I don't remember... when did they?

How many times do we parents turn around from the bustle of raising children to muse, "Where has the time gone?" I've noticed that I don't even think about my getting older, because I'm too busy watching my own children grow. Yesterday, I had one of those moments when I walked in to the bathroom and watched Bubby push himself up from the scale to tentatively stand by himself. He wobbled for a few moments before he plopped down on his bottom.

It's been just two weeks since he was sitting, or just "turtling" on his stomach with his limbs waving around his torso, trying to go somewhere. And then, suddenly he was crawling. A week later, he was cruising, and now, he's testing his solo balance. I heard him cackling in his room today. When I went to check on him, he was balancing between the rocking chair and a storage container that he had pushed up from.

One of the most impressive moments was Sunday morning when I was trying to get him dressed for church. As soon as I got him out of his nightie, he started towards the door. I said, "Stop. Come to Mommy." And he did just that, with a huge grin on his face. I was amazed! Child training (AKA Classical Conditioning) really does work! There is no feeling like your child responding joyfully to your words.

Or the feeling of seeing a child discover a new skill. It's all pure joy.