When did that happen?

Every afternoon, as I walk down the small sidewalk that leads to the day care entrance, a smile spreads across my face.

I begin to wonder what colorful pieces of art work will be waiting for me and what delightfully broken sentences my son will share about his day.

Although this is a daily occurrence, this pondering caught me off guard the other day.

I'm anticipating hearing my baby boy explain, with dramatic flair, the way his friend fell off of the slide?

My baby boy can do that?

.story-ad {

width: 310px;

float: left;

margin: 0 10px 10px 0;

padding: 4px;

}

- Advertisement -

OAS_AD('x22');

When did that happen?

It's pretty amazing how quickly my husband and I have gone from parents of a bouncing baby to parents of a kid who can flawlessly recite the alphabet and count to five in Spanish.

It seems like one minute we were carrying around ultrasound pictures and picking out a nursery theme and the next we're looking at toddler beds and installing a swing set.

The time has whizzed by and now we're in party-planning mode second birthday party planning.

This year we are actually planning carnival-style games that my son and his buddies can play. Gone are the days where parties just meant a bunch of babies lying on a blanket, cooing and being cute.

Now we are racing after our toddlers, preventing them from jumping off of everything they can climb and watching in horror as they put things in their mouths we wouldn't dare touch.

Being fairly new to parenthood, I don't know much about raising an independent, world exploring two-year-old and unfortunately all the advice I hear has the world "terrible" in it.

From what I've seen though, this next year is going to be an interesting one.

Battling potty training, hearing the words we let slip repeated and suffering through those incurable temper tantrums are just a few of the highlights I'm told are headed my way.

However, as my toddler grows older and more independent (read: stubborn), I know he is always going to be my baby.

Which brings us back to my favorite part of the day afternoon pick up.

Often, once I get my son home and settled with a bowl of grapes and a cup of juice, he pats the couch beside him and asks me to "sit down, please."

I can never say no to such a sweet face, which definitely gets me in trouble sometimes, so I sit down beside him and see that familiar grin he gets when things go his way.

Then he'll inch a little closer and ask the little question that always breaks my heart into a million pieces.

"Hold you, Mama?"

In immediate response, I scoop him into my arms and cradle him just like the five-pound child I met in person two years ago.

I love how some things never change.

And I hope they never will.

No matter how much he learns, how big he grows and how independent he becomes, I hope my son always has the desire to "hold" his mama.

(Staff writer Jessica Bauer can be reached by e-mail at jessica.bauer@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1236. To comment on this and other stories in the Log Cabin, log on to www.thecabin.net. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)