Conference moira::parenting

   I'll start..
   
   "You know that your 'baby' is growing up when/because..."

   .. when you can't "fake it" when you're reading books because your
   kid(s) have memorized the words...   :-)
   
   - Tom

    Or, better yet... when the kids take the book away and tell you they
    would rather read it themselves, because you "skip" words!
    
    M-L

    You know your baby(s) are growing up when...
    
    You don't have to lug around a 20 pound diaper bag, walker, stroller,
    toys. etc. everytime you go somewhere!
    
    NF
    

. . . you can no longer have "secret" conversations with your spouse by 
spelling words.

    When, every day, looking through her eyes, you can see the world
    expanding.
    

    
    When your child (2.5) takes you by the hand and leads *YOU* to the couch
    for a time out!!
    
    Jamd
    :-)

...when your son (2 years old) asks for a dollar when you get home
so that he may buy an ice cream when the truck comes around.  ;->

Hamp

    ...when you hear the eldest telling a younger sibling, "I used to think
    that, too, when I was little"!
    
    --dave--

When your 13 year old "baby" who is 6 cm taller than you comes up, puts his
arm around you, looks down on you and says, "My little Mommy".

or...

When both of your children quit stealing your sports socks because they're
too small (now into Daddy's :-).

ccb

    When you see you 10 year old son in a jacket and tie for the first time
    and he actually enjoys singing in a concert.  (His voice is so much
    lower than all the other kids that he stands right in the front in the
    middle and I can pick out his voice!)

    When your 2.5 year old start calling out "Mudder" or "Fawder" instead
    of "Mah-Mah" or "Dah-Dah"
    
                              jeff

    When you go to the grocery store and your 4 yr old knows more people
    than you do. 
    
    Angie

    When you go to your closet for a pair of shoes and can't find them
    because your 12 yr old daughter is wearing them....

. . . when pushing any button in your car radio gets you a rap station.

. . . when your "soft rock" station gets the same derision YOU used to 
reserve for Lawrence Welk. 

Clay

    ...when Mom finds this fine 'fuzz' in your 10 year-old's bathtub and
    wonders "How did she do that without cutting her legs all up?"  And she
    asks her to show her what she shaved her legs with and she pulls out a
    brand-new disposable razor from her bathroom.  Then she asks her why
    and the answer is "Because you do it, Mom.  And all the kids at school
    do too."  And a few weeks later she finds a can of shaving cream under
    the bed in the guest bedroom.
    
    Bob

    When they're able to tell you they have to go poopies.
    
    Lori B. 

. . . when your child has had more (formal at least) sex education that you
have.

Clay

When they can work the VCR (3 years old) better than Granmummzy who is 
babysitting.

They get their own juice.

When they say (no joke) "I think my cousin Aarron would prefer soda."

or when they say "but I dont like onions" and know what they are even
if you hide them.

When your 8 year old daughter keeps asking you if her breasts are 
growing yet!  (Thank goodness she's still built like a tabletop!)

Norma

    You know they're growing up when....
    
    you take them to a restaurant, and what's on the "children's menu"
    won't fill him up, or the KID wants a STEAK!!! (or as in my kid' case
    he wants a "Lombster")
    
    OR...
    
    the places you used to go because "Kids eat free", now have you paying
    for their meals!!
    

    re .-1
    
    Wants a Lobster...
    
    We flew overseas with Andrew when he was about 2.5 years. We were lucky
    enough to travel first class. The stewardess was serving lunch, and the
    appetizers were Shrimp Cocktails. (Andrew had eaten shrimp and lobster
    before). She asks if he is allowed to eat it, we agree, and he tucks
    into a serviing. (When he eats food he likes, you get a Yummm, Yumm,
    Yumm sound-effect along with the eating). He finishes the bowl full,
    and as she walks says, "Lady, can I have some more baby bugs", in a
    voice that could be heard several rows back...
    
    That's my boy, developing gourmet tastes already...
    
    q

	he's too "grown up" to go in to the Ladies room with Mom
	anymore !!!!!!!  I'll NEVER forget the first time he went
	into the Mens room by himself !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

	and then there's the day you suddenly realize he can 
	REACH the stuff in the cabinets that you just KNEW were
	too high just last week !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

	Debbi J

. . . you stop complaining about how much babysitting costs, and start 
complaining about how babysitters are underpaid

    ...when you think of Bill Clinton's running mate as "Tipper Gore's
    husband"...
    
