???!!!Loose Teeth???!!!

I was helping Ava floss her teeth tonight and discovered that she has two loose teeth!  One is on the bottom and the other is one of the big front teeth!  I couldn't believe it until I started to realize that in less than 4 mos, she will be 5 years old!  What?  My baby will be 5 years old?  What happened to the time!?  Can life slow down just a little?  I've been lamenting lately over the fact that Ava is starting to read.   While half of me is celebrating her growth and accomplishments, the other half of me is grieving that I don't have little kids anymore.  My favorite thing to do is go to the library and pick out a big pile of books and snuggle under a blanket reading with my kids.  Who will I read to when Ava's reading on her own!?  Sigh. Tonight Aiden reminded me that Ava will be at Club K with him next year.  Huh?  I'm putting her on a bus?  She's going to the big kid school!?  Right...she's almost 5.  Age 5 seems like such a milestone.
Then there's Aiden.  I had to buy him new shoes this past weekend, and he officially has the same size shoes as me!  He's 8 years old!  Instead of talking with him about superheroes, we're having real discussions about life.  I'm finding myself digging into my childhood experiences to give him examples of times I had to work harder at something or times when I was teased or a time when a friend wasn't always kind.  He's a sensitive kid and ultra inquisitive about things.  He knows plenty more about space and the solar system and planets etc... than I do.  One of my favorite things is seeing him protect and celebrate his sister.  He was so excited for her that she had two loose teeth.  He was explaining the tooth fairy to her and the logistics of eventually getting the tooth out (like when mom yanked one out on the airplane once!).  Then he looked at me (with the look I give him) and said, "Mom, you and dad are the tooth fairy, aren't you!"  He wouldn't let up!  He kept giving me the look and wanted me to say HONEST (sacred word in our household!).  Brien will be the first to tell you that I'm officially the worlds worst liar!  I didn't have Brien there to cover for me in this case as he was traveling.  Sigh.  I think I need to tell him before he ruins it for Ava, but that makes me sad, too. 



Baby Ava




Baby Aiden

 While I grieve the end of the babies and little kids, there is still the half of me that is cheerleading on the sidelines as my kids accomplish new things daily!  I SO enjoy each age and all it brings.  They're growing up, and it turns out, that's what's supposed to happen!  It's our job to grow them!  Most of all, I am just so thankful every single day that I have the opportunity to share in these two amazing lives that Brien and I have created.  We could not be more fortunate.