Rediscovering the 'Me' in 'Mumeeeeeee'

'I have always thought that there is no more fruitful source of family discontent than a housewife’s badly-cooked dinners and untidy ways'. (Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, 1861)

January 19, 2010

Firsts


There are many memorable 'firsts' in history, but for most parents, the 'firsts' they experience with their children are the really important ones! From tiny babies, we anxiously wait for our children to reach little milestones; first smiles, first tooth, first taste of proper food, first attempts at crawling, first clap hands, first words, first tentative steps.

We have hundreds of photos of the first trip out in the buggy, the first sandcastle, first snowman, first christmas, first birthday, and then the 'firsts' seem to slow down a bit. Maybe there are less of them, or maybe we become a little less observant? And yet, there will always be another milestone around the corner. Maybe not one we were expecting or even thought we would be excited about, but there it is; the first time the shapes go into the sorter, the first time they take off their own trousers, the first time they do a tumble without your help.

We recently had another 'first' to add to our list: we all went to the cinema. The boys are 4 and 2 so we were not at all sure whether this was a good idea, but frozen out of our home and getting cabin fever in our temporary accommodation we decided to test the water. Much as we would have loved to see Avatar (having not been to the cinema ourselves for about 5 years), we did the honorable thing and bought 4 tickets for 'Alvin and The Chipmunks: the Squeakquel'. Luckily, the boys absolutely loved it and as I watched them tucking into their popcorn and staring wide-eyed at these squeaky creatures, I mentally notched this up as another first. OK, it's maybe not as memorable as Star Wars or ET, but it's still a first!

Today was another first. I signed the school enrollment form. Yes, September looms and with it will come another, and very significant 'first'. I suppose, like all the others, starting school is just another step away from being a baby and towards being an adult. Much as that scares me in many ways, rather than dread this day I'm going to try and treat this 'first' as I have all the others; with excitement, anticipation and the camera at the ready!
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11 comments:

  1. This was a lovely post. We also recently added a first to our family. The first time Noelie sat up and remained that way for a few minutes. As for the first day at school, it was hard for me, just to see Marie so grown up, but she barely looked at me to say goodbye and just loved it! X X

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  2. We lovedf the Squeakquel too. It is so hard when you pop their names down for school. I have just completed mini's - he starts full time in September arggggggggggg

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  3. I love firsts :) I am still going through them daily as BB is only 9 months and they never get boring! But school...ahh that scares me so much, but I think treating it with excitement is the way to go! x

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  4. I too love firsts! I celebrate all of Oli's firsts! Only this morning , he had his first Creme Egg! Ive been telling everybody who'd listen! :D x

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  5. Oh I can't wait for our first family cinema trip - just waiting for the right film.... we do have a first of sorts today - our first day with our new kitten.... everyone happy but the cat.... mmm. this is not going to be as easy as I thought!

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  6. We've not been brave enough to do a cinema trip yet, I think 19 month old might be slightly too young (although he loves TV!). A great idea for when the weather's horrible but you need to get out. Thanks for the carnival mention! Have tagged you at mine (yesterday's post).

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  7. So many firsts, and so few seconds... I tried starting a campaign in support of the memorable second several months ago because so many of our firsts seem to be remembered for all the wrong reasons. But yours sound much more worthy of the record. Make sure you keep that camera handy!

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  8. I just burst with pride on each 'first' so imagine my disappointment when my girlie cut her first tooth only for Working Dada to say 'you'd need a microscope to see it.' Men! I've tagged you for Top 10 Favourite Things over on mine http://lastofthemojitos.blogspot.com x

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  9. School... Brings me back to the thought of moving, urgh. Hope your little one is happy at the one you chose! Xx MM

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  10. Or the first broken ankle - off to see H shortly!

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  11. We had our first 'chicken spots' last week. Grrrr

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