Where Does The Time Go?

It's been a busy month! Of course, things always seem to go by faster when you have birthdays, family gatherings and the like, and we've had a bunch of those!

Harrison turned twelve and was ordained a deacon. While this makes me happy, it also makes me feel old. :) It reminded me that my oldest brother was twelve when the youngest brother in my family was born, which then reminded me that my mom had had seven kids in the same time that I will have had four. Crazy!

There have been many times during this pregnancy where I wonder how I will be able to handle having two kids so close together in age. I've never had to do it before. Then of course I just think, well, you just will. If other people can do it, you can too. :)

It makes me wonder how Jeffrey will handle having a baby in the family. Some people have told me that when they are close in age it is easier for them not to be jealous, but then, I've heard the opposite is true too. I'm guessing it's a lot like everything else in parenting. Every child is different and has their challenges and gifts. Some kids are amazingly easy to potty train, others aren't. (I've only experienced the "aren't" so far, maybe Jeffrey will be different?) So, it will be interesting to see what happens.

Jeffrey is getting so close to walking. He walks farther by himself every day! It's kind of exciting to watch. He is a busy little thinker, always exploring, climbing, and getting into things. I must admit that I am a much more mellow parent now than I was when Harrison was this same age. The kids will get concerned that Jeffrey's doing something like taking pans out of the cupboard, and I just tell them, "It's okay, he's just learning!" I don't think I did that when Harrison was little.

The funniest thing happened though. A lady in our neighborhood stopped and talked to me at church and told me she couldn't believe Harrison had turned twelve already. She was trying to figure out what six year old kids were into these days and was talking to her husband, trying to brainstorm who in the area had kids that age and then asked her husband, "What about Harrison?" He told her that Harrison was turning twelve. It did make me laugh, but I totally understand! I see people that have moved out of the area and their kids and can't believe how big their kids have gotten in what seems like such a short amount of time.