When You Thought Your Last Child Was Your Last

A life update.

The baby of mine who I thought was going to be the last baby ended up not being the last baby. (Remember when I wrote this post mourning when he turned two?) In the midst of the pandemic, our fourth baby – an oops baby – was born into our family, officially promoting child #3 to big brother status. No longer the “baby” of the house, this boy turns FIVE in five months! He’s registered for Kindergarten in the fall. He rides a bike. He always wants to help zip up baby sis in her sleep sack and offers to bring in my groceries. He is insanely sweet, thoughtful, cheerful.

We had an impromptu Mommy & Me photoshoot the other day. We happened to be near the same magazine newsstand in town where we had shot two and a half years ago, so I thought it would be fun to update our Mommy & Me photos. My, how he has grown! No more baby cheeks or chubby belly, and in fact, he looks so much like his 9 year old brother, that I did a double take when I saw these pictures. Scroll down to see our Mommy & Me photo from 2018. (You can check out the rest of the photos along with 5 Tips for Styling a Mommy & Me Photoshoot with Your Toddler.) He was way more into posing with Momma back then. Now I have to bribe him with Pocky Sticks, he’s insisting on still wearing 18 month pants, while I am in a dress size one larger! :)

For now I’ll be relishing in seeing my last son grow into a strong, kind almost 5-year old – because surely I’ll be doing some ugly-crying again when my next “last baby” turns one.