Look, I don't know if it's all this fresh cold air suddenly blowing through my house or what.
But I'm about to get soft on you.
And make up words.
I'll start with the end of the story first:
I was crying in the sock aisle at Target.
It all began last weekend...when I was sick as a dog and just lying on the couch willing the Juicy Juice to make me healthy. It was then that I noticed something:
My son has lost his "baby feet".
There was my Matty, having a ball racing some car on Wii.
His long, stringbean legs jutted off the couch.
And his feet did not look tiny and "gobbly" anymore.
(yes, gobbly. Derived from the word "gobble". Let me use it in a sentence for you:"I love to kiss those gobbly chunk-a-monk baby feet." WHAT? If you don't know what I mean by chunk-a-monk, then we can't be friends anymore. )
And ohhhhhh. That fact just hit me right in the heart.
I'm a huge lover of my babies' feet. I love the chubbiness. The way their toes curled when I tickled them. The way my boys would giggle with delight when I blew raspberries on their feet.
At 17 months, Carter's chunky monkey feet are still gobbly.
But suddenly....sitting there on my couch....I couldn't remember the last time I kissed Matty's little baby toes.
And now, his feet look so different.
They look grown up.
Not gobbly.
I should have known this was coming. Because lately, Matty and I were having trouble telling the difference between our socks. He and I both wear the low-cut ones.
It used to be easy to tell them apart.
Mine were the big ones. His were the small ones.
Now, they look almost exactly alike.
And it makes for a ton of laundry folding confusion for me. He always calls for me when he makes the discovery that our socks are mixed up: "Mom, these are yours. See, they are a little big on me..."
So I decided to go and buy myself new socks with some color to try and eliminate some of the confusion.
And as I sat there picking out white socks with pink soles, I realized...
I was crying in the sock aisle at Target.
Ahhhh. I sure was going to miss the gobbliness.
Oh I know...I feel your pain, they grow so fast!
ReplyDeleteTo cheer you up, come to my place for a great contest!!
It was times like these with my
ReplyDelete2nd one that well...because of I ended up having a 3rd. And how I love Tru and his chunky legs and cheeks and feet...
Awwwww, those little toes are definitely gobbly! I can see why that would make you cry in the sock aisle at Target!
ReplyDeleteAnd now...my uterus is aching. Oh wait, maybe that's just my PMS.
I was in Nordstrom the other day looking at a pair of shoes for MH, and I told the girl I was pretty sure she was a 7, maybe 7 and a half. She's always had tiny little feet. The girl measured her feet and she was just about an 8! I know exactly how you feel, I wanted to cry - we're definitely out of the "toddler" shoes and into a different section. And I promise I'm not stunting her foot growth - she's been wearing Crocs and sandals all summer long and she definitely has plenty of room. But I know what you mean, it's the little things that hit you right in the heart. I'd gobble those toes any day! And thankfully, you've still got a while of extra gobbliness on Carter. Did you at least get some cute socks with color on them? Sending big hugs, the moments when you realize your baby is not a baby any more come hard and fast and they kind of suck. But then you look at them in another light and realize how cool it is to see them turning into this amazing little person. Guess it's a double edged sword!
ReplyDeleteI don't even want to think about that day!
ReplyDeleteLove the gobbly term.
I can't even go there... I NEED the chubbiness and I NEED baby feet to kiss, otherwise why is life worth living...!!! ;)
ReplyDeleteI jest. Kind of.
-Andrea
Try figuring out socks with six girls in the family all about the same size feet. Makes laundry time exciting.
ReplyDeleteSorry for you loss! Have you gotten past the "I can't pick him up anymore" stage? That's a hard one also.
Love the gobbly term - a great despricption word to describe those tootsies!
ReplyDeleteHave another baby, McMommy! You CAN do it!
McMommy, I love your blog!!! I have been reading it for a while now, and I love this post. The gobbly feet are just so cute, and Bradley's are still very gobbly, but they are growing so fast. I was just ironing his little shorts this morning, thinking that next summer he will be in 2T or 3T clothes and they won't be so small and cute any more. Then chris (my hubby) said Bradley was looking at his legs (I think his leg hair!) and then looking at his own legs comparing!!! Why is it that they want to grow up so fast, and we want them to stay small. XO, Clare
ReplyDeleteI love teh baby feet too!! They are so delicious and sweet... and fat and ADORABLE. I have a true baby foot fetish.
ReplyDeleteFinn's aren't gobbly anymore either :(
Now they are long and monkey-like. And they have that little boy foot smell. Not like the Johnsons & Johnsons baby lotion.
OMG. We can't have third babies just for the feet. We must talk each other off THAT ledge!
If you're crying the sock aisle now I don't know where you'll be crying when Carter's feet lose the gobbliness (looks who's making up words now?).
ReplyDeleteI feel for you, hence the TTC baby number 3!
My baby speaks in full sentences constantly and someohw learned all his colours and how to count to 10 and I don't know whether to proud of him or just cry myself to sleep that he isn't a baby anymore!
It is amazing how it is the little things that make us realize they are growing up. Both my boys were born in the winter, and one of the reasons I love for summer to come is to uncover those adorable little toes. It is like discovering a whole new part of them to love.
ReplyDeleteNow, I am off to get some gobbly lovin' on some 16 month and 2 1/2 year old feet, while I can.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/38/116183441_d33044ad00_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2205/1533909419_8982a286da_b.jpg
Those are some gobbly feel! Why, oh why do they grow up so fast. I'm sure we'll love and savor the newer moments that we have.
ReplyDeleteBut, I'm constantly shocked at how "un-baby" my baby is, too! She's talking in sentences and surprises me every day!
It breaks a momma's heart!
I've had similar moments when it just hits me that my babies aren't babies anymore.
