Watching him grow...

How's that for a silly face?

Do you ever feel like you can actually SEE your kids growing up in front of your eyes? I know Libby and I have talked about it lately and she's sure that Brooke has grown in the past several weeks since I've seen her. (Incidentally, she also has discovered THE BEST giggle!) Over the past few days, I've been feeling like I'm actually watching Joshua grow bigger from the time I leave in the morning until I get home at the end of the day...and I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Shirts that used to fit perfectly all of a sudden are short in the arms, or short in the tummy. Pants are starting to resemble flood gear (we still need a tuck at the waist, mind you). Even his socks are starting to creep lower and lower on his little ankles. He, of course, tells me quite proudly, "Mommy, I'm BIG!" I always cheer right along with him, but silently in my heart I'm crying, "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" Ever felt that way?

When he stands up on his changing table to jump around like a maniac (nightly) or when I stand him up on the bathroom counter to brush his teeth, he's now looking down on me. When we sit down in the rocking chair to read Dr. Seuss before bed, he's sprawling from my shoulder all the way down past my knees. (And one would think he'd want to try falling asleep in his bed, right? Oh no!) But it feels like it's all happened so quickly. Like somehow time just flew by in an instant.

Don't get me wrong-- I'm loving each "stage" more than the next. And I'm a BIG fan of this one. I love the talking and the expressions and the independent thinking. (I'm a fan of full disclosure, so I should say that I'm not particularly fond of the talking back, "no", temper tantrums or our continued struggle to sleep through the night, but the good far outweighs the challenging as far as I'm concerned.) But somehow I just can't believe that our "baby days" are concluding at such a breakneck pace.

And then, in the midst of all of these thoughts, they hit you with something really cool. Last night before bed, Joshua said his own bedtime prayers. Now, we're not talking about anything really complex, but I started with "Now I lay me..." and he took it from there. I only needed to prompt a word or two if he got stuck. And that warmed my heart...