Bittersweet

I can't believe that I am even writing this, after all we have only been home with Molly for four months....but wow, watching her grow up is so bittersweet.

I get so excited for Molly whenever she does something new. She looks up at me with wide eyes and I can see how proud she is of herself. It is an exhilarating feeling knowing that your child is going out and conquering all of the new things in her world.

It also reminds me of how lightning fast her babyhood is moving. When we first got her, she wasn't walking, talking or eating solid food. She was truly still a baby. Today she is running, babbling and chatting up a storm, and eating us out of house and home. She understands what we tell her and is able to communicate most of her needs. Not really a baby anymore. Everyday she grows up a little more.

Yesterday Molly and I met our friends at the petri dish, er...playground inside the mall. Last time we were there, she was clueless about the tree house slide. She wouldn't climb the stairs, didn't even know how to find the slide, and when I finally directed her to it I had to physically position her body and slide her down.

Not this time. While my back was turned, Molly ascended the treehouse stairs, found the slide, and positioned herself for the decent. I turned around just in time to see her giddy expression and she flew down the slide and hit the floor. I broke out in a big grin as well, but when I looked over at my friend and told her that this was a first for Molly, I almost got teary-eyed.

Holy cow, if this is going to happen every time my baby learns something new, I better stock up on Kleenex. With each new milestone I'll be shedding tears of joy for her and tears of sadness that it is all moving way too fast.

Life really should come with a remote control so that you can fast forward through the hard parts and hit the slow motion button for all of the good stuff.