Change

Rosie went on a pony ride at the fair last week. Buddy is talking up a storm.

This is my fourth September as a stay at home mom, and it is the best and easiest yet.

2010: 2 week old Rosie and me. 2011: 1 year old Rosie and 4 months pregnant me. 2012: 2 year old Rosie, 8 month old Buddy. 2013: 3 year old Rosie, almost 20 month old Buddy.

Stop right there.

Both of my kids are toddlers now? When did that happen?

I go through the day to day routine. I change the diapers, fix breakfast, lunch and dinner, wipe boogery noses, read books, sing B-I-N-G-O one more time. And somewhere, sometime during all of that, my kids grew. Right beneath my own (hopefully not too boogery) nose.

The time, which day to day can drag at times, is slipping like sand through my fingers.

I realized when I saw a Babies 'R' Us flier- hey, we haven't shopped there in almost a year...

I realized when we gave all of our baby boy clothes to Steve's sister and all of our baby girl clothes to a good friend- hey, we're done with the baby stage. We don't need these things anymore...

Bittersweet? Yes. Empowering? Yes.

We went to a family reunion a few weekends ago, and Rosie spent the whole time running around with her cousin, who is a year older. They had a blast. There was no need for me. I was pretty much in disbelief, as I retreated to the picnic table, a drink in hand. I asked myself: "Is life starting to get a little easier?"

The answer is: Yes. Rosie, my little sidekick, is more independent than she's ever been and doesn't need me by her every step of the way anymore. Buddy, my little adventurer, is still quite content to go off and discover, and bring back to me what he finds.

It took a while, but the two of them now run around the house like crazy together, laughing and giggling. "They will be each other's best friend" everyone told me, when I got pregnant so soon after Rosie. It's true- they are. It's the sweetest thing I've ever seen, the way they love each other.

Things are changing. And while it makes me a little nostalgic at times, mostly it excites me to keep going forward and seeing how life with these two little ones unfolds.