If We Kept Them Little

My son and his wife just had their first baby seven weeks ago. A beautiful, perfect baby girl -and she's already growing up so fast!
This morning my daughter-in-law posted a newborn picture of them in the hospital, with this caption: "I want to go back to this moment."

That moment when you first see your baby's face is one that will outshine every other memory you will ever experience. There is nothing sweeter or more miraculous than giving birth and holding your child for the first time.
And I understand how quickly they grow...

But if we kept them little, you know what you would miss?

You would miss the first time they giggle. When they laugh from deep inside their belly with uncontrollable joy and their eyes light up with pure energy and wonder.
You would miss them dancing in their diaper, holding a spoon, eating a pickle... birthday cakes and Sippy cups.
You would miss their chubby legs crawling across the floor for the first time as you yell, "Hurry, come look!" And soon after, the way they balance themselves to walk along the sofa or coffee table or cling pathetically to your leg, begging for a cookie.
You would miss those first unsure steps. Those head-heavy wobbles between you and daddy that eventually turn into full blown sprints across the yard.
You would miss training pants soaked with mistakes, green snot that turns to baby boogers, tiny, white teeth that erupt with each smile... and pigtails.
You would miss their first real pair of shoes, the pride of potty training, the words "Mommy" and "Daddy", (and later- "I love you"...).
You would miss a thousand-million "why's" and just as many "why not's?"
You would miss their first day of school. (Your tears and theirs, too.) Of the wonderful, painful, bittersweet knowledge that the apron strings are beginning to stretch.
You would miss the first time they sit down with a little thin book and read to you.
You would miss their first attempt at crayons, finger paints, glitter and glue.
You would miss band aids and boo-boos and cries on your shoulder.
You would miss peanut butter and jelly kisses.
You would miss meeting their very first best friends, cooking them their favorite meals, and going to the open house at school every September.
You would miss their first tricycle, bicycle and car.
You would miss ballgames, report cards, Christmas plays, and bus rides.
You would miss school dances, prom night, and graduations.
You would miss breakups, generation gaps, secret conversations... and grown-up hugs.
And weddings...
You would miss their unique personality, their infinite wisdom, their humor... and their dreams.

You would miss life as it was meant to be- moving, changing... forever a source of joy and amazement.

http://youtu.be/XyIprjjAeis