Kathy, The Red Nose Mama

I am not a fan of the common cold. The way your nose becomes blocked as if filled with rubber cement. The chills and sweats brought on by a mild fever. The sore throat and throbbing ears...and all the sinus pressure....not to mention feeling like you want to sleep for the rest of your life, but not being quite sick enough to stay home from work...grrrr, cold. Why have you attacked my family?!
Caden started with it, as usual, and graciously shared it with us. You would think that as adults much larger than a 30 pound toddler, we would be able to kick this thing as quickly as he did, but no. He gets over it in less than 48 hours and we spend all week nose blowing, sneezing and drinking more Nyquil than is probably legal, without an end in sight.
Even though we have red noses and sound like geese, we've been happy to have a chill week and spend more time with each other. We've been coming home in the evenings, eating dinner in and resting up. Sometimes being knocked off your feet is a good thing.
On Tuesday, (inspired by my friend, Julie) Caden and I made Christmas cookies from scratch. I had no idea how they would turn out, but they turned out great! We even made icing from scratch! I was amazed with how much he enjoyed baking! Last night he helped make his own pancake for dinner and he was so excited to eat something he had made himself.
Mama burned her arm pretty good on the stove, but still had a great time with Chef Caden. (pictures to come)
In other news, Caden has not only mastered the art of the potty, but spent the majority of yesterday standing up to pee, like a big boy. I assume this means my bathroom floor will be less than clean for a little while, but he seems to be catching on quickly and as long as I'm not having to shell out a million dollars a month for diapers anymore, I'm not complaining.
It's nothing a Clorox wipe can't fix.
Sometimes I look around my home and imagine what 4-years-ago-me would think. If 4-years-ago-me would have teleported into the future to see present me, what would her reaction be? What would she think about the ride-on Clifford toy and the potty seat and the racecar bed? What would her immediate reaction be when she saw her son at 2.5?
I think she would have been freaked out, completely.
4 years ago me had no idea that she was a mother in waiting...she had no idea that her family was missing a Caden, and that when he would arrive, life would be so much sweeter than it ever was before. 4 years ago me had no idea how strong she could be or what an amazing husband she was married to. She had no clue that football underwear, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and rubber frogs in the tub would soon become a part of everyday life. She thought that children who threw tantrums in public were the result of bad parenting...sometimes, I want to go back and slap 4-years-ago me...
I've always been painfully aware of how quickly time passes. Even when I was a little girl, I would take a moment in the midst of something I was really enjoying and realize it wouldn't last forever...that at some point, it would end...and I would close my eyes and listen to the sounds, sniff the smells, to make the memory last as long as it could.
Everyday I feel that way about Caden. He is growing up SO fast, and although there are many things about 2.5 that I won't miss, there are many more that I will. I will miss him saying 'Good Morning' or 'See you Monday!' to everyone, no matter what time or day of the week it is. I will miss his little voice in the bathroom, coaching himself on by saying, 'Come on, Poop! You can do it!' I will miss him asking for kisses, asking to play ring around the rosie for the 11-millionth time and asking to pray at random time of the day...I will miss hearing him say, "I wuv oo, Mama."
The wonderful thing about kids is that one beautiful stage is replaced by a different, equally beautiful one. When he was first born, I wished he would stay small forever...then when he turned 6 months, I wanted to keep him that way. When he turned 14 months I thought, 'It can't get better than this!" And now that he is 2.5, I just want to freeze time.
But Caden's job is to grow and my job is to help him do so in God's way. As he grows and changes into the man God has called him to be, future Kathy can bask in that moment and say, "Thank you, Lord."
And when he turns 18 and leaves the house (I assume he will, because if he's anything like his parents, he'll be signing his first lease asap) I will greatly enjoy sleeping in on the weekends. Ah...see, there's good in every stage of life!