surprised by joy

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.