    --bonnie

. . . you are no longer embarassed to be seen with your child, because they 
dress, look, or act like a little kid, but



they are embarassed to be seen with you, because you dress, look, and act like 
a dork.

Clay

    When your almost three year olds favorite line is, "I don't need you to
    help me".  Why can't they stay babies longer?

re: .26

>    When your almost three year olds favorite line is, "I don't need you to
>    help me".  Why can't they stay babies longer?

   Hmmm... yep.. but with us its our almost 2-yr old who tell me - 'do it
   myself' ... <sigh>

   - Tom
   

. . . terms like "driver's license" and "sports car" no longer bring a
smile to your face (she's only 12; I suppose in a few years, those terms will
cause me to break out in a cold sweat)

Clay 

    When the inherited clothes you packed away for "when she gets bigger" are
    taken down only to find that she is too big to fit into them anymore.

... other noters are vigorously discussing "Barney" and you feel left out, 
because you don't know who "Barney" is.

Clay

....he says he'd rather watch STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE 9 instead of
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION and he's not even 3 years old yet.


Hamp

    .... When your just 5 year old daughter learns to recite and write, not
    only her own phone number, but her school mate's phone number, too! 
    She then decides it would be a good idea for her to have her own phone,
    in her own room, so that she can lie on her bed and "chat" to her
    friends when ever she wants.
    
    She obviously thinks that when either my husband or I are on the phone,
    it's in use, but another phone in her room would allow her to still
    make calls!!
    
    This is starting at 5?????
    
    Ahhh......

    My 5-year-old son is the same way. He has memorized several friends'
    phone numbers and when he gets the urge to call, stand back!
    Unfortunately, that frequently happens at 6:45 a.m. or at supper 
    time and he has to be persuaded to wait. 
    
    Last week he met a girl at a party and asked for her number and 
    later called her to make a play date! Yikes!
    
    Meanwhile, my 20-month-old is becoming a fashion queen. I thought 
    they might save this kind of stuff until they were at least 12...
    
    Lucy

    when the 7 year-old has figured out how to leave a phone mail message.  
    She doesn't panick and hang up any more.
    
    Meg

When your 2.8 year old catches you saying something "bad" and says
THATS NOT NICE MOMMY!!!

    When your little girl is now old enough to go to strip joint?? Boy
    where did 18 years go......
    
    Or when you can go shopping in your little girls closet.... (Boy I have
    to keep reminding myself that she is no longer a little girl ;.(
    
    But then again, it's kinda good cause we talk on a different level now..
    ADULT LEVEL. ;.)

    ...or when she gives *you* her hand-me-downs!  My almost-15
    year old daughter gives me her sneakers and clothes she's
    outgrown.  I'm 5' 3 1/2 inches, but she's passing me by!
    Yikes!
    
    Noranne
    

. . . when you miss a hockey game that you really wanted to watch, so your 
daughter could take in graduation ceremonies . . .



. . . on "Beverly Hills 90210"


Clay
 

<snicker>

. . . you can no longer describe your child's poops.

Clay

    ... or you CAN describe them because you are no longer grossed
    out by *anything* !!!
    
    Stuart

    
    They can retrieve the remote for you!

    He used to look forward to our "stay at home day" on Friday, but last
    Friday he asked if he could go to school....  (Derek is 4 and just
    started preschool last month and absolutely loves it!)

    When she learns to say NO!  My baby is 15-months and emphatically says
    NO to everything she does not want.  I thought this didn't start until
    they were two.
    	

    Oh no........it's starts at 15 months exactly.  It gets better by two.
    We started Natasha our early in "NO, THANK YOU" and it's so cute when
    she says it.  Sometimes I think it's a little sarcastic, but I do
    appreciate her efforts on politeness.  For me personally I found just
    "NO" annoying, but "NO THANK YOU" makes me smile.

<    We started Natasha our early in "NO, THANK YOU" and it's so cute 

Similarly, our daycare taught us "No way, Jose".  When they turn it around on
us, it doesn't hit our hot buttons like just "No!" would.  :-)

    Carol

    It's cute, until it comes out like this (David will be 4 in December)
    
    "NO THANK YOU, FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD!!!"
    
