Does anyone else feel like when you have little ones there is a new milestone right around every corner? When they’re newborns it’s things like holding their head up, finding their hands, going more than 2 hours in between eating at night. Then as they get a little older it’s things like rolling over and sitting up and before you know it your milestone checklist has things like walking, says multiple words and follows a two-step direction. It feels to me like those first few years are just crammed full of all these milestones we’re supposed to be on the lookout for.

As my firstborn has gotten older however, I’ve noticed that there are several milestones in toddlerhood that no checklist told me to watch for but feel worthwhile to take note of nevertheless.

1. When your toddler can put on their shoes without help. The day I told my toddler to go get his shoes and he came back with them ON his (correct) feet instead of in his hands we had a serious celebration.
2. The day your child correctly pronounces a word that they had previously been mispronouncing in the sweetest way. I was unprepared for how emotional I would feel when my son said orange instead of his usual (and very strange and adorable) “oioioil” he had been saying for almost a year.
3. The first time your child says “I love you Mama” completely unprompted. Cue me turning into a puddle.
4. When they’re finally able to play independently in their room for more than 30 seconds. This is particularly helpful when you have a newborn that needs to be put down for a nap. And I’m not sure I’ve ever been as proud as when I walk into his room and see him in his little reading corner “reading” his big stack of books.
5. The day you realize the majority of what they say is actually intelligible and you don’t have to spend your days playing charades with a toddler trying to figure out what they’re saying.

These feel like small everyday things. They’re just the things that slowly unfold before you. They aren’t sudden like when they take their first steps. You probably won’t be ready with your camera when they come. They’re just little signs of your baby growing up. But every now and then you’ll stop to notice something like this and the pride and joy that comes with it will be almost overwhelming.