Don't go changing

I'm pretty sure Billy Joel didn't have babies in mind when he wrote "Just the way you are," but it's the perfect ballad for how I feel about my little Millie these days. I know it's selfish to not want her to grow up. I know I shouldn't be saddened by the fact that she's rolling and scooting and getting closer to crawling every day. And I know better than to think that having a baby in the house makes life better and happier for all of us. But I can't stop wishing she'd just stay how she is today forever.

I guess I'm starting to understand why people keep having kids. You fall a little more in love with each baby that comes. Not that you love your first or second less than your third. You just have more capacity or emotional space for loving and adoring than you did with the earlier ones. The nerves and fears you felt with your first kid are pretty much gone, as is the baffled confusion you felt at how completely different #2 could be from #1. I should stop speaking in second person, because I am definitely speaking from my own limited first person experience... I could be the only person who feels this way. The point is that it's not my kids who become more lovable, but rather I as a parent who gets more appreciative of simple, sweet baby love. Or maybe it's just the contrast of her older brothers' fighting, disobeying, melting down, etc. that make me enjoy her more!!