How Do You Make Sure To Remember Those Small But Sweet Moments of Their Childhood?
Morning styling sessions as Alexa (age 8.5) proudly gets Goldie (age 4.5) all glammed up for preschool.
How do you guys keep track of those adorable conversations that you have with your kids and you never want to forget, and those tiny moments that are so damn sweet you want to recall them exactly as they happened until the day you die? I jot them down in my One Line A Day journal as often as I can, but I find myself wishing I had a jump drive in my brain that I could activate as needed to record these things, and then download the memory via Wifi right into my Dropbox folder or something, ya know?
Anyway- here are a few little moments/triumphs/routines that I am currently trying to hold on to:
Every morning they love to get dressed together, and after Alexa has styled Goldie’s hair, she “presents” her to me- with a grand introduction that goes something like “Presenting GOLDIE NORA FALIK!”- and after a dramatic pause, in walks Goldie, smiling so big I think her cheeks my burst.
Goldie won’t let anyone leave our house without screaming “HUGGIE!” and then running to said person and embracing with such gusto it melts your heart… She does this thing with her wrists where she bends them into you so you are in this super strong grip, so sweet.
Alexa is so proud of her ability to put in and remove her own earrings now, and it is so cute to watch her meticulously select what earrings best match her outfit (she takes it SO seriously) every single day.
The girls just started building forts on a daily basis, and they made one the other night with a “living room” and a baby area and a storage area, as well as a tunnel to get to a secret room. I so remember doing that as a kid, and it is fun to watch them discover how fun it is to have your own secret spot that grownups can’t possibly maneuver themselves into.
Goldie is in love with her scooter, and works so hard to move her little legs fast enough to get momentum as we scooter from our house to the beach (about 1 mile). At a few points, the sidewalk deviates from the road to go uphill slightly while the road stays flat- so when we reach those spots, Goldie likes to go on the sidewalk, I stay in the bike lane on the street, and we play a game pretending we randomly met up. She says “Hi there- it is such a beautiful day, where are you going today?” I reply “I am going to the beach to enjoy the sunshine”, and then she says “Me too! Want to go together?” And cracks up instantly.
Alexa is taking a tumbling class, and it is the highlight of her week. But leading up the class (in which she knows nobody and is 2-3 years younger than the other girls), she was insistent that she WAS. NOT. GOING. TO. DO. IT. She didn’t know anyone and wanted a friend with her. It was a hot topic between my therapist and I- how to navigate it so she wouldn’t miss out on this class (or things in the future!) that could be really special just because there wasn’t a friend alongside her. Somehow, the first day of class, she hopped right in the car, bravely walked into the tumbling room, and the smile didn’t leave her face the entire hour. I have never seen her work so persistently… She rises to the occasion and I can tell how proud of herself she feels for doing it.
So many interesting questions happening too… Goldie wanted to know why mom’s wear bras (she assessed it accurately- “so their boobies don’t wobble”!), Alexa asked if I was ever jealous of my friends, Goldie wanted to talk about how when Brian and I kicked the bucket someday, would Alexa be the one to watch her and help her if she needed help (Alexa said Goldie, “you will be a grown up then and won’t need help from mom and dad anymore” and I almost ugly cried on the Post Road), or would it be Norman (our dog) because he is the oldest in the family. And there are so many others that I am already blanking on, just days later….
Anyway- I know this isn’t a product/shopping/trend related post, but when I sat down this morning at my computer to write, it just felt like the most authentic thing to share because, well, I can’t stop thinking about it.
Please share in the comments any tips you have or things you use to record these things for yourself and your family, I would love to know and I am sure other readers would too- this topic seems to be top of mind for so many of my friends right now! xxJF