We’ve started venturing out the house sans stroller. I know, crazy right? A few weeks ago I would have never left without the stroller or carrier. Meltdowns have become a regular occurrence along with not wanting to hold mamas hand and having stroller back up was a necessity. Did I also mention it can sometimes take 10 minutes to walk one block? The past few days I’ve been winging it. Living life on the wild side! We are going to learn to hold mommy’s hand even if I mental breakdown in the process. But in all seriousness, I also wanted to slow down. Why am I in a rush? So what if it takes 10 minutes to walk from 89th to 90th st. These moments alone with Lucas are fleeting (I’ve started to research schools for Lucas and am terrified of my baby becoming a boy. Messy, emotional mama over here.)

Today we went down to our local pizza joint for lunch, walked four blocks down to the park, and 4 blocks back up for coffee and a nap. I held his hand as he carefully navigated the edge of the side walk like a balance beam. We sat down for a few pit stops and people watched. He stuck his little hand that is quickly losing its chub in between railings to collect pebbles. I watched him run in front me, his mullet flying in the breeze, checking back for mama every few seconds or so. We held hands into our building. I let him press the buttons in the elevator, which always makes him giggle and form the kind of grin that makes me think he knows he’s almost a big boy. It is so important to stop and enjoy our children. I find that I am most content at the end of the day when I know I took the time to soak up every moment with Lucas. Living life through our children is a gift. A privilege. It’s unrealistic and unfair to think that every day will be perfect, but I am trying to remind myself that when I can, it’s necessary to slow down. Another lesson learned from my toddler.