We’d just come from swimming at a birthday party, where she twisted and twirled in the water while clinging to her “floatie” for over an hour.
Afterward she filled her belly with a sugary cupcake and left a rim of frosting around her little lips.
We are home now and she is so tired but still wants to play with her brothers.
Daddy kisses her goodnight and I get to rock her to sleep tonight.
Some nights I rush but not tonight.
My body is tired too and I relax into the cushiony rocker in her room.
Some nights she wants another book or song but tonight it is dark and cool and she folds into my arms and breathes deep.
I run my fingers through her softer than soft hair and wish for this moment to last and last and last.
But I cannot keep it forever and my Momma heart mourns it as I realize…
She is almost two and I have no idea how it came to pass so fast.
Memories of her baby-dom flash across my brain and soul…
As she falls asleep I think about how my oldest baby no longer fits in my lap and barely in my arms.
Picking him up isn’t really even an option.
And my second baby will be there soon too.
She’s my last. I HAVE to sit here as long as possible. She will be like them all too soon…
But I know she will be more comfortable in her bed, with her blanket draped over her, her body in the position it knows so well.
And I am ready for sleep too.
This chair is nice but it is not my own bed.
But still, I sit for just a little bit longer, breathing her in, rubbing her back and committing it all to my memory as best I possibly can.
This post inspired by
And
Lovely moment, lovely photo.
Sob, sniffle.
XO
So incredibly sweet. That brought tears to my eyes. It goes so quickly and all I want to do is hold on to the here and now. I want to always be able to scoop them up and rock them sweetly to sleep.
This is so perfectly said and felt. yes I am so there with you. xo
*sniffle* I was just thinking this yesterday when I held my boy in my arms, sniffing his hair, thinking how he’s so not a baby anymore. Sigh. Beautifully written, Elaine.
I read this and a tear rolled down my cheek. It made me think of my oldest baby who is now much to big for my arms and then my younger ones who don’t like to snuggle anymore.
They just grow up way too fast.
What a darling pic.
And such a sweet moment!
I so understand. I just realized that my 2yo is not a baby at all anymore when she decided to have a conversation about crayons. *sigh*
Beautiful post.
Hee! We were in the same frame of mind when we wrote our posts I think. I’m all sniffly now.
Beautiful post.
I totally understand now why ‘the baby’ is always spoiled rotten. I know she’s my last one and each moment brings so much more with it. I find myself appreciating it all more than ever before.
This is so amazing. Such a sweet moment between mother & daughter! I miss rocking my babies. 🙁
Every time Bud sits in my lap and falls asleep I hold on so tightly. At three and a half I never know when will it will be the last time.
Oh Elaine, I know this feeling so well. My baby is 17 months now and time is flying by.
I want to hold on to her baby days tight but they are slipping away.
This post was beautiful.
Oh, this is so beautiful.
And it made my heart and my arms ache a little – my baby just got on the bus for the first time. I can’t pick him up, but he still loves to curl in my lap – to the degree he can – and I treasure it with all my heart.
Thank you for helping me remember to gobble up those moments; tuck them away in a safe place in my soul, because they won’t last much longer.
And that baby picture? *SWOON*
-Ellie
Love this. Benjamin has never been a snuggler/rocker. So I rarely get to have those moments with him. It is so weird, time. Like he has always been here and also just joined us.
Beautiful.
Gave me chills… When they are your last it makes you truly realize how fast it goes. Good job enjoying the moment.
awww. seriously, AWW.
*sniff* Lets have another baby!
What a beautiful, magical memory. And I’m with Momma@live above!
These are those moments that we have to hold onto as they get older, how does the time go so quickly?
This reminded me of one of the last times I rocked my son when he was a baby. I knew it was one of the last because he was just over being held and rocked at bedtime. He just wanted to put in bed and left alone, but I still remember those nights when I touched his little eyebrows and tiny fingers as I helped him get to sleep.
Ohhh, I know! So bittersweet. I totally get this, there’s just something about that last “baby”.
My baby is still my baby at night. She loves to be in my arms. It wears on me but I love it.
I also love that picture. Sleeping children are so adorable, especially when they have their little arms out like that.
Sigh.
Love this so much. Made me remember my baby and took me back to her babydom.
The chair is hard to leave, even when your bed is nice.
this especially touched my heart after staying up with Grace until 1am the other night. She wasn’t fussy, actually was smiling and cooing in her adorable little way. I was so tired but I knew it was a moment I would have a limited amount of.
i want her to keep growing but I treasure her baby days so much.
So sweet! Mine is 18 months and I know she’ll be 3.5 like her sisters in no time.
Oh I feel the same way every single night when I’m rocking my baby every night. He still wraps himself around my body just like he did when he was a baby baby.
I love it, and I’m soaking it up for as long as he lets me because I know it won’t last forever.
Oh I love this so much, Elaine. I’m feeling it with you. The fast and the letting go underneath it all. I would rock forever…but.
BIG SIGH.
Thank you.
awe. in love with that picture!
<3xojo
Look at those cheeks! So sweet! Great magic moment!
I love the name of your blog. So creative! 🙂
No, no, no. I only have two, and my second is closing in on 2. He wore jeans & a little plaid shirt today, a long-sleeve navy T underneath, and I almost died at how old he looked.
She is the cutest sleeping baby 🙂