The Youth of My Nation

Kids grow so fast, don't they?

Yesterday morning, I went to get Ian dressed and when I started to pull on his pants, they didn't make it past his thighs!

hmmm, now where does that sound familiar? ... anyway ...

I looked at the tag--3T! NO WAY! He just turned 4!

Now, ok, I can understand how sometimes one brand of pants has a 3T on it, and yet it won't fit most 2 year olds, and one brand has a 3T and it would fit Damek. But still. I almost cried. And it wasn't because we didn't have 4T clothes for him. (Thank you Sara and Drew!)

And then there's Ember.

She's 20 months, and she wears 2T. She climbs everything. Literally. Her favorite places to be are on top of the toilet watching me brush my teeth, (she thinks it's funny, for some reason--I get baby giggles every morning) or sitting in the middle of the dining room table, exploring what we've left there. She doesn't like to play, except with fake jewelry or anything that sparkles, (see above!) she just kind of explores and climbs all day.

What kind of toddler doesn't like to play? One that is way too old, in my opinion.

Oh, and here's another "too grown up" thing about Ian--he can read.

I'll give you a minute to pick your jaw back up, before it gets too dusty. Go ahead. I can wait.

. . .

It's from listening to me and the older two with our phonics program. He picked most of the verbal stuff up, too. He sounds out letters, and then sometimes puts them together. He read the word "day" yesterday. Went through the whole proces. "D says 'duh', A says 'ay', Y says ... what does Y say? 'Duh' 'ay'. Day?" *sigh*

Now, Damek is reading whole books--he read "Madeline" the other day. But he's in first grade, so that's normal. Calista is reading ... well, she's reading flower guidebooks. She's not that big on fiction books, except when they're read to her, but she'll read craft books and cookbooks and ... flower guidebooks. But third grade, yeah. Ok. But just turned 4?

Wait, wasn't I reading when I was four? I think so. But probably not this early. (Mom, if you're reading, can you comment on that? lol)

Anyway. They grow too fast. And those pictures prove it! I thought of putting them both next to a ruler and taking a pic, so you could see how big they are but that was a little too weird, even for me. So Ian is next to Damek, and Ember is on the couch with the only toy she cares to really play with.

*sigh*

I know I was a bit nostalgic when the older two were getting big, but I always knew there would be more. Now Ember is the last baby, so it's hitting me a little harder, since she's not a baby anymore. Luckily, I have many, many pictures and memories!

Thank you Lord God, for memories.

And for that guy who invented the camera.

AMEN!