Growth

When Dallin was born, I remember holding him all the time, loving his "scent" and looking into those beautiful, mysterious eyes. About a month later when the "severe" case of colic started setting in, life wasn't so pleasant. Two days later I found myself telling him "I can't wait until you're older!" Time passed, and so did the colic and chronic ear infections.

Dallin grew quickly, almost too fast for some of his clothes. He was introduced to friends like Cooper and Logan. Oh how I wanted him to crawl! We were so desperate we would bribe him with phones or fruit snacks if he would just "inch" toward them. He crawled, of course, on his own schedule. Walking was much the same. I should have had him figured out by then that he does everything on his own timing. He's as stubborn as his mom!

Still, he grew, bigger and bigger. His words changed from "ewok talk" to real words, and eventually sentences. Even though my college education was in child development, I never had to encourage his vocabulary skills much. This part came natural, and he was able to communicate very well by 18 months of age. I loved this time we shared together, and wondered what the future would hold.

With each passing year of his life, I found myself becoming more and more strict. I would "make him obey" and be quiet in public while other kids would be running around screaming and hitting their siblings. I restricted who he was allowed to play with because I didn't want him picking up bad habits like fighting, fowl language and being spoiled by getting whatever it was that he wanted. He has ALWAYS been expected to say please and thank you, two of the most important words that much of society today lacks, and respect his elders, even at a very young age.

As his mother, I thought I would always know what was best for him and when. He proved me wrong from almost the time he was born. Today is no different. Cauley and I had decided earlier this year to wait on sending him to Kindergarten next fall. He would be bigger, older, more mature, and smarter. Plus, that way I could spend one more year with him, influencing his life the way I would like, the way Heavenly Father intended. Truth be told, I wasn't ready to let my little guy grow up, to let go of his innocence.

For his 5th birthday last month, both of his grandma's gave him easy reader books. He was so excited! That night, we sat down on the couch and imagine my surprise when he read me the first book, with help on only a handful of words like "wheels" and "night" and "highway." I excused myself to the bathroom where I cried, knowing that I was only holding back my little boy from the life he deserved to live.

Yesterday marked a big day for me. I actually filled out the paperwork for him to start Kindergarten this fall. He was so proud, marching up to the school, leading the way. The school, unfortunately was closed, but Cauley got the enrollment forms from the district office. He acted different, knowing he's going to school with the "big kids" and that means getting to grow up. He tried to be too much of a big brother by carrying his sister around the house and I even caught him trying to change McKade's stinky diaper, which I would have let happen if I hadn't seen the mess that had already started! He even keeps asking if I have any laundry that needs folded.

Lucky for me, he still wants to be a kid. He rode in the basket part of the shopping cart at the Fry's Marketplace Grand Opening this morning, begged for cookies and popsicles, and even sang songs with his brother to pass the time. When we got home, we all reveled in a game of "Duck, Duck, GOOSE!" and hide and seek before I claimed I was tired and needed to fix lunch. I am glad that he is still little, and loved kissing his cheeks which still had his pizza he had for lunch on them!