In Which Momma Realizes Her Boys Aren't Babies Anymore

Though they will always be MY babies.

I tend to do spring cleaning during January. We're not in the middle ages anymore, after all. You get things done when you have a minute to get things done. This year, I am tackling the boys' rooms. We have a bad habit of tossing all the toys the boys have brought downstairs into big bins every couple of weeks, and then sticking those bins upstairs where-ever there is free space, and then they just sit there and the boys pull out the toys they want from them and leave the rest in a jumbled bin in the floor. The floorspace is getting filled up, and the boys are getting older. It was time.

I have been pecking at i, rather than sitting to it all at once. I sort the toys into Actively Played With Toys, Toys to Go to the Basement, and Baby Toys to Donate. I cleared Andy's closet of baby blankets and oddments so he can use it for his own things. The last of the Baby Stuff is being swept away.

When I was pregnant, my mom warned me that babies grow up, and they grow up fast. I knew it would be a blink of an eye. I had no idea how fast eyes can blink. I remind myself that Joey is actually growing up slower than most children, and it makes me want to hug moms everywhere, who have their children grow up faster than anyone can ever imagine.

My baby was reading my squirrel post yesterday, and he noticed my avatar icon. "Why you have your hand up there, Mom?" he laughed. I told him it was Uma. He didn't remember Oobi. It was his favorite show. So fast. So fast.

I took the old art down from his closet door. The closet door is coming off; Andy's room is quite small, and that little extra floor space will actually be a big improvement. I put the old drawings and pastings in a little box. There a cow, and a spider, and a sheet of dinosaur stickers that were rewards for training that he adored. He wants Star Wars posters now.

I put Joey's Toy Story toys in one bin in his room. I sorted out the Cars toys, but I am wondering if they go in the Basement pile or the Donate pile. Cars with eyes are apparently for little kids. What does Joey play with? Play for Joey is not usually like other kids. He likes wooden spoons, writing tablets, and sticks better than dolls or toys. But then, he and Andy played Toy Story all day yesterday, with his Woody and Buzz. Scripted pretend play is still pretend play. I leave the Cars stuff a little longer; Andy might still want to play with them, and having him go into Joey's room to get them may encourage him to engage Joey in the play. Good for both of them.

The Fisher Price bus? Donate. It's a wrench to put a bus in the donate box, as Joey loves buses. However, it is not Bus. It is a baby toy, a toddler toy, and it is still in decent shape. He hasn't played with it in ages. He's more into space stuff now. It is time to move on.

My babies just aren't babies anymore.