My Little Girl is Growing Up

I have recently been amazed by the transformation of my little girl. Where has the time gone? Watching her blossom into this totally independent little girl is amazing. She has always been very shy and hesitant to go anywhere without me. Saying my children are attached is an extreme understatement. The only people she would willingly stay with were my parents.

This past month all of that has seemed to change. She stays in Children’s Church by herself and participates. I used to have to sit with her (which isn’t that big of a deal as most of the mothers sit in) and she would not participate at all. These past few months she has stayed with my grandmother a handful of times while I have run errands. Prior to these past couple of months she wouldn’t stay there even if I were just going to run down the street to Walgreen’s. She now stays for hours and even asks me to take her there when she knows I am going to run errands. She attends a dance class and has seemed to easily make friends. She talks with ease and confidence to other adults. In the past she hid behind my leg. She even told me yesterday that next year when she’s a "big girl" she wants to go to school.

My husband and I went back and forth about sending her to preschool this year (she turned 3 this past July). We didn’t have strong feelings one way or the other, but wanted her to be comfortable and not be forced into something she didn’t want to do. We figured she’d be in school for most of her life so we’d let her stay home during her preschool years if she wanted. We checked out a few preschools last year, but our daughter was very adamant about not wanting to go, so we dropped it. Personally, I prefer her home with me right now, but if she wanted to attend we would have sent her.

It’s incredible to bear witness to the social development in such a short time. She has become such a little girl and no longer a "toddler". I have these in depth, multi-faceted discussions with her about a variety of topics and sometimes I just sit there in awe trying to fully wrap my head around the fact that I am having these "deep" and insighful and fully understandable discussions with a 3-year-old. My three year old.

When I held her and rocked her as an infant and wondered if she’d ever stop nursing and ever let me put her down without screaming her head off I could not envision the fulfilling and fascinating relationship I would have with her a few short years down the road. It’s beyond anything I could have dreamed or imagined. I get the biggest thrill out of her and the things she says or does. At times I am rendered speechless by her capabilities. I sometimes just look at her and can’t believe that she is mine. She is such a blessing and one that I am thankful for every single day, even on the hard days.

When I see how much has changed in such a short period of time it makes me excited for the future but also nostalgic for the past. I can’t believe she is this self-sufficient, bright, intelligent, thoughtful, and caring little girl and no longer my totally dependent baby. Seriously, where has the time gone?