Our little girl is growing up and I'm not quite ready for it.
I know that every other parent who has been here says the same thing. I'm just doing it for the first time. And, no one really prepared me for it. I would imagine it's similar to the first time you come home from the hospital with a newborn...no one really can prepare you. But, a heads up would've been appreciated!! :)
I think I need to move back to Dallas so I can attend Dinner Club on a regular basis (you're still meeting, right??) I seemed to get some good perspective on this subject. Now, I'm just flying blind and it's a little scary. Have I told anyone I miss my girlfriends??
Olivia is not even 4 1/2 yet. Isn't it a little too early for the independence 'bug' to be hitting? If you would've asked me a year ago for this phase, I probably would've screamed with joy. But, now that it's here, I want it to go away. I want the little girl back who cuddles up with me at night or in the morning and is just content with hanging out with her parents. I know, I know, this freedom is great. Sometimes.
See, the thing is we live in a 'real' neighborhood now. Yes, we lived in a full blown neighborhood before, but much to our surprise, it wasn't a close-knit community and there were zero kids Olivia's age. Zilch. Except the kid across the street who happened to be born into a home with crazy parents. He wasn't coming over. Now, we have kids everywhere and are involved in a school where the parents all know and like each other. It's the whole reason we liked the area. Olivia's two favorite friends are Harper and Ann Marie. Ann Marie lives two blocks over and is part of the family we met while house hunting. We love them. Hang out together a lot actually. Harper....well, Harper lives directly behind us. We like Harper's family a lot too, but we live REALLY close to them and the way our yard's back up, they know when we are coming and going. (Read between the lines here....we have little space). So, Harper and Olivia yell between the bushes to see if one or the other can come over the play. And, Harper is a package deal. These people live on an acre lot with a house 3 times the size of ours. But, for some reason, all three kids (ranging in age from 13-5) want to be at our house. Sometimes it's just Olivia and Harper, but often not. And, we're having to kick them out because ours is the youngest and can't always keep up late into the night with 'tweens'. Nor does she sleep til 10am like Spencer and Morgan!!
I digress....this scenario above is part of how/why my daughter is growing up so fast. It's like she suddenly has 3 brothers/sisters and wants to be with them ALL the time. Which is great. Sometimes. Kyle and I took Olivia to the zoo last Saturday so we could have a little family time. I've been traveling a little lately and really need some good quality time with her.
Olivia's remark half way through the day 'When are we going home so I can play with Harper?' Guess I'm chopped liver. Mom is no longer cool.
Here are some other things Olivia is doing that is evidence to me she's not my baby any more. Good part - these are 'bonuses' that come with age!....She gets ready for school on her own (except when we're debating about her definition of 'matching'), she cleans her plate and loads the dishwasher after meals. She sets the table for me. She is totally self-sufficient for snacks and drinks. She loves to help me cook. She entertains herself playing in the morning when she wakes up. She now 'reads' to me at bedtime. (You have to hear it, hilarious!)
I know I sound like a first time parent. I'm a rookie.
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Side note....still have not found the time to fix my Internet connection on our home laptop. Good thing Kyle and I each have our own. Problem, however, is that all my pictures and the software to upload the new ones on my camera are on the home computer. I swear I'll make the time soon. Guess if I were completely blocked from the outside world I would be in a bigger hurry. My itunes, however, is also only on this computer and I'm in desperate need of some new 'tunes', so I will get it done...soon! What fun is a blog if you can't see everyone, right?
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