“The days are long, but the years are short.”

As a mother of 2 teenagers, a pre-teen, and an elementary school aged child, I can tell you that Gretchen Rubin quote is absolutely true.

When you are in the thick of changing diapers and waking up every hour to console someone, you start to feel like your child will never grow up. But then you blink and they’re in kindergarten. Then in the next moment you are driving them to the DMV to get their permit to drive.

*Sigh* I miss my babies’ baby days.

Since I can’t slow down time, I will just share pictures of their cutie pie baby faces.

 

This is Willy, the oldest. In this picture he is 3 years old. I sure do miss that gap tooth grin. Fortunately for him, gaps in baby teeth lead to almost perfect grown up teeth.

When he was 3, Willy loved cars, building, cartoons and playing with his brother.

Now Willy is a freshman in high school. He is my thinker. He likes school, reading books about mythical gods (his favorite author is Rick Riordan) and playing on his computer or Xbox.

This is Mike, the middle son. In this picture he is about 2 years old (sorry for the bad picture quality, but it’s a picture of a picture.) Oh how I miss that cute baby belly.

When he was 2, Mike loved to play with Willy. They never had the knock down, drag out fights that people warned me about when I was pregnant with Mike. They were a team.

Now Mike is in 8th grade. He is all teenager. He is all about being cool and having good friends. At home he usually has his headphones on and is listening to music, playing online games, or both.

This is  Jacob, the youngest son. In this picture he is 4 years old. Yes, he really is that silly.

When he was younger, Jacob loved to sit behind me or his Grammy on the couch, suck his thumb, and twirl our hair until it was in knots. He loved his older brothers, but preferred the company of adults.

Now Jacob is in 5th grade. He still likes to hang out with the adults. He loves to tell stories, read, and collect Pokemon cards. He also gets up early to snuggle with mom for a few minutes before breakfast.

This is Amelia. She is the very youngest and the only girl. Talk about lucky!!

When she was 3, Amelia loved snuggling baby dolls, nursing whenever she got tired, playing with her best friend, going to gymnastics, and playing outside.

Now Amelia is in kindergarten. She is all about drawing, planning sleepovers, and creating art to give her friends at school. She still loves playing outside and asks to stay late at school every day to swing on the swings or build trenches or castles under the playground.

Those are my “babies”. I can still usually coax a hug and an “I love you” out of the older two at bedtime, but most of my snuggles come from the younger ones and Lord Awesome Pants (he’s a cuddly guy). I try not to embarrass any my kids with public displays of affection, but it’s harder than it looks, because they will always be my babies.