They just keep growing

Nora has been cruising for a couple weeks now and has been testing her balance. She'll stand in front of either me or Steve and then slowly let go and wait with a huge grin for us to notice and cheer. She's so proud of herself! She's not attempting steps on her own yet though. Out of curiosity, I checked the other girls' baby books. Ella started walking in the 2 weeks before her first birthday. Amelia started walking the day before she was 11 months. Nora will be doing it soon. And with the way she's done other things, she's be running within a month of her first steps.

For example, out of nowhere the other day, she climbed a stair. I was working out and Steve was doing bedtime upstairs with the big girls. Nora was at the bottom of the stairs, as usual. She suddenly squealed and I looked over and realized I couldn't see her little butt. I ran over and found her standing on the bottom step. So I stood behind her as she climbed another step. And then another. When Steve had the big girls in bed, he sat on the landing and Nora climbed the rest of the way up to him. By the next day she was practically an expert. She's quick and just keeps going. We have a gate that we keep near the bottom of the stairs and we've started using it when the big girls go upstairs (Nora wants to be with them at all times. Except during nap time if she's in her crib, she screams. So she thinks she wants to be with them but immediately changes her mind when she's left upstairs.). I figured we'd be okay otherwise because the upstairs isn't appealing unless Steve, Ella, Mia, or I are up there. Nope. Yesterday she decided to take off up the stairs in the middle of the day, despite all of us being on the first floor. So we're using the gates most of the time now.

Mia is willing to sit on the potty now, although she has yet to actually GO on the potty. She likes to insist she's too small for the potty, even the little one. So sitting there is a step. Hopefully we can get that done by this summer. It might mean more laundry but it would also mean less diapers and a little less money spent on them. (What will I do with all the extra time?! Right, probably spend it in the bathroom with Mia, lol.)

Ella will be 5 this fall, which means kindergarten. I have mixed feelings about this. How is she already old enough for kindergarten? How am I old enough to have a child old enough for kindergarten? Anyhow, we have the paperwork and just need to fill it out and get it back in. She's ready. Shoot, MIA already knows all the things required for kindergarten. Since we're doing school of choice, I'll have to drive her in every day. Not looking forward to that. I like my relaxed mornings. It'll be all day, 5 days a week. Seems like a lot starting out. But Linda works in the lunch room, so there will be a familiar face. And I'm honestly more concerned about how Mia will handle Ella being gone so much than about how Ella will do. It'll be strange only having two home during the day. Ah well, we'll adjust and all do fine, I'm sure.

As for me, I did my Turbo Kick training on Sunday! I have to wait for the official results (4-6 weeks, torture for impatient people like me) to begin teaching, but I'm confident I passed. Being the perfectionist I am, I'm hoping I earned a gold instead of pass but will be okay with pass. Either way it means I get to teach! I'm working on learning the round and cuing and nailing down the details. We're continuing with fit club for now. I'll have a ton more info about all that on my fitness blog.

Things are changing a bit for Steve at work. I can't share details yet, but it's good news for him. I'm proud of him and so happy that he has a job that is fulfilling and helping him learn more. I have the world's best husband. :)

So we're all growing. Change can be hard but growth is good. How are you growing?

Humble

I've decided having kids keeps you humble and teaches you to laugh at yourself. There are times when it feels like the only options are to laugh, cry, or go insane. Laughing is by far the best option. As for being humbling, think about it. Generally you become a parent by giving birth with a room full of people watching you. There's no way to do it modestly and at that point, you don't really care who sees what parts of you. But it's humbling, baring yourself and being that vulnerable in front of a room full of people.
From there, your schedule is more or less determined by this tiny person. Although you're the parent, you're the adult, it's clear that the baby is the one running the show. You feed them on command, you clean their butt, you snap awake (or some state of semi-consciousness) when they cry. This is humbling.
The way your kids humble you changes over time. As they grow, it could be a tantrum in the middle of the store that is humbling. Or the way your child mimics your worst qualities. Or the truth that they state loudly, not having learned tact yet.
This morning Mia and I were having a serious discussion about potty training. Mia's not quite 3 and has the attention span to match. I suddenly realized she was focusing on my forehead. As I continued talking, she stared, mesmerized, and raised her little hand and pointer finger. Wondering what she was doing, she suddenly poked the zit between my eyebrows. And then poked again. Thanks, kid. I'm trying to have a serious talk with you and you poke my holdover from adolescence. At least it was comical. ;) I tell you, having kids keeps you humble.