And Now He's Grown. . .

With my little two boys, I never have this overwhelming feeling that they have left babyhood. I guess it is because I always have the older brother to compare them to, so they still seem small. But with N. I have had so many moments when I have thought "Oh no! He's grown! There's no baby left to him!" I thought that when we had his 3 year old pictures taken (I look at them now and he is DEFNITELY still a baby in those photos!) I thought it when he started preschool, when he started German school, and when he started kindergarten. But now--kindergarten is OVER!! He's GROWN! He's not a baby. He will be a regular school kid. A grade that is a number instead of a cute word like "kindergarten." Full day school (he went to full day kindergarten in Germany, but here he has been in 1/2 afternoons!) He's big! He has hair on his legs. He doesn't cry and throw a fit (very often) and he can reason his way through a lot of conversations. He is losing teeth and having sleepovers. He talks about what he will be when he grows up, and he actually puts some thought into it, instead of just saying whatever thing he is looking at in the moment! He goes into the dentist exam room without me, and he doesn't need me at all to get dressed in the mornings. Clothes, brushing teeth and hair--all of it. He can even get himself a bowl of cereal (if I would allow him to--which I won't.) So, I suppose he is grown now. I know I will have that feeling over and over and over throughout his life, but I am feeling it now and it makes me cry. Not out of sadness. I don't wish him a baby again. It's just that I always seem to have this feeling of time slipping by me without me paying enough attention or doing everything I needed to do, or something. I just want everything to be EXACTLY RIGHT for him, and I'm not always able to make that happen.

We went to a birthday party yesterday for a hid that he knew from Germany. The boy's family is here in California visiting Grandma for the summer, and they are only about 1 hour away from us. So, we went up to the party. I read a thing called "Rules for Raising an Army Brat" once. One of the things it said was "8 hours is not too far to drive for a play date. Best friends are hard to come by. Even when you are a 7 year old." I try to keep that in mind and help my kids stay in touch with their friends, because I want to keep in touch with mine. Anyway--this was only an hour away so it was no big deal. You should have seen that kid. He walked up to all the adults and introduced himself and shook their hands! Who taught him that??? I have no idea! I didn't tell him to go do it. He just did! He's just so GROWN UP!!! Then, he asked to spend the night there. I said it was Ok, and we would meet them halfway today to pick him up. About 1/2 way home I had this HORRIBLE feeling of wanting to go back and get him. He is perfectly safe and happy, but he is and hour away from me! He's fine. I resisted the urge to freak out and I'll see him later. I hope he hasn't gotten 2 feet taller or grown a moustache or something!

Here are some photos of his last day of kindergarten, and the next day's party at the beach. (Can I just tell you that I LOVE the fact that we can just go hang out at the beach whenever we get bored??? It is beyond fabulous!!)

With his best buddies, signing shirts and yearbooks. . .


With his teacher. . .


Boogie boarding at the beach. . .


The two who ARE still little. . .