Three mornings each week, Levi and I get to spend time together. I usually call it a “mommy morning” because he gets to have my attention all to himself for 2 1/2 hours, uninterrupted by his sister or his dad or anyone else. We do all sorts of things. We visit parks, thrift stores, Target, the library. We play ball, build with legos, go for walks and climb trees. It really doesn’t matter what we do, at least for me, because we get to be together.
Hanging out with a toddler is a little different than keeping an eye on a preschooler or a kindergardener. With Levi, we move slower. He walks a couple of steps, stops and looks at something. To get out of the door to go wherever it is that we’re going, Levi needs to scan the room and make last minute decisions about what toys he needs to bring with him. I hate to admit it but sometimes it takes us so long to get out the front door, that I hear myself making threats. I tell my little man, “Okay, if you don’t start following me out to the car, I am leaving without you!” Of course, I don’t mean that, but it I will say it motivates him to focus and move a little faster.
Today we did a little bit of a lot of things. We went to the bank, we stopped at Michaels. I ran into the grocery store for milk and then stopped at the pharmacy (I desperately needed concealer to hide those awful under eye circles that seem to have gotten more severe since having children and turning 30). But I made sure that we left plenty of time for a visit to the park.
I’d brought along a soccer ball and my camera, and I admit, I’d made sure the put a little extra effort into combing my little one’s hair today since I knew I wanted to take plenty of photos of him. When we got to the park, I sat down on a bench to eat a snack and Levi stayed right beside me, a little shy to go off an explore the park on his own. But as soon as I finished eating and I started to kick the soccer ball, he ran off for the jungle gym and started doing what most sons do to their mothers . . . he gave me a racing heart as he rushed to climb up the biggest wall on the playground. At first, I stood right beside him, my hands and arms just beneath him, ready to catch him should he fall. Then as I saw him figure out how to place his feet and push himself up, I inched back, step by step, watching him ascend the wall. He would climb to the top, turn on his heel and then flash a big smile at me, a mixture of, I think, pride and oh my, look how much bigger I am than you up here mom!
Because Levi got more and more comfortable and seemed to be a better climber each time he went up the wall, I stepped back and even moved around a bit to capture his climbs. Below are my favorite photos from watching him climb up this wall and then a few more from him at the monkey bars and going down the slide.
I treasure these mornings with my little boy. I know that someday, I am going to look back and remember this time with him more as my Levi mornings because I know that as he gets older and older, I am going to have to do what I did today at the climbing wall. Step back, be ready to help and catch him when he needs me, but most importantly, I will need to let go and let him triumph on his own. And when the time comes and he is truly ready to set sail for the horizon, I will at least have this journal and my photos to help me remember that time when I had my Levi-mommy mornings when he was two years old.
Last, I am sharing a photo from a recent session for a client who is launching her own cloth diapering company. She sews all the diapers herself and gosh, her selection is fabulous! I am definitely going to order a few diapers for my niece; I especially love Amie’s Eric Carle diapers. So cute! Anyway, if you want to check out Amie’s cloth diapers, visit the Diaper Addict. Don’t you just love the name? Below is one of my favorite photos of Amie’s son who is going to be the face of the Diaper Addict. What a cutie!
