Growing up

People of all stripes have been saying this since we were first expecting Mateo, but it is true - they really do grow up so fast!  It seems that all three of our kids are growing at once.  They are eating like crazy, one of them is cranky and defiant as can be, and their little clothes are looking, well, littler.  Mateo grew out of his new school shoes in less than four months.  And, even harder to believe:  Rosie is closing in on turning two.  I am the first to admit that I wonder on a daily basis if I will make it through her toddlerhood with my sanity intact, but then I look back and it has already been almost two years?  Impossible. 

Especially now that it seems that we are done (done! done! done!) with diapers, it feels as if we are turning some kind of corner.  Of course, with all the excitement that comes with coming to the end of babyhood for the last time, there is also plenty of nostalgia.  We have some good friends who have some good friends who just had a baby this past weekend, and it caused me to remember the times right after all three of our kids were born.  It's hard to appreciate at the time, because all the magic and euphoria is mixed right in with exhaustion and being overwhelmed, but it is a very special time that you don't get back and you don't get to do again.  I am sure that I am well on the way to becoming one of those people that go up to new parents in the grocery store and implore them to "ENJOY THIS TIME!" even as they are about to collapse from sleep deprivation :)

Anyway, I am trying to remind myself to enjoy this time right now.  One of the things that helps me do that is this video.  It's of Rosie on Christmas Eve, just after she received her Christmas gift from her great-grandmother.  This may have been the best moment of her life and I am not even joking.  You have never seen a more excited 21-month-old.  She just absolutely went wild.  Best gift ever!  The shrieking you hear on the video is just a small part of the celebration she staged over this horse.  She even insisted on opening her stocking while sitting on it the next morning.  I hope you enjoy this as much as I have!