Packing Away Toddlerhood

I’ve known for a long time now that we will not be having any more children.

It’s quite sad actually.

Knowing that we will never again be holding our newborn bundle in the hospital delivery room, is quite something to come to terms with.  Never mind the cuddling, the burping and having that little person fall asleep on your chest (my absolute best!).

My heart aches to know that we will never again have a baby to watch as they learn to smile, sit, crawl and walk.  Although I know that we are done (and I mean very done), I still yearn for this new unknown person to get to know.  A new member of the family that will bring their own dynamic personality to the party.

Guys, my current broody is so bad that I don’t even mind the fact that I’d get fat again, have boobs so sore I would happily slice them off, change so many nappies that poop under the finger nails is normal or even a million sleepless nights.  OK, no.  Skip that last one.  No wait, I mean the last two.  But you know what I mean right.  It’s worth it.  All of it.

Just look at this…  Knox at like 6 weeks.  Perfection.

Do you know what got all this nostalgia going?

Sifting through the kids toys and packing away all of the quality goodies that we want to keep for our grandchildren.  Yes, call me a hoarder, but it’s special seeing your children’s children playing with the same toys that they did.  Or I imagine it will be, we still have a few years to wait before we get there.

So we got a big box and packed away all of their toddlerhood.  Of all the toys that they were given over the years, there were very few survivors.  They just don’t make toys like they used to, so many things were broken.  Except of course, the old school phone.  You know that Fisher-Price one in Toy Story 3 that, I’m so sure, has a South African accent?  That one.  Granted our kids kids will have no idea what it is by then, but it will be a fun piece of nostalgia for them to look back on.

There was also those cool play mats that make all kinds of sounds as they move and crawl around, a well used table that makes all kinds of noises and a couple of overly loved stuffed toys.  And let’s not forgot our push walker that got all three of them walking when they were just tiny tots.  It’s basically still in mint condition despite 3 little people (and their friends) smashing it into walls over the years.  Again, it’s a Fisher-Price, so I’m sure that’s why it’s still looking good.  Do you know that they have a lab that they bring a whole bunch of kids to and then encourage to play the crap out of the toys that they’ve made, to test them?  Yip, they make them basically indestructible.  Which is great if you have a couple of little monsters like mine who are hell bent on breaking everything.

Anyway.

After I packed, I looked through all our old photos.  The blurry ones before I learned how to use a camera properly, the ones with endless amounts of clutter in the back ground.  The ones in our old house where I learned to walk and talk when I was a little kid and where my own children learned to do the same.  And I found some gems.

So I’d like to end with these throw backs from way back as I have a little sob at the sweet memories that all of these pictures have brought with them.