her own terms

I can't tell you how many times I stop during the day and try to remind myself to 'remember something Lucy has just said or done. Nick and I were sitting and reflecting last night on just how much our little girl has really blossomed since this time last year. Last January her pediatrician recommended we have her hearing tested and that she be evaluated by a wonderful state program we have here in Indiana called First Steps. Her doctor was concerned her speech wasn't coming along and the words she did try and say sounded as though they were stuck in the back of her throat. I began to panic a little and compare her to other littles her age. She did seem behind verbally.

Long story short her hearing was fine and the kind and thorough people from Head Start advised us to just give her some more time. Her baby brother Gray was born about a month and a half later in March and it seemed to trigger something in her. Maybe it was her way of making sure she was going to be heard because right around that time the words, phrases and sentences began to just pour out of her. The whole experience taught me a valuable lesson about patience in parenting.

We live in a time where parents seem to continuously measure their kids up and push them ahead at lightning speed. All I remember worrying about when I was a little was... nothing. It was a blast. I ate, slept and played my heart out. I want the same for my babies.

I saw a yoga quote a few months ago that read "Don't push the river; it flows by itself." This   rocked me to my core in so many ways but most of all it made me think of Lucy, and I know one day soon Gray.

*source

I hope you have a beautiful weekend!