I told Joe that I would think about having a third baby after Boo was 2 and that we could decide if we were done or whether to have a third. Boo turns 2 in October and I find myself thinking about my boys, how they have grown, and wonder about having another.

I look at the stages of development -baby, toddler, kid, and  am perplexed at how fast they went and how easily they blend together. I vaguely remember the independence that I had when the boys were babies. I had my own schedule, took them everywhere with me, and still did all of the things that I needed to get done in a day.

A baby sleeps, eats, and takes in their surroundings to learn and grow. They fall asleep almost anywhere, eat on the go, and seem portable. While in it, it felt like the hardest phase but honestly I think that sleep deprivation is what made it so difficult. I say this because I have moved into the next stages, toddler and kid.

A toddler is supposed to watch, learn, and begin to experience life. They are far less eager to fall asleep on the go, want to eat all of the time, which is a bonus because the will sit in the stroller and have a snack, and they are still able to go anywhere. They are more likely to go to bed when they are tired but are increasingly aware that they might miss something.

As my boys moved into the toddler stage I remember wishing for a break. I was so eager for them to crawl that I didn’t think through what that meant to my life. If I had it to do over I would not encourage crawling and walking at 6-9 months, I would wait a bit and be happy with the ease of keeping them on a blanket.

I felt like I had to watch them at all times to make sure that they didn’t find a choking hazard to chew on or a crayon to eat. Boo, entrenched in being a toddler, thinks that he's a big boy, wants to play with all of AJ’s big boy toys, and hates leaving pre-school when he could stay and play too.

When they reach the end of the toddler stage and they fight naps at all cost, don’t eat anything that they loved the day before and refuse to go to bed if anyone else in the house is still up. Strollers are a thing of the past and they want to push the shopping cart instead of ride in it. They become great helpers and leave as many finger prints on the clean glass as they had removed.

AJ moved into the kid stage I am even more busy building towers, working with flash cards and refereeing play between AJ and Boo.

It seems like the past 4 years have gone by so fast and all of a sudden AJ is big, independent, and going to pre-school. I look at Boo and know that the next 2 years will fly by and he will be off as well.

I never thought that I would sit back and wonder how it all went by so fast but it has and here I am wondering. My parents always told me that time went by much faster as you got older and I thought they were nuts. Summers felt like an eternity and school weeks took too long to get to Friday. Now I barely get through a day and it seems like a week has passed.

My inner reflection about AJ’s growth has made me slow down a bit with Boo. I am not as eager to put him into part time per-school, I don’t push at bedtime, and I snuggle him as often as I can. AJ is still young and I get to snuggle on him for a bit longer but I can see that he is growing up and someday might even rub off the kisses that I give him.

We are in the midst of deciding whether to have another baby or not and I can easily see both sides. I love the baby stage but it does change everything. After Boo was born I looked at Joe and said, "What was I thinking? AJ finally sleeps through the night, eats regular food, sleeps in until 8 on a Saturday, and plays well by himself."

Now that I know what it is like to start over I am not sure that I could do it again. I value my sleep, love the stages that we are at with the boys, and have started to do things by myself again.

Plus, our man-to-man coverage would be thrown off, we would have to go to a zone defense and I would have 3 kids to keep track of when I am by myself. Two kids have been enough to almost cause whiplash and three I fear may make me flail in the wind.

But, there is nothing like being pregnant, feeling the baby move, and holding them for the first time. I do miss the baby sounds, holding them while they sleep, and feeling the soft whisper of a breath on my chest as they snore.

Let’s just say that I have not ruled out a third but have not ruled for one either.

Off to make another Mommy Milestone.