My "Obsessions"

C'mon...look at the cuteness!

Here's the thing about having a second baby...for us, our family feels complete.  Some people have that feeling after one kid, some not until four kids, but for us, it's two.  Our magic number is four.  We feel like things are even - we can do man-on-man defense, there's an equal ratio of adults to children, and in our family, girls vs boys is an even matchup.

That being said, I am completely obsessed with my son.  On a side note - I don't get "obsessed" with anything (or anyone for that matter) - I actually hate the word "obsessed" and think it's dumb when people use it, but for the first time, I really feel this way about another person.  This little man is just so freaking cute, there are times when I literally just can't take it! I find myself so much more patient with all things "baby".  Even those middle of the night feedings, whether they  last for 20 minutes on a good night and on a bad night...well...we all know how those nights go. I find that I'm "enjoying" his babyhood much more than I did with my big girl. There's a whole slew of reasons for this "obsession" I suppose.  First, this is and always will be my baby.  And maybe he'll be spoiled (although I hope not), but I'm the baby of my family and I think I turned out ok. Second, he's my little guy.  I feel like there's this bond between mommies and their sons.  Maybe it's because I know one day he's going to marry someone and I'm going to be the proverbial "mother-in-law" so I guess I'll take all the love he's giving me now.  Third, he doesn't talk back to me...yet.

My beautiful big girl!

 The other thing that surprised me when I had a second child was how much  more I'm enjoying her now that there's a baby to compare her to.  I mean she is so independent.  I tell her to get ready to leave and she's able to put on her clothes, socks, shoes and jacket and is at the door waiting for me!  She's able to get snacks out of her cabinet and ice cream out of the freezer, by herself.  She puts her dishes in the sink, can eat by herself...I mean the list goes on and on. She's ridiculously amazing.  Now, for the sake of transparency, she is far from the perfect toddler.  She puts up a fight for lots of things that I think are ridiculous, and has definitely been dragged out of the park kicking and screaming (literally) but I still appreciate all that she can and does do.

For the first time since becoming a parent 3+ years ago, I feel like I am really, truly enjoying both of them for all that they can do and all the potential that they both have.