Big Kid Milestones I Never Expected

A few months ago, I made the startling realization that I suddenly have “big” kids. They are 4 and 5 years old, so not exactly packing for college, but the days of diapers, naps and nursing are a pretty distant memory. Everyone can speak for themselves, and short of a few indiscernible tantrums, both kids can use words — and manners! — to let me know what is on their mind. My daughter is a few months away from finishing kindergarten, and my son is about to complete his first year of preschool. Those are pretty big milestones in our world, and we’ve checked off some of the more traditional milestones in the past few months, also — riding bikes without training wheels, sleeping in full-size beds, a first loose tooth, and learning to read. But I’ve been surprised by a few other changes recently that have solidified the big-kid status in our household.

Their Musical Tastes

The music selection in our car has been the same since the kids were toddlers. They have quite a few CDs of traditional kid songs that they love. Sesame Street, Raffi, Kids Sing the Beatles — both kids enjoyed them, and I quickly got used to kid music, so that is just what we listened to at home and in the car. Shortly after my daughter started kindergarten, she came home singing the “Whip/Nae Nae” song (also known as “Watch Me” by Silentó). I am still not sure where she heard it, but she started requesting it constantly. So we spent the next few weeks bop, bop, bopping to Silentó, yet still listening to our old Sesame Street CDs. A few weeks later, my daughter and I attended her first school dance. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but the DJ played a mix of great pop songs, and the majority of kids seemed to know all of the songs. My daughter watched them in awe. “Mommy, how do they know all of this music? I’ve never heard it before.” Oops. A light bulb went off in my head, and I realized it never occurred to me to play “regular” music for my kids. I listen to it when I’m alone or running, but I just defaulted to children’s music when we were together. After that night, I introduced them to Kidz Bop and some country music, and they absolutely love it. We have hilarious dance parties, and they get so excited when we are out and about and they hear a song that they recognize. I’m not sure what took me so long, but as much as I loved hearing Oscar the Grouch sing the ABCs, this is one big-kid milestone I’m certainly enjoying.

Going to the Park

Going to the park has been our favorite activity for as long as I can remember. It was one of my daughter’s first words, and nothing made her happier than heading out to one of our favorite parks. Living in Jacksonville, we have such amazing weather, and so many great parks, we have gone several days a week for years. Both of my kids have always been content to play on the playground, swing, wander through the fields, and just generally entertain themselves. Simply being at the park was enough to entertain them. A few weeks ago, we walked up to our neighborhood park, and we were the only people there. After only five minutes, both kids were ready to go. I figured they were tired and didn’t think much about it. Then the same thing happened a few days later at a different, much larger park. It was right after school, and the park was mostly empty. After being there for only a few minutes, both kids were done. They wanted to play with other kids. They have reached the age where the park equipment doesn’t hold as much magic as it used to. They still love to play outside, but it is more fun for them with friends or other children to chase or make up games with. My heart breaks a little with this one. I miss the hours we used to spend, just the three of us, climbing, sliding and swinging. Now a day at the park involves them playing with their friends, and no one needs my help on the rock wall or pushes on the swing.

New Hairstyles

My daughter was born bald, and once her hair started to grow in at around 15 months, she rocked a baby mullet. It wasn’t until she was around age two that she had any need for barrettes or a ponytail, and by that point, she was an independent toddler with no time or patience for me to fix her hair. So, we kept it short, and she had bangs so we could see her face. Completely unbiased opinion, it was adorable. Over the years, we have had our struggles with hair brushing and her never wanting any accessory, braid or ponytail. Even through a pretty intense Elsa phase a few years ago, she preferred a wig to actually letting me braid her blond hair, so I thought she would be going off to college with a short bob and bangs. But recently, she has actually asked for me to fix her hair for her. She’s tried one braid, two braids, ponytails and even a bun! And my son has started asking me to spike his hair from time to time. After all these years of suffering through post-bath hair brushing, I’m excited to have two big kids who want me to do fun things with their hair!

My Kitchen, Reclaimed

I have dreamed of this day, but I didn’t expect it to come so soon. We are done with plastic cutlery, dishes and sippy cups. One day, they asked to eat their cereal out of the same bowls as Mommy and Daddy instead of their plastic character bowls. After that success, I started serving all their meals on our regular dishes. I invested in a few sets of small plastic cups that they can fill with water on their own, moved them to a low cabinet, and threw away all of their sippy cups. No more plastic parts to wash or lids to match! They love feeling like big kids, and I have loved having my cabinets and countertops back! I think I may need some fun new kitchen appliances to fill up this new space…

Part of me will always miss the chubby cheeks and stroller walks of our toddler days, but as we enter this new big-kid phase, I have enjoyed being surprised by unexpected milestones and changes in our routines.

What milestones have caught you by surprise?