The biggest blessing of being the third child in a family is that your parents are no longer concerned with being perfect parents. They've learned that there is no such thing.
When Colin was a baby, I was so preoccupied with making sure I was doing every "right", that Colin rolled over when he was supposed to, crawled when he was supposed to, etc that I didn't spend enough time enjoying the everyday moments of his childhood.
With Tyler, I was a little more relaxed and I spent more time
enjoying him just being a baby, but I was still somewhat preoccupied with trying to figure out how best to fairly split my time between my two children. I have since learned that it all works itself out. One child is always going to need you more at times, and it all eventually comes out even. There is no need to keep score.
With Annabelle, I've realized that babyhood is to short to be preoccupied with anything else.
Dust will keep if you don't get it wet. Dishes are just as clean inside the dishwasher as they are in the cabinets. And, your friends don't really care if your house is messy. But childhood, it waits for no one. One minute you're kissing sweet innocent baby cheeks and the next your planning a 7th birthday party.
My children have definitely taught me the value of living in the moment and enjoying each moment. I find that I spend more time playing baseball in the yard now than I used to. We read books every night, and sometimes we make silly cupcakes when the only thing we have to celebrate is how much fun it is to make cupcakes. And sometimes we sneak Annabelle licks off of our popsicles. I mean bird poop and baby tadpoles didn't hurt Tyler when he ate them. How bad can one lick off of a popsicle be?
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