Attention...what was I doing?...span

When my kids were little (I realize they're still young now, but 2 kids under 2 is a totally different category), I remember looking at parents of preschoolers and thinking that their kids were so old! What would that be like, I wondered, to have kids that can ambulate and communicate? Now I'm starting to find out.

Example: I no longer have to carry Peanut everywhere we go. She can walk pretty good distances, and most of the time she is very good about holding my hand and staying with me. She also recently learned how to climb into her own car seat. It takes about 15 minutes (exaggerating), but at least it saves me a hoist.

Jellybean has reached the phase that I remember my friends with older kids telling me about, and I never believed it was true: Her attention span has lengthened considerably. She will now sit for 30-45 minutes doing the same activity -- especially if that activity is artistic in nature. No more dragging out the crayons/colored pencils/markers and paper, only to turn right around and put them away. She would create art all day if I would let her (I do let her quite a bit). See Exhibit A, the marker picture of a sun, rainbow and flowers; and Exhibit B, a dot painting.

I remember when I couldn't wait for Jellybean's attention span to grow; I looked forward to settling in with activities. Here's the irony, though: Now that it's been almost 4 years coming, I am having a hard time adjusting. I'm so accustomed to bouncing from this toy to that toy and this project to that project, that I've forgotten how to sit down and do the same thing for a while. I'm not sure MY attention span is capable of this kind of time! Maybe by the time Peanut is almost 4, I'll be ready for it. In the meantime, I'm going to practice. I may even adopt a mantra (sit down, sit down, sit down...).