Toddler???

So, I receive these e-mails from a website called Babycenter.com. They send them out once a week and it is a great tool for predicting all the "perfectly normal" things your baby will begin to do. Amazingly enough, they are always accurate and come within a few days of whatever new and surprising skill that is sure to come our way. They have even saved me from making a few frantic calls to the pediatrician. I would highly recommend registering with this site to anyone who is trying to conceive, pregnant or has a baby. So, that brings me to the point. The most recent e-mails have said, "your toddler..." instead of "your baby..." No big deal, until I got one that said, "Now that your toddler is no longer a baby..." WHAT?!?! Yes he is! He still wears a diaper, he's still bald and still cannot talk. Doesn't that constitute a baby? Or a really old man, I suppose, but still. I was in denial. He is a baby, I reassured myself. And then it happened, a true realization. Mason and I went to a neighbor's house for a girl's night in and for the first time I did not have "the baby". There was a 5 month old baby boy named Caden along with a 7 month old baby girl named Katie. They could not even crawl yet and my "baby" was walking around waiving and saying Hi. At one point, Mason and I were sitting on the couch next to Katie and her Mommy when Mason grabbed Katie's blanket and pulled it over his head. He does this constantly with everything, so I thought nothing of it except to tell him to return it to the rightful owner. Then he quickly pulled the blanket down and smiled sweetly at Katie, who immediately burst into that precious, gurglie baby laughter. Spurred by her giggles, Mason repeated this over and over (with myself adding the "BOO!" for effect). Everyone gathered around to watch the child who was entertaining the baby. That's right. It finally hit me like a ton of bricks. I do not have a baby anymore. I have the kid who was playing with the baby. The little boy who walked over to see Caden playing on his play mat, then quickly bent down to feel if his eyes felt the same as Mommy's or Bogey's. To put your mind at ease, we intercepted him before he made contact.
Later that night, Mason walked up to the coffee table which was filled with yummy snacks. He looked around, then as quickly as he could, he shot out his chubby, little hand and scooped up a fist full of 7 layer dip. He was shoving it in his mouth before I could even grab him. I was completely embarrassed, but everyone seemed to think his guacamole goatee and shredded cheese mustache were too cute. Just one of the reasons I no longer own a coffee table. Then, after a plate of dip, I cleaned him up and tried to put him down again. He played quietly for a few moments before repeating his earlier crime. I'm positive Bogey is responsible for this. This time it was a plate of cookies. He snatched the cookie and hurried to the other side of the room. He sat for a minute looking back and forth between the adults, all the while hiding the cookie securely between his hands and chest. When he was sure no one was coming after him, he gobbled it up and then promptly returned to the scene of the crime for more. This time Mom was waiting. I told him one was enough, even though I had two. Our secret.
Yes, I have joined the elite. The mothers who have made it through the baby time and now posses some knowledge the new mommies do not. The mothers who don't obsess over every little thing thier child plays with and/or chews on. The mothers who don't care if it's organic or not as long as they actually eat it. The mothers who know the "schedule" is open for interpretation. Yes, I am in good company.