My Baby-Big Girl

The holidays have come & gone.  Once again we’ve welcomed in a New Year & all of the promises a fresh year will bring.

Our darling Emmaline will be THREE this March.  It is quite difficult to believe that three years have flown by so quickly… that I now have a child full of spirit, silly expressions, hugs & kisses & a conversational vocabulary.  Among many reasons (and the fact that she is very likely an only child), she has been allowed to sleep in the ‘big bed‘ for the last few months. She slept in a co-sleeper by my side from birth until she was big enough to move into her crib.  While others judge & address their own concerns about co-sleeping, I don’t regret a moment of it.  Co-sleeping has been a mutually rewarding arrangement that has deepened our bond.   Although It should be mentioned that this will be a hard habit for me to break as well…

For months, we’ve been preparing for her ‘big girl’ transition. We’ve been working on potty training to go with the make over of her BIG girl bedroom. She is getting her own ‘big bed’ (that’s what she’s always called our bed).  We’ve talked about becoming a big girl & what this means for months- she delights in the progress I am making in her room. I want it to be somewhere she wants to hang out & have time to herself… & theoretically.. go to sleep!!

At night I am woken by several Emmaline methods: a random slap in the face, kick in the stomach/face/thigh- always somewhere soft, a soft voice demanding ‘mommy, milk…pease‘, or the occasional sobbing nightmare.  It is time to kick her out of our bed…  Still, despite it all, the snuggles at night & the sweet sing-song manner in which she declares: ‘love you mommy.. you my best friend.. I’m your baby.‘ will make the move across the hall a sad one.

 

She’s growing so fast, I can’t seem to catch my breath. I want to bottle up every kiss, every sweet word, all of her brightness & cheer. It’s beyond precious… It’s beyond any measure of value. And before knowing her, I could never understand this feeling of dedication & blind love.

It’s late, 12:56 am & Em has school in the morning.

Tomorrow the day will begin with a kiss on my face & a delightful chirp of my child alarm clock: ‘wake up mommy! It’s time to wake up’.

And my day begins, bright & beautiful: in a place I could not imagine just three short years ago.  Thank you Emmaline, for ‘waking’ me up & bringing such delight & brightness into our lives.