Why do they grow up so fast???

Why must our babies grow up so fast? Why, Oh Why, Oh Why??????

Yesterday was Lexi's first day of preschool! She loved every minute of it. She has a wonderful teacher and lots of friends in her class. She already knew about half the kids (as well as me knowing the parents) and it's a fun little class. Several of them will be on the same soccer team too. She's going to have such a fun year being a big girl!

Jeremy went into work a little late and stayed home with Kourt and Drew so that I could take Lexi to school. I walked her in to meet her teacher and classmates, all the while hanging onto her sweet little hand for dear life. Both of us were full of emotions......Lexi, undeniable excitement; Amanda, fear, anxiety, sadness, anxiousness, etc. I couldn't part with my sweet girl. I found myself wanting to sign up to be a classroom parent who would stay all day every day so that I would never have to leave her side. (Oh wait, I do have two more children waiting at home for me and a husband who needed to get to work.)

Finally, I tore myself away and headed to the car. No tears yet, just a couple of blurry eye moments.....I'm doing good. Get into the car, and let the waterworks commence. I was so sad to leave my sweet little Lexi alone at school. Three and a half hours is a long time to be away from my girl during the day. What in the world am I going to do next year? All day Kindergarten should be against the law!!! I returned home to a very sad Kourtney. She missed her sister already and wanted to go to school like a big girl too. I think she asked me 500 times if we could go get Lexi from school yet.

Later that morning, I took Kourtney to the PAT House (Parents as Teachers) for play time. We call it 'Kourtney's school' and too bad it's only once a week. That subdued the longing for our daughter and sister for a little while. We were both so happy when 11:30 rolled around and we could go pick Lexi up!!! Hooray! Lexi was beaming, and loved every minute. She was mad at me because I didn't let her ride the bus home with the other kids. I just couldn't do it yet. I still couldn't do it today either. Tomorrow I promised she could ride the bus home, so I will patiently wait at the end of our little dirt lane for the bus to bring my princess home. The only thing that finally swayed my mind was finding out that my friend Karen's mom is the bus driver. I feel safe knowing that Gaylee will take care of my baby, and that is the only reason I'm giving in on this whole bus thing. There is still no way I'm letting her ride in the morning with 6th graders. (I know, I'm an overprotective paranoid mother, but I don't care!!!) Why has my sweet baby girl grown up? I wish I could freeze time for a bit longer. I'm not ready for this!

In the mean time, Kourtney and I have been enjoying some more one-on-one time while Lexi's away. Drew takes a pretty good nap in the morning, so Kourt has been living it up with her mom all to herself. Today she ran around from one thing to the next, like she needed to cram as much as possible into our small window of time. It's been fun for me to have that time with Kourtney, and boy does she need it. As the middle child, she rarely gets me all to herself. It's been wonderful, and I'm really looking forward to more quality time with just her while Drew naps.

And, speaking of growing up too fast, Drew had quite the eventful weekend. He got his first tooth and started crawling! I know I should be excited (and part of me really is) but it's so sad at the same time. I know I've had 8 months of content immobility and toothless grins (several months longer than I had with the girls), but I still want to hang on to my baby boy and keep him from growing up a bit longer. Saturday things just finally clicked and he was on the move. He's still a bit slow, but getting faster and more coordinated each day. Then, Sunday morning he woke up very cranky (very unlike him....he is such a happy and content little guy). After some investigation, I saw a little white shiner sticking out through his red swollen gums. The second tooth should be surfacing any day now, it's right there ready to come in. Why does my baby have to grow up so fast? Can I just freeze him in time at 8 months old? Please!

Kourtney left an oreo on the floor and Drew found his way over to it. When I found him, he was a chocolate mess and giggling away.

So, for now, I am going to cherish my time with my sweet little family because they are growing up WAY TOO FAST!