Will Climb for Cake

This evening, while Stephanie was cleaning out the fridge after dinner, Elijah took the chocolate cake (from Father's Day) and placed it on the table. Not sure why. We've pretty much stopped asking why things are moved around our house. The answer is never satisfactory.

Anyway, Stephanie had pretty much cleaned everything else up, and looked over to see our daughter on top of the table, helping herself to some chocolate cake with a fork.

It's interesting how diligent we were with what our first child ate. Elijah didn't eat any sweets until after he was one, and even then we highly limited them until he was two. But that next child... those resolves start to, well, dissolve. It seems like so much of parenting takes full focus, and once that attention is divided, things slip through the cracks. I used to think that no matter what, we would try and parent each child the same. But that's a pretty foolish idea considering that we change as people. We're not even the same person day after day, much less the several year gap between kids. There's lessons that we learn along the way, and circumstances that are entirely different with each new child. Elijah didn't have an older sibling to compete with (or to take advantage of his or her distractions). I still believe its important to be diligent and intentional, but it sure alleviates a lot of stress when we realize that we CAN'T parent the same with every child.

Hmmm... that also makes me rethink how I may have even viewed my own upbringing. There's a reason my siblings were not treated the same as I was. And in light of a loving and sovereign Father in Heaven, I can only conclude that it was all for my good.