Official start school date!

Today we got Gaby's official 'starting school' date!  As I expected, she's starting on her actual birthday - so come October 26th I will have not only a five year old - but a big school girl!  I remember it seemed to take forever for her to turn one, but each year since then has seemed to go faster and faster and faster... I hope it doesn't go THIS fast with Emersyn! 

I need to get her school uniform sorted soon - and I can't wait, I know it's going to be a big Mummy-cry-day when she does start school, but I also can't wait to see her in her school uniform, with her school bag - all excited and ready to go.... then getting to school, and being welcomed to the class, the thought brings tears to my eyes, but also joy to my heart.  I'm so proud of Gaby - she's such a well rounded, smart, funny, caring... just FABULOUS little girl... and I really couldn't be prouder of her. 

11 months old!

Emersyn is 11 months old today!  I honestly do not know where the past almost-a-year has gone - I know that all parents say that, but I really truly mean it!  I sincerely thought that time with Emersyn would go a bit slower, because it was my second time around & I know what I'm doing - and am not quite so impatient about her hitting all the milestones.

But no....  The first month or so went slowly, but each month since has gone faster and faster and faster - and I have a feeling it'll continue to do so.  I guess I kind of 'lost' two months after the February earthquake, where our routine was thrown totally out the window, it was somewhat like living in limbo, for those two months we spent living with my parents...  Emersyn had just turned 8mo when the quake hit - and we moved home after she'd turned 10mo.

I am amazed at how quickly she is starting to reach milestones now, it felt for a long time that she wasn't meeting any new milestones, and I was actually pretty worried about her.  I guess it started when we'd been at my parents for about 2 weeks, all of a sudden she started commando crawling, she began sitting herself up, she began saying Mama & becoming more vocal.  Just before we left she crawled 'properly' for the first time - though she still preferred commando crawling, and just within the last week has begun crawling 'full time', rather than doing the commando crawl, she's started making a lot of new sounds & saying 'bubba' - which she seemed to know was a word for my 11w/o niece when they were up over the weekend - and she also said 'Gabba' for the first time, which was an obvious form of 'Gaby'....  Just yesterday she started getting on her knees and trying to pull herself up on EVERYTHING, not just the couch & TV cabinet like she's been doing up until now.

My baby is leaving her baby days behind & is gearing up for those amazing 2 years that are toddlerdom... Part of me isn't ready for my baby to become a toddler, but the other part of me is so excited for the firsts & the changes that are ahead for her.  I remember I loved the 1st year with Gaby, but each year after that seemed to be more and more exciting and awe-inspiring, because she changed from a baby/toddler to a 'real' person & really became her own person...

Such pressure, so young

When did there become such obvious pressure for babies to meet milestones by certain ages?

A member of my playroom on JustMommies posted a list of milestones infants should reach by 10, 11 & 12 months old - a bulk of these seemed very 'agressive' - things that Gaby (who was/is perfectly normal developmentally) wasn't doing until 2-3 months after those ages.  It really wound me up and made me angry - not the member who had posted it, but the fact that it became so glaringly obvious to me in THAT moment, that there is pressure placed on children from the moment they're born.  I am not meaning pressure from parents - but just general pressure from certain areas of society.

THAT sort of list is what makes first time Moms/Dads (or Moms/Dads in general) worry without real reason - and can cause the Mom/Dad to miss out on a whole lot of amazing moments with their baby, because they're so concerned that something is OBVIOUSLY wrong because they're not running marathons at 14 months. Exaggeration? Yes - just like a whole bunch of the milestones on that list.

Whatever happened to just appreciating your child as they are???? Taking pleasure in the small things, feeling all loved up & enjoying your time as a parent? If you're constantly walking around with a check list, you're missing out on a lot of special moments in your childs life... YES, we need to be aware of what to look out for that may indicate our children aren't developing to a 'normal' schedule - but at the same time, we need to be aware of the fact each child develops individually & to their OWN schedule, and even if a child is 'behind' - they're still dang special... THE CHILD - as a whole - should be what the focus is on, not what they can/can't do.

& now I'm going to go and kiss my child who can't build a tower with 3 blocks & doesn't play chase - and appreciate her for being her own cheeky, adorable, sweet, beautiful little self.