Cookies, Bunny Hops and I Love You's

Today, we went to the water park. It was so much fun, and the kids loved being in the lazy river again. My two-year-old daughter was sitting on the tube, holding onto the handle. She loved being up high and would make faces when the water splashed on her face. My four-year-old son was on the other tube, just laying there and chilling. At one point, he wanted to hold the handle on his sister's tube so they could be closer. My husband grabbed my hand, and my daughter wanted to hold our hands. It was a holding-hands train.

We came home, and we had two sleeping kids in the car. My son helped me make cookies after his catnap, and he knew the first step was to add butter. He asked me to grab him a bowl, and he put the butter in the microwave. He helped me dump in the rest of the ingredients and helped me turn on the mixer.

The rest of the day was our normal routine. I took them to the park after dinner to burn off some energy. My son said he wanted to swing, and my daughter ran to the swings with him yelling, "I swing!"

I put my daughter to bed, and she wanted to sing her nightly "Hop Little Bunnies." We did it with everyone in the living room this time. We all laid down on the floor and would jump up and hop like bunnies. We did it on repeat a couple of times, and then the bunnies had to go to bed.

We read the animal book and made animal sounds. We turned off the light, and I sang her songs as I rocked her. As I put her down, I told her, "I love you." As usual, she whispered, "I love you," back to me.

I walked out of the room, and I just thought about how these small moments are the memories that I want to remember.

I don't want my children to be young forever. My husband and I are exhausted most nights from the day, but these sweet moments are so precious. I want to hold onto these small moments forever, where she whispers "I love you" back to me as I put her to bed.

I know that we will reach a stage where I am no longer cool or needed. Parts of that phase will be nice compared to our current stage of parenting. But the "Hop Little Bunnies" and "I love yous" are what make this stage so sweet.

Parenting is the most difficult thing that I have ever done. It forces me to put my needs aside, and it keeps me on my toes daily. However, I experience rewards that can't really be explained. Having your two-year-old give you their complete trust and love while rocking them to sleep is the greatest honor.