    I didn't know whether to scold him for blasphemizing the politeness, or
    laugh out loud at his exasperation.  Guess I asked him one too many
    times if he wanted something to eat : )
    
    Sarah

    Sniff!!  He IS growing up....
    
    a comment over dinner last night, while still staring at the Hebert's
    basket from "the Easter Bunny".
    
    Mom, I bet you and dad *bought* my basket at Heberts, and did you do
    that *awful* job of coloring the eggs too?
    
    Geez, he's only 7!  and did I really do all that bad a job of
    coloring?!?!?
    
    I tried, and am still trying to convince him that our visit to Heberts
    on Saturday was to "make sure the Easter Bunny had set aside a basket
    just for AJ!"  Some how I think the "belief in the Bunny days" may be
    over!  (sniff, he really is growing up too fast)
    
    ....and he really did look smashing in his navy blue, pin stripe suit
    with his "power tie" and pink shirt, complete with black wing tip
    shoes for Easter!!
    
    Lyn

    Funny, my kids are mixed on these childhood favorites.  My 9 year old
    knows there is no Santa (he point-blank asked me one year), but hasn't let 
    on how he feels about the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy.  The 7 year old 
    hasn't admitted to any of them being "parental fantasies".
    
    -sandy
    

    he asks you to remove his teddy bear pictures from the wall in his
    bedroom so he can put up his Lambourghini and Suzuki pictures!
    
    -sjd
    

    he wants to go into the Drs. office all by himself for his 10 year old
    checkup!  My husband is still in shock that he had to sit in the
    Waiting room all by himself while our son was inside getting his
    physical!
    
    Linda

    Yes, and she walks to the babysitter's door from my car, lugging her
    bag of spare clothes, ordering me to stay by the car, she'll do it
    herself.
    
    L

    And when she drags the chair over to the sink to help you wash the
    dishes and she tells you "No, mommy, you do it like this."
    
    My mom says this is payback 8^)
    
    Susan

    He (age 7) asks you to iron his "t-shirt" before school.
    
    I didn't even know he knew what an iron was for!!!
    
    -sjd
    

    ... your daughter's boyfriend installs your new car stereo.
    

    You know your baby is growing up when you have to ask him to finish up
    his shower!  My 4-year has just learned how to correctly take a shower, 
    including soaping up and shampooing his own hair, turning off the shower, 
    drying himself, and putting on his pajamas.  Last night I had to yell 
    into him to hurry up and get out of the shower.  He had been in there 
    for 20 minutes!  His response was :
    
    "Mom, you've got to be kidding!"
    
    I thought he had to be at least 15 before he started THAT stuff!  I'm
    reading with some amusement this morning about boys who have to be
    forced to take a shower. Sigh, he was such a little boy last week
    when he couldn't open up the shampoo bottle by himself, and hated
    getting water on his face...
    
    Sarah

You know your baby (he's 4 now) is growing up when he prefers to
watch an open heart operation (asking questions and everything) on
The Learning Channel rather than cartoons.

Hamp

    
    
    Robert (22 months) has slept in his big bed two nights in a row...
    He's had the bunk beds in his room for 2 months, now along with his
    crib.  His brother sleeps in the top bunk, and the bottom is for him.  
    Saturday night, he said "Robbie sleep in big bed".  This is the first 
    time he's shown interest in the bed for something other than playing.
    So we said fine and tucked him in, figuring in all of five minutes,
    he'd be at the door wanting to go in the crib.  Nope he didn't even 
    play, he went right to sleep.  Last night, it wasn't even a choice, he
    went right for the big bed.
    
    Sigh... they grow up to fast...
    
    Laurie  

    You know your baby's growing up when they have an easier time going off
    to school than you do.  
    
    It's so hard to let go!!!!
    
    

... you carry a load of stuff from the car to a dorm room.

(Private high school, not college, but boy did it make me feel old, 
nostalgic, and not a little bit sad).

Clay

    You try to do at least three weeks of shopping for nonperishables, so
    when your daughter comes home, you can load up her pantry.  it's
    Lolita's third year in college, and she is in an apartment now.

