Not Wishing Today Away

When Caleb was a baby, well-meaning moms of older children would say to me, "Enjoy this time!  It goes by so quickly."  I remember I would just smile politely and nod, while I would be inwardly rolling my eyes and thinking, "Enjoy this time?  You've got to be crazy if you find this enjoyable!"  Meeting all the needs of a very needy infant, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, has never been my idea of fun.  I couldn't wait until he was older.
Now that I have two more babies in addition to our energetic two year old, my perspective has changed a bit.
This change in perspective was brought to light one morning this past November.  As I was driving to a doctor's appointment with Wren a few weeks after the twins were born, I heard the song "Daylight" by Maroon 5 playing on the radio, and tears started flowing, not because I was missing some long lost love (which I'm sure is what the song is actually about) but because the words had new meaning to me.

Here I am staring at your perfection
In my arms, so beautiful
The sky is getting bright, the stars are burning out
Somebody slow it down
This is way too hard, cause I know
When the sun comes up, I will leave
This is my last glance that will soon be memory
And when the daylight comes I'll have to go
But tonight I'm gonna hold you so close
Cause in the daylight we'll be on our own
But tonight I need to hold you so close

You see, it seems like just yesterday that this guy:

looked like this:

It wasn't so long ago that I held him in my arms in those early morning hours.  I blinked, and now he can talk and run and play and sing.  Just like that.
So I know that it won't be long before these two

will be too big and too busy for their mama to hold them for very long at a time. 
So instead of wishing that these days would pass quickly so that our babies will be older and more self-sufficient, I've resolved to live in the present and savor each moment...each time they smile, cry or coo...yes, even those times that they have a blow out diaper or when I have to change a spit-up soaked outfit for the third time that day.  I've learned from experience that all too soon this will all be a memory.  So right now I'm going to hold all three of my babies close and treasure each second with them.