Possible?

Is it possible there are really sixty minutes in an hour? Twenty-four hours in a day? Seven days in a week? Four weeks in a month? I know it's true, even though I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to mathmematics, but what I can't figure out is how time has a way of passing so quickly. Can it really be August already? Are the long, lazy days of summer really nearing their end? Was my last post really back in early May? Where has the time gone? "The blink of an eye"... so very true. How has it gone so quickly? And even though I've had so many moments this summer that have come and gone but not before leaving a lingering impression on my heart, I've neglected to sit down and record them for the girls to read and remember when they are older. I've got a lot of catching up to do but I have to pause and wrap my brain around the fact that it is all going by so quickly. Why does it feel like each year goes by faster and faster? Does Mom know how old I am, or is she like me and still picture her babies as little ones that need a band-aid and a kiss for their scraped knees and elbows. I've been here everyday and celebrated each milestone the girls have met and mastered, yet part of me still feels like I need to swaddle them tonight when I put them to sleep and make sure a paci is handy for any late night pause in their slumbering. Is it possible they are really three and two years old?

I'm pretty sure the song, "These are the Days," by 10,000 Maniacs has been playing in my head all summer long as I have had so many moments that I just wanted to freeze and live in for years to come. If only there was a way to truly bottle up those moments so you could easily feel the same elation and sheer gratitude of those precious moments, save those memories so you can drink them in later when life gets tough or you wake up one day to grown babies with babies of their own wondering how it can be true. I guess I'm just feeling nostalgic as I come to the end of another summer and the acceptance that my girls are growing bigger with each new day. My grandparents celebrated their 80th birthdays this past year and I've had several conversations with Gram about how amazing it must be to have a front row seat to watch your babies grow up, have babies of their own and then see those babies in turn have babies. Such a gift... but a hard realization that it all goes by so very quickly... too quickly! The truth is my sweet babies aren't babies anymore and my heart sure hasn't been able to keep up with their pace. It seems like yesterday that I held them in my arms for the very first time and promised them a lifetime of love, protection, adoration, and any and everything else their heart desired. I would find a way to get the moon if that is what they wanted. Now I just want to wrap them up in their lovies and hold them in my arms for the rest of my life.

Just the other day someone asked Emily how old she was and she eagerly told them "TWO" while showing them all five little fingers on her hand. I tried to tell her not to be in such a hurry to grow so fast as I helped her fold down the three extra fingers so her little hand would match her verbal response. I always ask my girls if they are my baby, to which I always get an emphatic, "NO, I'm not a BABY, I'm a GIRL!" My response is always the same, "Yes, you are now a big girl, but you will ALWAYS be my baby, even when you are grown and have babies of your own." I'm not so sure they get it.. just like I'm not so sure I will ever accept that they aren't my babies anymore.

Lila will be four years old next month and has all but left her "baby" days behind her. Little did I know just how fast it would go! She is so independent these days. The conversations we have just amaze me. How does she know so much stuff?!? She has very good reasoning skills, especially when she wants something, she pleads her case so convincingly that I wouldn't be a bit surprised if she persues a career in law one day. I love to sit and watch her problem solving skills too... Just this afternoon she was trying to explain to Emily that the water hose wouldn't reach the kiddie pool if it looped around the tree and the picnic table. Emily didn't understand, so Lila promptly showed her and then explained that she was bigger so she knew more things... I pretended to keep reading my book as I watched her put her hand on her little sister's shoulder and tell her, "It's okay Enemy, ask Mom, she'll tell you." Smiles always follow Lila... she just can't help but keep us all chuckling. I can describe her with one simple word... JOY! So much of my heart is wrapped up in her. My sweet, happy, cheerful Lila.

And my Emily... wow. She entered this world as a teeny tiny three pound wonder and hasn't stopped impressing me since. All of a sudden I've noticed how much she has changed. She seems so much taller to me. She is silly in a nutshell. Such a Daddy's girl... she greets me each morning with an enthusiastic, "Hi. Mom. I waked up! Daddy workin'?" She answers almost everything with a, "yep-ee" and constantly tells me, "Watch. Mom. Mom. Watch." as she goes about tasks and play around the house. She is fearless for adventure but scares easily. She can't stand to watch her Daddy throw her big sister in the air and flip her around before catching her again. She always wants in on the fun. Lila loves it and squeals with delight. Emily insists that Daddy flip her too even though it's obvious with the first swing that she's scared and doesn't like it. Lila will ask her Daddy to do it again and again until he wears out, but not Emily. Everyday she musters enough nerve to ask for a turn but quickly realizes it's not as much fun to her as it is for her sister. She must convince herself that each time will be more fun, but after one flip she is done. Her reply when Daddy asks her if she wants to go again is always a very strong, "NO"... that is until the next day when she hopes this next flip will be the fun one! She is very loving and responds to each hurt feeling or ouchie she inflicts with a kiss, which is her top lip tucked in and bottom lip puckered out... she always has had her own way of doing things! She just had her yearly evaluation with ECI and didn't get to exit the program as we had hoped but she is still as smart and fiesty as always. I've never seen so much spunk in such a little girl!

So, it's been a very busy summer. I have a lot to catch up on and tons of pictures to post, but for now I am just giving my heart a chance to catch up and accept that time just keeps marching on... ready or not, here it comes! Slow down girls... don't be in such a hurry to grow... your mama misses you already.