Growing Up So Fast

I was just reading a post on Rosa's blog about how her kids are getting very independent these days, and it made me think about how fast my kids are growing up. It doesn't seem very long ago at all that we came home from the hospital with Haley. We called her our little Glow-Worm. She had such a bad case of jaundice that she had to have the photo-therapy lights. Luckily, they didn't keep her at the hospital, but just sent us home with a portable light. We had to slide the light up against her back inside her little nightgown. It made her light up like one of those little Glow-Worm dolls. Now she's 5 years old and so grown up. She picks out her own clothes and dresses herself. She is such a good helper with her brothers.

Preston is SO VERY independent these days. His most common phrase lately is "No, I do it!" It can cause problems - especially when he does things like insist on getting the sacrament cup for himself and almost dumps the entire tray in my lap. But he's getting better at things like that. He's even doing a little better with bedtime the last few nights. He's great at helping with clean-up. He loves to sing the clean-up song. Sure, he gets so involved with the song that he stops cleaning, but the thought is there.

Brekken is really growing up too fast for me. He's my last baby, so I just wish that he would stay a baby a little longer so I can savor it. But he is growing so fast. He already wears mostly size 12 months because he's gotten big so quickly. He's crawling everywhere and loves to pull up on the furniture. Last night he was feeling very brave and kept standing there with only one hand very lightly holding on to the couch. He may be like Haley and decide not to crawl for long at all. I'm glad he still is my cuddle baby. I hope he doesn't outgrow that very soon.

I need to remember to spend some more time cuddling with all my babies - even the big 5 year old so that I can enjoy them a little more.