Growing Children

I had the very discouraging realization that my kids are growing up. Seriously; look at them. Maddie is always spewing out random facts from library books that we read together and saying things like, "That's peculiar."  She starts preschool next week and is actually excited about it. Where did my shy, nervous, little baby go? She's learning to write words on her own. So far she knows: Maddie, Mom, Dad, Yes, No and AFV (America's Funniest Videos). I'm not sure why that last one stuck with her. She's almost mastered the word "Geico" from us dropping Casey off at work in the mornings. She's FINALLY wanting to run around and play sports which makes her dad very happy. Every day she wants to go in the backyard and play soccer; which I would normally encourage, except the fact that she wants me to join her! I'm sorry but running around outside at 1 pm is not enjoyable.
Then there's William; our little Bubz. He finally starting crawling sometime between 9 and 10 months. He loves to get into everything. We realize now how easy Maddie was as a baby; so cautious and calm. William is not. His favorite is pointing and grunting when he's excited. We turned him forward facing in the car and now he can see the tv and is grunting all the time at it. He randomly points at strangers as they walk by which usually results in a smile from them; that's nice. He likes to push the computer chair around and walk with it. Sometimes he'll clap, but it's not as entertaining as pointing for him. Casey and I have the habit of enjoying ice cream most every night, and William has learned that that tub we carry to the couch means delicious goodness and he comes crawling full speed.  Next month he turns one; I can't believe it. Our kids are growing and there's nothing I can do but enjoy them each day. I'll quote this book I just finished reading, "The days are long, but the years are short." So very true.