Those of you that know me well know that I am certainly NOT the kind of person that wishes their children would hurry up and grow and get into school so that I can go on with my life. No, sir. The days pass so quickly for me and I almost panic when I think about both of my kids being away from me all day at kindergarten. This is not because I don't want to watch them flourish, but because the majority of the time, I LOVE being with my kids. Now, don't get me wrong, I will love having time alone with my husband, but I have already cried on a couple of occasions about sending my kids to college someday (pathetic, I know). Brandon jokes about starting me on medication when our oldest graduates from highschool. I come by this honestly--my mother was the same way. She was so proud of our accomplishments and always wanted us to go and do, but at the same time, she was always very connected to us and was happiest when we were together as a family. There is a quote that says "Making the decision to have a child--it's momentous. It is making the decision to forever have your heart go walking around outside your body." That sums it up for me.
I share this because this week, I once again saw how quickly things change. I just realized that our baby girl is no longer a baby. Now, logic would tell you that due to the fact that she is two years old, she hasn't been a baby for a long time. However, watching her this week, she just seems so BIG!! She has grown into her 2T clothes and is fitting into the footie pajamas that I once looked at and thought "Wow, it will be awhile before she grows into these!".
I went into our baby's room this morning to get her out of bed. As I looked at her, it was almost as if she'd grown overnight. Really. She looked HUGE in her crib--almost as if she is too big for it (we've been talking about converting it to a toddler bed, but neither Mommy or Daddy has made the move to make it official yet). She heralded me into her room this morning by yelling "Mom! Dad!" as if she were a teenager who was irritated that her parents weren't responding RIGHT AWAY, which only added to the feeling of her being older. Could this possibly be our youngest?
As I carry her, I see how long her legs are. She is proportioned like a little girl--not even really a toddler. Good thing she still has the attitude of a two year old...it reminds me that maybe she's not growing as fast as it seems. :) I took her with me to a faculty meeting this week up at Jewell. She hopped up in the middle of the meeting and started announcing (all too loudly, of course) "Mommy, I want to go home!". She kept repeating it until finally, when my duties were done, we left. Thankfully, I work with women, most of whom find that kind of thing cute.
Our son is growing, too. He can now fully dress himself (let me just tell you how wonderful it is to say "Connor, here are your clothes, now please get dressed" and to turn around 5 minutes later and find that he's ready to go!) and has started writing letters. He writes really well for a little guy, and has even learned how to write his name and spell it correctly. We've found that he likes to look at a computer keyboard, find a certain letter, and then write it on paper. In the last couple days, he's figured out how to type his name on the computer. Granted, most of his handwritten letters are backwards, but he definitely has the idea right. He sometimes gets frustrated and says "I give up!" when he can't make letters right. We try to coach him, but find that it's better to let him cool off a bit and then try it again on his own terms. Given that Brandon and I are both fairly easily frustrated when something doesn't turn out like we want it to, it's no surprise that our son is this way, too. It's pretty humbling to watch him exhibit the same behaviors we do.
This week, we will attend his class Thanksgiving Celebration at Second Friends. We'll be sure to post pictures. He seems to really be coming out of his shell at school. When I picked him up on Wednesday, his teacher's comment to me was "Wow, he sure had a lot of energy today!". Was that code for "Wow, he was a real handful today"? I don't know. :)
We have also enjoyed watching the movie Cars this week. It is really cute (and that is something for me to say given that we've watched it a MINIMUM of 10 times in the last week). Connor and Kylee both like Mater best, with Lightning McQueen coming in a close second. We especially like to dance to the "Life is A Highway" song that plays towards the beginning of the film. Daddy generally refrains from joining in, but Connor, Kylee, and I have a good time grooving together.
Tomorrow, our church will celebrate its 6th birthday. It's hard to believe that we have been attending services there for 6 years! We recently found out that we will not be breaking ground on our new building this spring as originally planned. It is difficult for us to be patient, but in the end, we know it's the responsible thing to do and are glad to be part of a financially reasonable entity. Please pray for North Star as we vision for our future and dream about the possibilities that lie ahead for us as a congregation. Brandon recently wrapped up his tenure as the chair of the Staff-Parish Relations Committee. He did a great job mediating in some difficult situations. It will be interesting to see what he gets asked to do next!!
All of these milestones are pretty exciting, and maybe a little bit painful, as we watch the ones that we love grow right before our eyes. I feel as if I'm going to blink my eyes and our kids will have turned into teenagers (at which point I'll probably wish I could blink my eyes and send them to college-ha ha!!). I am so thankful to get to be a part of their everyday lives!!
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