Where does the time go?

It’s almost that time. My last child is getting too old for naps and that special time I had with him, snuggling up in the afternoon is finally going to be gone. My favorite part of parenting has always been that feeling of a child curling up on my chest or snuggling next to me and then going to sleep. I don’t know how else to explain it except that it feels like a perpetual hug. I wish they could stay little for a lot longer.

My kids are growing so fast. Brycen will be 3 in four weeks and Alanna will be 5 in less than two months.

• Caitlyn is growing too fast. She’s starting to look long and beautiful, a real little lady.

• Alanna is our little book worm. She is so smart and picks up things very easily. She will be the brainiac of the three.

• Brycen is no longer the noisy toy loving kid he used to be. Now he’s all about monster trucks and trains. He gets excited about playing with legos and building things. He is also so inquisitive.

All of this is cool. It’s amazing to watch them grow and mature. When I first saw it happening in them I comforted myself with, “They'll always be my babies.”

Now that’s going away too.

Brycen wants to be like his older siblings so badly that he tries to do everything they do. Sometimes he succeeds but mostly it just ends in frustration. It’s very cute to watch, we comfort him and it all works out. He throws the most tantrums but I understand where it comes from. And I see in his eyes the understanding he is acquiring about everything around him and he doesn't want to be little anymore. At almost 3 he is done with baby toys, tricycles, and almost pull-ups and will start t-ball sooner than I can imagine.

Regularly, someone I’m talking to will say, “Hey, pretty soon your littlest one will be going off to Kindergarten and you’ll have all of them in school full time. Wow, you’ll enjoy that!”

I just wish they’d shut up!