The Ultimate Pickup Line

One of the realities of being a toddler with six older siblings like our daughter does is that there is always someone there. There’s always someone to play with, to push you in the swing, to help you, to stop you from doing things you shouldn’t.

These are all good things, although maybe not always perceived that way to the toddler. But one side effect of having several older siblings is there’s also always someone there to pick you up. This has led to the toddler wanting to be held a large majority of the day.

It’s funny, for as much as she likes her shoes, her shoes are on the ground infrequently. My wife had made a comment about how often the 18-month-old wants to be held so I decided to time how long she went after being put down.

However, as soon as my wife put her down, the toddler saw me and came running over with her little arms outstretched saying, “up peeze, up peeze.” Who could resist scooping up such a little cutie?

Since the amount of time her feet are on the floor is minimal, one upside is that maybe for once we’ll get more than a few months out of a pair of kids shoes. The boys notoriously tear their sneakers up climbing trees, running on pavement, and tromping through goodness knows what and it would be great to see a new pair of shoes that doesn’t look like a dog’s chew toy two weeks later.

The fact that so many family members are willing to pick her up is one of those things where good intentions have side effects that you don’t anticipate. The toddler really does get fussy and want to be picked up after a super short time of being down and mobile. I can’t blame her. Her entire existence has been filled with willing arms to hold her and she’s not ready to give that up.

With Mom, Dad, and the 13, 11, 10, and 8-year-old all being so much bigger than her, the toddler has her choice of arms to run to. And she finds a lot of welcoming arms. Even the 4-year-old, who should not be picking up his sister, will pick her up.

Funnily, this desire to be held only applies inside the house. In the backyard or at the park, she’s go, go, go and wants to walk (and run) all over. Basically she wants to be on the ground like a free-range chicken outside, but up in your arms and carried around like a princess inside. At least she’s consistent.

Eventually she’ll outgrow this stage by choice or by literally growing out of it. But, with six older brothers, and half of them being almost 10 years older than her, she will have the opportunity of being carried around like a princess for much longer than average. And she’s just fine with that.