All Grown Up

Ok, so they're not all grown up. I realize that.

But yesterday marked some major milestones for both of my boys. And no, one of those milestones was unfortunately NOT being 100% potty trained!

Let's start with the big guy. I had signed him up this past winter for a preschool starting this fall that meets 3 days a week for 2 hours. But, with all of the chaos that comes along with the holidays - and having a newborn - I didn't do a ton of research. So, we thought we should call a few more preschools to see what our other options are. Most are on waiting lists at this point. (side note: this whole preschool thing stresses me out! I feel as if I don't get him in the right one, he'll wind up living in a box, spending his days talking to his pet shoe, begging for money on the corner of GE & Veterans) I digress.

So, yesterday, we toured a preschool that has a small waiting list (1 kid) for the morning but that has its afternoon class open. We loved it. But, more importantly, Hayden loved it. He didn't want to leave. It's through a Lutheran church, and we just happened to come on chapel day. It was awesome to see the pastor leading the kids in prayer. Hayden sat there in the front of the class with his head bowed, repeating the words to the prayer. Troy and I just looked and each other and smiled.

Our baby is growing up.

And now for the little guy. Yesterday was his 6 month checkup, and he is proving to be a true Frerichs boy - in the 92% for height (can you say basketball scholarship?) After the exam, we started talking about development, diet, sleeping, etc.

It blows me away that Carson is now ready for baby food. We've been giving him some cereal, fruit and veggies here and there. But now, he needs to have it three times a day when we eat our meals. And, he's ready for bigger foods like bananas, bagels and biter biscuits (things to gnaw on).

What??

It just doesn't seem to possible! But here's what really gets to me. The more he eats real food, the less he nurses. I can already see a difference. He mainly nurses in the morning, maybe a little bit throughout the day and then at night before bed. I know I'm going to miss it and can (kind of) see why my mom wanted to wait so long to stop nursing. I guess my first day of kindergarten was reason enough for her to stop! (just kidding...it wasn't that bad)

I didn't have to worry about any of this with Hayden because my body took care of the nursing stoppage on its own when I went back to work.

On a purely selfish level, his decrease in nursing really stinks in that I get LESS CALORIES per day! Time to batten down the hatches.

My little baby is growing up.

All of this being said, it is amazing how quickly they grow up. But the cool thing is that I'm not bummed about it. I remember when I first had Hayden, people would constantly tell me - even random strangers - "They grow up so quickly! Before you know it, they'll be in college, getting married, etc..." I wanted to punch them! It made me sick to my stomach! I wanted him to be a baby forever!

But now I see how much fun they are the older they get. I could never look at Hayden and think, "Yes, he's fun now...but I liked him so much better at 2." Ok...there may be moments when I think that, but they are fleeting and far between :) I really feel like I'm doing my best to cherish every little moment, with a few hiccups along the way. That's all we can do, right?

Of course, it's somewhat easy for me to say this because we are planning to have another kid...or kids. When I'm done nursing our last child, or when we send our last child to kindergarten, I'm sure I will be a puddle of tears. For now, though, I'm enjoying the milestones.

But about this potty training thing...