THIS is why....

I will admit that Im not a huge follower of this McKMama blogger.  I prayed for her sweet son Stellan two years ago when his heart was giving them sleepless nights and scary days, but I dont read her blog every day or even every month. But I am so glad I stopped by her blog to read today's post. 

I have often thought these same things, and I appreciate that she has put them into words so nicely and neatly for others to read and understand.  I waited a long time to be a mother, and I am trying to enjoy and soak up every single second.  Most days its easy to take extra time with the laundry because Whitney wants to "help".  Most of the time, its fun to let her walk to the car by herself, taking the step to the garage carefully and sloooowly, like a big girl. And a lot of time, I am thrilled to stop whatever grown up task Im doing just so Whitney and I can read a book or do a puzzle together because she so nicely says "Pweaa?" ("please" for you non-Whitney-speakers).  But there are some days when I want the laundry done in record time. Or when we are late running out the door and I need to wisk her to the car in my arms, rather than letting her dawdle and explore every crevice of our house on the way to the garage.  And some days, I forget that I dont really NEEED to unload the dishwasher RIGHT this SECOND. And that's why I am glad to have run into MckMama's current post.

Read it HERE.

Because Im gonna miss this stage. This hour. This minute. This second with her. And I dont want to.  I dont want to ever tell her "I cant read to you right now..."  because whatever "because I have to XYZ instead" is never going to be more important than showing Whitney the love and attention she deserves.  Kids grow up sooo fast.  Whitney's first year went by much slower than I expected, and I soooo appreciate that! I remember everyone marveling at how she was "ALREADY!?!" turning one in April.  I could truly say that the first year of Whitney's life went by not-too-fast and not-too-slow. I savored every second I had with her. I snapped a godzillion pictures and could literally tell you what month it was by what outfit she had on or what bow she was wearing in a picture.  I paid attention to every move she made and every new milestone was engrained in my brain for eternity.  I must have done something right because she's probably among the happiest and smartest kids Ive ever met! Thankyaverymuch!

But this second year of her little life is wizzzzzing by at the speed of light, and as hard as I try, I cant slow her down.  She doesnt look like a baby anymore. Her vocabulary is growing every day. She understands probably 100% of what we say and she listens like such a big kid sometimes. She is growing up. And fast.  With a quickness I have never witnessed. 

Dont get me wrong! I am LOOOVING this stage, too. She still cuddles, but now she adds in the unsolicited, random hug on our legs as we stand in the kitchen. LOVE that.  And now she kisses us and smiles with pride.  She still loves her Bear Blanket and her binkies at bedtime and naps, which is about the only time she seems like a baby at all anymore.  The rest of the day she is bouncing around life from activity to activity, smiling and squealing as she learns new things and encounters new adventures.  She looks like a big kid so much of the time and I often catch myself asking friends and family, "Why does she suddenly look four years old???"

I am loving this stage.  Defiance and independence and all. I'll take it.  I dont want to miss anything. I am continually amazed at how blessed I am to be able to spend so much time with Whitney as a stay-at-home-Mommy.  I could never ever thank Eric enough for providing this lifestyle for us.  He has made all of my wildest dreams come true, and I sit here with tears in my eyes, eternally grateful for the love he shows us and the Superman qualities he exhibits at work and at home. Whitney is amazingly blessed with the best Daddy a little girl could ever ask for. 

Eric doesnt want to miss one second of her little life either! He lights up when he walks in the door and hears her little feet pounding the tiles in a sprint towards the garage door! They compete for "Biggest Smile" awards when they lock eyes and hug and say "HI!"

We are determined, as a family, to spend quality time with one another, enjoying each other in the moment. Because, before we know it, we will be dropping Whitney off for her first day of college (Go Tigers!) or (ugh, here are those tears again...) planning her wedding to her very own Prince Charming. 

Kids grow up too fast.  Its important to surround ourselves with positive influences and encouraging spirits. Our little family of three rocks, and I will fight tooth and nail if someone or something tries to come between us or tear us down.   We dont intend to waste any time or attention on trivial games that people play, especially grown ups.  We have too many more important, happy things to tend to. Why would we want to dedicate one minute of this precious stage in life to negativity and anger and bitterness? In the meantime, we will try our best to pray for those relationships and the people involved.  I have been reminded recently of the quote "People may not remember the things you said, but they will never forget the way you made them feel." And I am not willing to allow Whitney or myself around certain circumstances and influences that continually make people feel bad, intentionally, time after time, for no good reason.

Life is too short, and we have way too many good, positive, happy things going on in our lives to spend one more minute entrenched in the kind of 6th grade antics we've witnessed lately.  We wont do it.  We have been blessed with an over-abundance of encouraging, funny, amazing family and friends in our lives to bother focusing on a few bad apples who seem to get a thrill out of causing other people pain, and who clearly search for things to get upset about.  Instead of focusing on the bad parts or the things that are missing, we are choosing to focus on the good stuff in life.

For the record and as a gentle reminder, this is MY blog. See how it says "KatBass" up there in the website? Yeah.  My blog. I started it years ago to track our fertility saga. I was happy to continue writing to share our adoption journey. I have said this here before, but typing things out has helped me learn to enjoy the good AND the bad times because writing seems to help me put things in perspective.  Youd be amazed at the number of posts I type and then delete. Its the act of typing it out, thinking it out, getting it out of my head, off my fingertips. Its not necessarily the act of publishing it...but sometimes there is a clear way to get a message to the intended audience.
Ive kept up the blog because, I thought, family members and friends who live far away were enjoying reading about Whitney. Heck, even my mom likes reading it and she only lives 3 miles up the road! So part of the reason I was keeping up here was so that these far-away family members would get to see Whitney in all her cuteness.  They can check in if they want to, but I dont push it on anyone and I certainly do not EXPECT anyone to read here if they dont want to!  I mostly write for fun, as my way of scrapbooking, and to because I think Whitney might like reading about herself someday. :)
But wouldnt ya know it, In all the thousands of posts I have written about Whitney, it has recently been called to my attention that there are a few situations I have failed to write about here on (ahem) MY blog. Everyone's a critic, ya know? My thoughts: When you come here, try to focus on the major topic of conversation.  99.9% of the time, Im gonna talk about Whitney. Im gonna post some picutres of Whitney. (They'll be adorably cute, I promise.)  Im gonna tell a cute story or post a funny video of Whitney. (Again, she'll bring the cute factor!) Okay, okay, ya caught me...I MIGHT occasionally talk about how amazing my husband is or possibly how stupid our dog is, but Im generally focused on Whitney here, folks.  If something I write bothers you, dont read. And if you come here expecting me to write about other topics, well....I will disappoint you every time.  I am here to talk about Whitney. Its just that simple. 

That being said and off my chest, I will go back to regular "rainbows and butterflies" blogging now. Because life. is. too. short. Kids grow up too fast. And that is why it is so important to us to look at the big picture, but cherish each moment. Because we will miss this.

Aaaand....I told ya she'd bring the cute factor: