In the past month, Charlie has been replaced. With a toddler. You see, just last month, she was scooting around on her knees and pointing at things and grunting. Now, she walks. She talks. She knows what she wants. It seems almost over night, she has transformed from a baby into a toddler. When she's done eating, she throws her arms in the air and yells, "All done!" As people leave the house, she casually waves and says, "Bye." She asks for her baby, her bike, her shoes, and crackers. She runs up to us and hands us random items and says, "Thank you!" She yells for Mommy. She yells for Dada. She's also very feisty. If she doesn't get her way, she gets angry. Very angry. When her sisters take toys from her, she screams and holds on for dear life. When we ask her if she wants to go to bed, she gets a disgusted look on her face and yells, "Nooooo!!!" When we ask her if she wants to brush her teeth, she toddles to the bathroom and puts the first toothbrush she can grab into her mouth. You better not lay down on the floor anywhere near her because she'll jump on you and bounce up and down.
This week, I switched the girls' clothes over. Summer out, winter in. Anything less than size 12 months got put away. No more baby clothes. No more tiny little onesies. No more socks that seem impossibly small. We also put away some old toys, ready for a rummage sale. No more play mat. No more walker. No more bouncing swing.
No more baby.
I'd be lying if I said it didn't bring a tear to my eye. I'm so excited to see what they become, how they grow, watch them learn. But, sometimes I just wish it could all stop. I want to kiss boo-boos, rock sick little babies to sleep, come home to shouts of excitement and giant bear hugs. But I also want them to go to bed without it being a huge ordeal, feed themselves without making a giant mess, and I'm ready to be done with diapers.
It is definitely bittersweet.
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