait to (temporarily) get away from them/gather my sanity!!

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  15. Aaron and I (and Wes) are not the most outgoing/friendly of people but JONES loves everyone. He strikes up conversations with waitresses, cashiers, random people on the street. The rest of us are just hoping to be left alone and Jones is like, Make ALL the friends!

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  16. Haha! Your little ones might just be the coolest.

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  17. This made me laugh so hard. Loved this post!

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  18. One of my favorite posts ever! This was so very funny and also beautiful. Thanks Grace!

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  19. I love when you get all mushy on us.

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  20. LOVE this. Literally grinning from ear to ear.

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  21. Such a great post! I can totally relate to a lot of those things.

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  22. My favorite post ever...and I read them all! Totally describes the joys of mommyhood! :)

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  23. OMG, "eye mustaches". My favorite ever.

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  24. I think my favorite is the picture after "They don't care about appearances." Your posts always make me giggle, but that one was laugh out loud hilarious.

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  25. Thanks for this. So many laughs. That corn eating picture was my favorite. I sometimes still catch my teens mining for gold. No pictures allowed for that one :)

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  26. Love your blog so much. Your kids could not be any more adorable.

    www.designsbykaty.com

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  27. Awww, this is beautiful! God bless you all :)

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  28. Can I just say I love your blog? It makes my day!
    I can completely relate to all points in this post, especially the contradicting emotions of parenthood (need a very long break every 5-8 minutes---ha ha!)

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  29. The Siri comment? Almost woke my gassy lad laughing.

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