The Time Just Goes

It's all going so quickly.

Gemma is 9 months old now and doing things that Kyran and Karyssa weren't doing for quite a while after.

She still only has the same two bottom teeth that she's had for two months, the same ones that Kyran and Karyssa got at 9 months. I haven't seen signs of anymore and am in no hurry for her to get more!

But now she's doing things like this...

And this...

And this....

She isn't showing much interest in table food yet, but loved her first taste of spaghetti last week!

She is finally growing out of her 3/6 month clothing and I'm getting to break out the 6/9 month clothing that Karyssa wore when she was 16-20 months old!

Karyssa is planning her wedding now. It's hilarious, but I wish I had the video of Jason's face as he watched this one.

Kyran is reading and singing and getting so much better at his Mario games. He writes sentences like this at school.

I recently read an article by a famous mommy who said she can't believe how fast her 6-month-old has grown. She said she always thought that the memories would be as vivid as they are when you are looking at them each moment. But then you realize that they aren't.

I've been going back to look at blogs, videos and pictures of Kyran and Karyssa at the same age and it blows me away how much I've forgotten. Then I go back to look at newborn videos and pictures of Gemma and feel almost the same thing. I get sad when I think about how, one day, my children's childhood will be a distant memory to me.

My mom told me the other day that she feels like our childhood was a different lifetime. A different lifetime. How is that possible? How will I not remember these smiles, hugs, stories, tantrums, new skills, bedtime routines, etc. as if they are still happening. I just want to hug my children and never let go. Ever.

I am so proud of them. Each new thing they do, each new friend they make, each new food they try, each new everything makes me swell with love and pride. But, as Uncle Ronnie says, the time just goes. It's gone, and I'll never get it back.

Please God, let me slow down. Let me take everything in. Let me remember. When I'm an old lady, let me remember the feel of my children in my arms, of their kisses on my lips, of their arms wrapped around my neck. Let me remember the sound of their voices as they tell me stories or say "I love you, mommy", the looks in their eyes when they see me, the smiles on their faces when they are happy, and the tears in their eyes that sometimes I'm the reason that they're there, and sometimes I'm the only one that can make them go away. There is so much that can't be captured in pictures and video. Please just let me remember.