ReplyDeleteBut luckily I've always been at home where it's easy to hide my tears!
Wow...I guess I never realized the gobbly feet went away. Now I am getting kinda sad.
ReplyDeleteAwww no more gobbly toes that's so sad. I can't tell my girl's socks apart and sometimes even from my own. They actually wear the same size socks and are three years apart. Once my daughter took socks out prefolded stage from the laundry and I was looking and realized she was wearing my socks!
ReplyDeleteAwwwwwwww *sniffle*
ReplyDeleteOf all days to post something like this, the day I begin weaning the Little Imp.
Oh Lordy, someone get me some kleenex!
Oh and my did he have such nice gobbly feet.
It's ok McMommy...You still have one set of gobbly toes to give some lovin'.
ReplyDeleteIt definitely is amazing how fast they grow up!
I remember have a cry at Target, I was about 8 months prego and terribly hormonal b/c nothing fit for some company xmas party I really did not want to go to anyway. I love a good cry at Target!
SMILE!
Ohhhhhhh! I would cry too! I cried when I painted my daughter's bedroom because it wasn't her nursery anymore. It was the hardest room I've ever painted.
ReplyDeletePutting away baby clothes make me cry, too!
You got a fantastic picture of his foot!
awww...they grow up so fast...Me? I cry at graduations..pre-K, kindergarten...::sigh:: those babies don't stay babies long
ReplyDeletestupid sock aisle.
ReplyDeletesorry friend.
i prescribe extra gobble time with the carters feet at least three times a day.
go... enjoy the piggies :)
Awwww...my heart goes out to you. At least you still have Carter. And you can always have more! Oh, and I'm going to hold off on the belly pics until the belly looks like a prego belly instead of just fat. Trust me, we will all feel a lot better!
ReplyDeleteWhat happens to kids overnight? I swear I went to get my 19 mth old from his nap and he had just sprouted up. I felt a little better when my husband returned from flying for a few weeks and was shocked at how much he had changed. It wasnt all in my head.
ReplyDeleteThey really do spring up. sigh. Its a good thing right??
awww - they're growin up aren't they. but i mean, at least you were in an aisle with a bunch of really comfortable, soft fabric in case your nost started running or something...Aww.
ReplyDeleteoh how sweet. i totally get this. i was just "gobbling" my little Tulip's feet today...many times, actually...it's a nap time & nightly ritual. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI totally get the gobbly feet thing. I love baby feet. I will so miss them when they are gone. Maybe I'll just keep on having babies....no wait. That won't work either.
ReplyDeleteI know it's very sad now, I feel the same way with my 3 yr old- her thighs are gobbly and rolly. In enough time your kids feet will just stink and you'll forget your sadness (like my 13 yr old!)
ReplyDeleteYes, older kid feet are definitely NOT as gobbly. My son's feet stink so they are going no where near my mouth. We are so far beyond the baby stage that I get his and his dad's socks mixed up.
ReplyDeleteBut I'll tell you this. Each day I see him growing and changing and becoming less and less of the tyrannical maniac that he was as a toddler is worth the loss of the gobbly feet. I like the stinky feet boy better.
Ohhh, sweetie, I am not looking forward to that day with Bella. I never even thought that one day her chubby baby feet won't be chubby. Or baby anymore. Here's an extra hug and a Kleenex, McMommy :)
ReplyDeleteI know, it is just too bad we can't freeze our little ones to keep them from growing so fast.
ReplyDeleteI slipped on Wyatt's (my 9 year-old) flip flops to get the mail the other day, and . . . they fit.
Believe me, I understand.
I know what you mean. My oldest is now so bony--I don't even think she has fat on her butt :(
ReplyDeleteOh the memories of gobbly feet. It's been so long.
ReplyDelete*sniff*
Next comes the "having to write initials on everyone's socks" stage.
My executive husband was never thrilled to have his initials written on his socks ,like a child at summer camp.
Then comes the 27 year old son saying "I don't have a girlfriend , will you cut my toenails?"
"um, NO. Once they have hair on 'em.....I am NOT touching them."
Time passes soooo fast:(
We love snacking on baby feet! I never thought about how my little babies feet were going to one day NOT be baby feet. Oh, I am so sorry for your realization.
ReplyDeleteI am so happy for the MCFamily and the cold air blowing around.
ReplyDeleteNothing like air conditioning.
And gobbly feet.
(those are really gobbly)
So sorry to hear Matty's are growing.
ugh!
It really does seem to happen over night.
Nothing prepares you for it.
I am happy to hear you have picked out a white sock with a little pink on the sole.
Here is my advice on the boys.
Go find a brand like Nike, or Mizuno, or Adidas.
Pick a brand for each child.
Always buy that brand for that child.
It has worked for me anyway.
Good luck!!!
Things like this make me want another one. Kinda.
ReplyDeleteI love to tickle & blow raspberries on them too!! So sweet...
I can totally relate to crying in the sock aisle.
I wasn't going to comment anywhere b/c I've just been scanning the 900+ posts in my reader from my week away from the computer, but this one I just had to respond to b/c it made me cry. For real. I've got some tears going. I rode home next to my 2 year old tonight from our vacation and was searching for his chub dimples while he slept. Those ones on the knuckles. They're fading fast.
ReplyDeleteAww. You almost had me crying, too! :( I am feeling SO nostalgic lately about my kids getting so BIG! :(
ReplyDeleteOh, how I wish I had taken little feet pictures! My little guy is in a toddler size 7 now...sniffle, sniffle...
ReplyDeleteGobbly feet are my absolute favorite. So are chunk a munk cheeks and cutie patootie booties but gobbly feet reign supreme. I knew my gobbly feet days were over when they started to get all sweaty and stinky.
ReplyDelete