They Grow So Fast

I hear it all the time, and yet lately, the speed at which my children are growing up has struck me amazingly hard.

My baby will be two in May.  He walks, climbs and runs.  He doesn't just talk, he has phrases and songs.  Last night he ran around the corner in the hall, and then stuck his head out to announce "I found you".  Yes, he was playing hide and seek.  As impressed as I was with the cuteness, I was also taken back a little. Later that evening, we read Thomas the tank engine, and he named every engine in the book.  After the book, I sang the song to him, and when I paused for a moment, he picked it up and kept singing, clearing naming the engines in the song, and humming over the words he cannot speak.  Yet enough of it was there to understand he was singing the song.

His older brother will be five next month.  This coming Friday he will getting an award at school.  Although I'm not sure yet what it is for, I would suspect it would be for helping others.  Notes that come home from the teacher always extoll his assistance in the class.  He helped a child sound out words they were trying to spell.  He helped another log into the computer.  He offered a hug and comfort to another child who fell.  Yes, that's my boy.

Both of my children are my babies, and as pleased as I am with their progress, it also saddens me a little at how fast they are growing.  I am never quick enough with the camera or video to a capture the moments.  I miss a lot because I am at work.  I feel bad if I get annoyed at their clinginess some days.  Sometimes I make a mental plan, "today the boys and I are going to make cookies" and then I don't ever get around to it.  They don't seem to care, but I worry I will miss out on all the opportunities, and before you know it, hanging out with Mom will be no big deal anymore.

I know, I know, it's normal and natural.  But, geez, they just grow up so fast.