It was a night like every other with our nearly two year old. Bath time concluded with wild splashes and puddles of water covering the tile.

I love this time of the day, not only because it means bedtime is near - but because I've raised four other little people and I have gained some healthy perspective along the way.

The end of the day is a celebration of opportunities, a time to remember the fun, and the moments parents take deep breaths.

The day was full of mud puddle stomping and popsicle sticky messes... its what you do with a toddler boy and the fifth and last baby of the family!

Life Changes from the very first addition to the family and continues with every other little person that comes along doesn't it?

When I was 23, we welcomed our firstborn son Zach to the team. Back when I was young and concerned about baby food, fevers, sunscreen options, and even attended a mother/baby swim class at the local YMCA in our north Georgia town (how does one have time for that after the first baby ladies?) and I felt so accomplished and on my best game.

Fast forward to a home filled with four additions and a soon to be the fifth and final one entering the scene just before my 40th birthday.

You can only imagine the place I was emotionally and how my perspective had been shaped, worn in, fine tuned, and best of all - chilled out over the journey of parenting so many ages and stages.

I loved where I was, but I was feeling ALL the tired mom feelings.

I believed a myth out there among young women when I was in college. I bought into the pressure that younger is better when starting a family. I mean, it made sense at the time, but I had much to learn.

I think we do our best for where we are in life, right?

We can't expect to have peace like a river and a calmness when we haven't yet walked through certain parts of parenting.

Perspective comes with time. It can't be rushed and it absolutely can't be borrowed. We just continue walking it out with our kids and soon realize that we are being changed in the process of our effort to parent right where we are.

Well, that night I was gathering up the jammies, diaper, and lotion for what had turned into an absolute screaming match with this little guy.

Every night, he throws a varsity fit just to get out of the tub.

It was in that moment, that the reality of the change in my husband and I from the first to the fifth baby was on display.

Daddy made his entry into the nursery with an ice cream sandwich in hand.

The screaming boy stopped of course - and I did my best to get those left-over footie christmas jammies on.

Daddy began feeding him the ice cream sandwich while I was administering the lotion and PJ's.

It was then that I realized we had for sure changed over time.

I said to him, "Really...are we here? You are being a Grandpa right now! This is the kind of stuff Grandparents do!!!"

We laughed, and inside I spoke the words that only come when we have experienced a change of heart allowing fresh perspective to become a part of our story.

"It will be okay, he'll be okay."

When I was 23, there was too much mothering comparison. I would have never given in to the ice cream sandwich tactic and I for darn sure wouldn't have blogged about it!

Change is a beautiful thing when we can embrace it for what it is and celebrate the years that refined our hearts... ultimately making us into the best possible parent for the child in the bathtub tonight.