all boy

I don't cater to the whole "boy toys" or "girl games" mentality. My sons have (or will have) baby dolls. My girls play with cars and power tools. I often have one or more boys in the kitchen baking with me. SweetPea in particular loves hanging out with her daddy in the garage building things. But that doesn't mean that those "roles" never appear.

Take PorkChop.... Of all the toys that he has, his favorites are an Eric Carle lady bug that has different teethers on it and little cars. He doesn't care if they are his blue and red cars or SweetPea's purple and pink cars. He just loves cars.

Watching him lay on his tummy and stare so intently at his little movers gives me pause and reminds me that not too far from here, those little hands are going to be begging for the keys to the family car. Those sweet little fingers that right now just push his cars to and fro are going to be filling in the answers to obtain his license. It seems like just yesterday that I was holding a brand new life in my hands when in reality, its been almost five and a half months already. Even more stunning is looking at Punk and realizing that my first "baby" is going to be twelve in a few months time. Or that our oldest stepson will be getting his learner's permit come February and that Pickle is not far behind.

Some days, I just want to freeze time in a bottle and not let any of them grow up. Other days, as I listen to my children all playing together, I realize that by capturing the memories of these fleeting moments, I am freezing time. I am keeping those precious memories close to my heart and still allowing them all to grow.