My youngest just turned two on Monday and the boys and I were reminiscing over pictures of their second birthdays. It was amazing to me how much my perception of how old they were versus how old they seemed has changed with each child.
My oldest child has always seemed, well... old. Ever since he was a baby we always said, "Look how big he's getting" and "Wow, I can't believe he's (insert age). He's getting so big so fast." As it would, our expectations with him have followed suit. With my middle child it was somewhat the same, but with a little more balance. We'd find ourselves saying, "wow, he's getting big" but moments later when he was throwing food or jumping on the couch we'd say, "well, he's only (insert age)." Now to the third and last child we find ourselves saying things like, "baby" this and "baby" that and "she's still so little." And believe me... little she is NOT! She jumps off the couch without us blinking an eye and we laugh when our carpet is replaced with a blanket of rice krispies. It's no wonder that kids grow up thinking that the youngest is the favored one. It's not that Hayden is favored - I can assure you that she will have more than her share of time-outs in the coming years. It's just that, well... she's the BABY.
Happy Birthday Hayden!
