Random Observation/Comment #953: Need to invent a “pause” button to life. She’s growing up way too quickly.
//Evie is evolving slowly
Why this list?
I wrote this list in July 2023 and it still makes me cry.
I am just revisiting to think about these lasts and what i can remember from them personally. For the things that aren’t lasts, I’ve considered how I can commemorate the Last itself. Maybe I’ll record it?
Last time helping her with making slime because she knows how to do it herself already – We’re going to record this one for sure.
Last time asking her to write a birthday card for friends and helping her spell it out – She doesn’t need my help anymore. I hope she keeps writing birthday cards and loves to do it because it’s such a fun tradition.
Last time helping her pick out and put on her outfit – I don’t think she cares if I pick it out, but I’m happy to not do this. She’s got her own style now.
Last time carrying her on my shoulders – I feel like I can keep this up, but I will definitely record one in the next year. I probably have a handful of these left.
Last time playing tag around the house – It’s interesting that I’m less likely to play tag because I don’t want to hurt myself and she can definitely outrun me in the next year.
Last time reading her a bedtime story – I think we can move on to reading longer books like “Princess Bride”. She’s actually reading to me a lot of Harry Potter books. I do like reading to her the Percy Jackson series and doing quick stops to explain the harder vocabulary.
Last time I tucked her into bed – I feel like I can still do this until she gets more embarrassed.
Last time watching a kids Disney movie with her and learning the songs together – I think this will be a fun tradition. I want to watch more long movies together as a family. We’re in a Studio Ghibli phase.
Last time riding in a car seat and helping her buckle in – She definitely doesn’t need help buckling anymore and the car seat is probably optional for travel. She’s got another year of using a booster just to be safe.
Last time being invited to her tea party – She still wants me to do tea parties, but maybe we make a big celebratory one. Mommy is more of the playing with imagination type.
Last time she fell asleep in the car and I need to carry her inside without waking her – I’ll still try to do this. This is always fun to do because it means we also had a late night out. Maybe we’ll go to more concerts.
Last time taking a bath with her – I think this is done. At least for the last time, she washed my hair (or what hair I had left).
Last time cutting her food into smaller pieces – I may do this to just be embarrassing and to encourage eating. She’s getting better at trying different foods at least once.
Last time holding her hands and helping her cross the street – I guess it gets creepy when she becomes a teenager? I still like holding her hand.
Last time helping her build a fort out of blankets and pillows – I do want to keep doing this and the time is getting close. Let’s do an epic one in the living room and basement. There were some pretty good ones.
Last time helping her write a letter to Santa – I just told her about Santa and I think it worked out. Basically Santa was a real person that was very generous and we remember his generosity by everyone being Santa to pass on the tradition of making people smile.
Last time helping her blow up a balloon – Honestly, I think I’m just good at blowing balloons and tying the ends. Maybe this will be useful until I’m in my 80s.
Last time asking me to push her on the swing – I still have time on the larger multi-person swings.
Last time grabbing milk and cereal for her in the fridge for breakfast – Maybe I’ll put the cereal in taller places on purpose. She’s using the toaster herself now.
Last time teaching her how long of times things are – I kept testing her on “how much time” so now she likes to do the math and think about how long she’s been doing things or when she woke up and started secretly watching YouTube.
Last time helping her with paint by sticker books – These are actually super fun and I want to do more of these. We just did this awesome BookNook intricate toy which was even cooler than building a large LEGO set or Gundam. She’s got a 90s sticker book.
Last time helping her with a jigsaw puzzle and starting to do 500-1000 pieces together – I don’t know if she’ll be a hardcore jigsaw puzzler like the rest of the fam, but she does appreciate the phone-free zone while listening to an audiobook.
Last time “going easy” on her with board games – I’m in a new belief that I shouldn’t “go easy” because she needs to learn to lose.
Last time helping pack her lunch – I can probably do this until middle school if she likes my cooking.
Last time teaching her how to ride a bike – She’s so good at riding now. I just need to make sure she’s staying safe.
Last time she asked me to play hide-and-seek and she doesn’t giggle while hiding behind a curtain – I actually couldn’t find her for a good 30 minutes, so she’s pretty good at this. We had to make up a code word and start setting a timer. Overall, we’re still playing hide and seek as a group game. Standing behind doors is a solid strategy.
Last time she asked me to blow bubbles with her in the backyard – Kids running around outside is so much fun. We bought bubble machines for our Disney trips.
Last time she asked me to cuddle next to her so she could fall sleep – She’s definitely still into the cuddles and hates phones in her room between 7 and 9pm.
Last time helping her with hand stands and cartwheels – She hasn’t done a full cartwheel yet, but she still likes trying.
Last time playing sleepy paws – We’ve moved on from Sleepy Paws to Koala Moon.
Bonus List of a few more Lasts:
Last time for Tackle time - 3 years. She’s getting really strong.
Last time watching all of the shows she watches - I think I’ll still do some heavy vetting through high school, but man it’s super hard to get kids off of addicted digital quick hits of dopamine.
Last time teaching her how to make an egg - She still wants me to do this, but I think she’s getting pretty good. I do love Daddy-daughter cooking time.
Last time forcing her to eat something - I don’t want to raise a picky eater, but there’s only so much I can do to encourage her to eat the things we eat. The best I can do is to cook food I know they’ll both like and slowly introduce some new tastes that she doesn’t find spicy.
Last time she walks on my feet as Daddy Robot - I think she can do this until the top of her head hits my chin. Walking up and down the stairs is not easy.
~See Lemons Keep Cherishing the Lasts