What We Do Now

So I know all the mothers are talking about the milestones. We talk of whose baby can sit up and whose baby can walk and whose baby can do algebraic equations.

Before I became a mother I thought it was a competition. And maybe in some places it is.

But now that I'm a stay at home mom, it's less of a competition and more so it's my quarterly review, my self-evaluation, my feedback. If mothering is my full-time job, then how my kiddo is doing is quite literally my business.

Now I don't suggest that your child's milestones should be the way that you evaluate your worth as a human being; that's a little too dangerous. If you are in that place, get out of it quickly, because you will soon be disappointed. I recommend Jesus; He's someone that will show you your worth in the most humbling yet uplifting of ways.

But anyway...

All that to say, I love counting the milestones.

I love looking up what Lincoln 'should be doing' and working each day to help him learn.

To me it's not a competition, it's my outline for my 'new job.' And I love it.

"Oh, Lincoln, this week you should start to swat at things, okay let's get some play mat time with the coolest dangly toys this side of the living room." And some time around then, there he goes swatting and hitting the little toucan that lives in his little rainforest. I'm all "woo hoo" like both the parent on the sidelines and the coach of the team!

But let's just say that someone likes his daddy.

And someone may or may not show off for daddy...

And let's just say that someone may practice during the day on smiling and laughing with mommy, but when someone actually smiled and laughed for the very first time it was for dad.

Hmm...

So last week me and the kiddo started working on rolling over after he flung his feet into the air and contorted his body in such a way as to say "mom help me!" And then the other night I was in the kitchen getting dinner ready while Kyle had returned from work and he was playing on the floor with Lincoln.

Over the sizzle of the frying pan I heard, "look at you rolling over."

Immediately I slid to the door, poked my head through the opening, and hit the ceiling with my eyebrows as I squealed with great joy, "he rolled over?!?!"

Kyle quickly said, "oh no, not the real thing. I helped him."

As I nodded agreeing, Kyle explained, "See I put him on his belly. And then he rolled over onto his back by himself. That's all."

That's all? I quickly ran into the living room and said, "babe! That's the real thing!"

And so we spent the next few minutes putting him on his belly and watching him roll onto his back all by himself. We cheered and we clapped and I must have been just beaming! Dinner could wait, my kid rolled over!!

And so there it is. That's what we do now.

We watch our kid roll over.

We act as if he's won the Superbowl or the Nobel Prize.

We're those parents...

And I love it!

But I'll tell you what, his first word better be 'momma'... even if he says it to dad first ;)