Growing up...

Every once in a while I get a big ol' slap on the head and realize that there is a real, live, miniature human being walking around my house. I hope you're not laughing (or that you are) at that statement, because it is soooo true. That big ol' slap often happens when I'm in the kitchen and Little Man is playing. I'm usually engrossed in trying to make something for dinner, and I look up to see only the tip top of his blondish, curly head moving over the counter top as he walks around. He, too, is usually engrossed in some type of play, and to see him so intent makes me realize that he is a Real Little Person. Not a baby, or a toddler, but a person! That big ol' slap also happens when Little Man does or says something really cute, and I think, "where did he get that from? I never did/thought/showed him that!" Then I realize, he's not me, he's, well, him. I seem to have this thought more and more as Little Man gets older and more independent. And by independent, I mean INDEPENDENT! Not only are, "no, I do it," or, "no, Mommy, like this," recurring phrases in our house, but Little Man is able to do so many things on his own now. As his sweet little personality continues to develop and shine, I realize more and more that he's not just my child, he's his own little self. Let me tell you, it's a jolt, every time. It's just a bit surreal to be having long, very intelligent (and intelligible) conversations with the child I gave birth to a few short years ago. It's an experience that I treasure, though. I absolutely love watching my first-born baby grow into a person. He's not my little baby anymore, but truly growing into a little man.