Time flies when you have kids

When you first have kids everyone tells you, "before you know it they will be walking," or "you're gonna blink and they'll be teenagers!" You smile and nod and think how you actually wish time was flying by faster so that your baby would be older, and sleeping through the night, and possibly giving you a break from the crazy. At that moment you feel like the clock is in slow motion as your baby is taking forever to finish the bottle, or your kid is sitting on the potty for 30 minutes but refusing to do her business outside of her diaper. And damn do you wish you had a time machine when it is the "witching hour" on a day when no one napped, and no one likes what you made for dinner, and your husbands train is delayed...and you are out of wine.

But then you do blink, and (if you are me) that baby who took so long to sleep through the night will be one year old in 2 weeks and about to take her first step. And that child who never wanted to use the potty has been out of diapers for almost a year, and will be going to school 5 days a week in a few
weeks, and wearing size 6 clothing! Holy shit, where has the time gone?!

They say time flies when you are having fun, and while being a parent isn't all fun and games (I would say about 50% is and the other 50% is blood, sweat, tears and poop), from the moment you become a parent you feel like your life is in fast forward. When you are pregnant it is like your life is in slow motion, but as soon as that baby comes out someone hits a button and life speeds by. I wish I could grab hold of my life remote and just press pause for a second, because I absolutely love my daughters at their current ages.

M will be 4 in December. FOUR! Over the summer she has blossomed into this amazing little lady. She wants to do everything for herself, and is constantly asking if I need help. She actually asked to do laundry the other day. WHAT? I gave her a hamper full of clothes and she put everything in the washing machine, added the soap I gave her in the little cup, turned the dial to the picture of the shirt, and then pressed the triangle button (her favorite step). She just asked me if I wanted her to do the dishes that are in the sink? I don't know what has come over her, but I love it.

Val will be a year in just a few short weeks. I seriously feel like it was just yesterday that my water broke. I still remember every second of being in the hospital, my epidurals not working, and finally meeting my little smushy faced, brown-eyed beauty. And here we are a year later and she will be taking her first step any day now. I can't get enough of her at this age though - she is so affectionate and happy and easygoing. She spends most of her day laughing and crawling towards things where she can pull herself up (be it the ottoman, toy storage, my legs or the dogs body, which is her current favorite) and once she is standing she just flashes that 4-toothed smile
and giggles that giggle which makes my heart melt.

Before I know it my babies will be teenagers, and while I really don't want them to get older than they are now, I seriously can't wait to see where their lives take them. If the way they act now is any indication of how their lives will turn out, in 25 years M will be accepting the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal as Rapunzel in the life action version of the fairy tale, and Val will be preparing for the upcoming US Open and hoping for her third straight win (this actually has nothing to do with the way Val acts now, I just know she will be the athlete of our family, and with the junk in the trunk she has now I picture her having the body of Serena Williams...and maybe her money too.)