Ages and Stages

I distinctly remember taking Maddox to church for the first time on a Sunday morning when he was 3 weeks old. I had taken him out to nurse him and a friend of mine who was pregnant at the time came in and sat down next to me on the loveseat. She has lots of kids of her own and has raised them well. She asked how things were going and I told her all about it (She probably was looking for a "Oh, just fine"). At the time I was frustrated because we had been having a tough several days. After talking to her for a while I felt much better about the stage we were in and I was so thankful that I had actually opened up to her and told her how I was feeling. She said a phrase to me that morning that really stuck with me. She said, "Just remember... ages and stages!" Wow, how many times has that phrase come to my mind lately. She is so wise!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Maddox has been doing great napping in his crib. He was going through a phase where he was doing so well that when we would go into his room, if he was tired, he would actually lean towards his crib and as soon as I put him in it he'd almost immediately fall asleep. Sometimes he naps for 30 minutes and other times it is 3 hours...you never know with him! :) Well, in the last week or so, he has gotten so much more aware of things. You can't get anything by him! He loves for me to be close to him and he will actually pull towards me now. If we are playing in the floor and he wants me to pick him up, he will try to crawl into my lap. So sweet! But in the last day or so, he does NOT want to go into his crib. It's kind of cute, actually.

I take him into his room and we stand next to the crib for a second. This is where, used to, he'd start leaning toward the crib. Well, now, he refuses to even make eye contact with it. He completely turns and looks the other way and then he wraps his arms around my neck so tight and gives me hugs, "begging" me not to do it. As sweet as it is, I do it anyway. As soon as I peel him off of me and lay him down, he lets loose. You'd think I was torturing him! It's so sad b/c he will roll all the way over and watch me walk out. :( The good news is... the crying doesn't last long if he's truly tired and then he's out like a light.

My friend was definitely right... "Ages and stages!" By the way, I am loving this stage!