	This morning I was unloading the dishwasher and Kristen (17months) was 
        helping again. Usually I just let her take a few spoons in and out while
	I do the rest and then I let her play with the spoons for as long as
 	they'll keep her interest.  This morning when I was all done, she took
	the three spoons over to the silverware draw, reach as high as she could
	on her tippy toes, opened the draw and tossed the spoons in.  Guess
	I'll have to put a safety latch on that draw (knives in there too).

	It just seems she's growing taller and learning so many new things 
	every day.  I'm so proud, but a little sad my baby is growing up at
	the same time.

	Karen T.

    When you drop him off at college, for the second time in a week, and
    hope he stays there until the Thansgiving break. Unless he has a ride
    back to school as well as a ride home.

   ... when she brings home (from kindergarten) an invitation to her
   first open house... <sigh... open houses already... >
   
   - Tom

    Along the lines of .64
    
    ...when she brings home a notice from daycare (small center and she's
    only 2!) that they are having class pictures taken on Thursday.
    
    And, we had the open house last week.
    
    Susan

... the hair gel and hair spray is your son's and he spends ten minutes on 
his hair, mumbling something about "split ends."

Clay

    when you tell your child you have something to send her, and she says,
    "Mom, why don't you email it to me?  My address is
    'Lolita@mumble.mumble.edu' and Michelles and Valerie's are......."
    
    Look out information highway!
    
    meg
    
    

    When you offer your kids an 'incentive' if they are good for
    the new babysitter....and you mention some of thier favorites,
    like a treat, and your daughter counters with 'How about clothes?'.

    Well, I think this is an appropriate place for this...
    
    I noticed last night, and I don't know when this evolved,
    but I'm not running down to Angeline's room every ten minutes
    when she's in bed anymore!  Not even every half hour, or every
    hour, or any regularity at all! :-).  Once in a while I do go
    down to look at her, but mostly because she goes to bed so darned
    early and I get to missing her, and yes, I'm kind of lonely sitting
    there all night by myself.....
    
    But the point being, I'm "trusting" her down there now.  So who's
    growing here? :-)                          ^(meaning, down the hall)
    
    Now if I could just get myself sleeping in my own room. I may even
    be getting closer to allowing the overnights.
       
    						cj *->
    					       		

	... you drive by a Burger King, and your 3 year old says,
	"Mom, when I'm older, I won't go on that slide anymore.  
	 I *am* getting bigger, Mom."

	When we drive by Burger King, Wendy's, etc. Kristen says "FRIES"
	She loves them (takes after mom I guess).

	Karen T.

    
    Mmmmmmmm..... Jonathan's almost 2, and for the past few months, anytime
    we go past McD's or Burger King this little voice chirps up "I want
    fries!  I want fries!".  
    
    

	she tells you, "Mommy, I'm going to go to school on the school
	bus, and you don't have to come with me because it's not scary.
	After I'm all done, then you can come get me.  You can go to
	work when I'm at school if you want to."

	Emily's only 3!

    
    	.....he's talking to Grandma on the phone and asks for
    	her E-mail address so he can send her some 'messages'.
    
    

    
    3.5 year old Emily is growing up too quickly.  Last night, her
    younger brother Andrew had a full blown case of the sillies at
    dinner.  He was talking non-stop, using funny voices (talking
    in a falsetto), and waving his fork around in the air.
    
    Finally, Emily said to him, "Andrew, are you going to play, or
    are you going to eat?"
    
    ;-)
    

We are always having to tell my 5 yr old son "Eat!" at the table. Otherwise
dinner would last three hours. A couple weeks ago my 20-month old daughter
stands up in her booster seat, leans over and points to his plate and says
"Eat!".

When our youngest child finally made it past 42" tall.  Now we can all go on 
all but two of the rides at Six Flags as a family!!

Dave

    he tells you to get him new socks and underwear but won't let you buy
    him clothes unless he is present!
    
    My 8 year old has very specific tastes in socks and undies, but trusts
    me to purchase the correct items.  With clothing, however, he is
    absolutely certain I will make him look like a baby if left to myself.
    
    Harrumph!  At least I know better than to wear a kelly green t-shirt
    with orange and purple print shorts! -:)
    
    M.