Daycare

It's official, we've entered the clingy, shy stage with C this week.

Every morning when I've gone to drop him off, he's practically glued himself to me once we hit his classroom. Normally, he runs in as if he can't get to the toys fast enough. Yesterday as I was giving him a hug goodbye, he practically climbed me like a tree as I tried to pass him off to one of his room's teachers.

Don't get me wrong, I love the extra snuggles that the (normally) daddy's boy is giving me, but it makes it that much harder to leave him when his big hazel eyes fill with tears and he lets out a heart-rending wail as I walk away.

At least he's not the only one going through this right now. His "buddy" Lucas seems to be in the same phase. Lucas' mom, Lisa, and I frequently exchange knowing glances in the morning as our boys seem fine only to wind up to meltdown mode as we try to leave the room.

On the plus side, I definitely don't mind when he runs to me at pick up time. That? That is easily the best part of my day.

Pine Grove

When you have a little one that you see on the daily it can be hard to realize how much they have truly grown. Yes, Ricky and I find ourselves saying almost everyday how big C is getting, but last night I had one of those thunderbolt moments.

The weather has been gorgeous lately, and C (as per most little boys) loves spending as much time outside as possible. Our backyard is slightly limited - especially since Ricky had just watered the sodded areas and gardens - so C and I decided to head up to the neighborhood playground.

Normally when we head that way we do so with C riding in the Radio Flyer. Last night we hoofed it instead. Hand-in-hand C and I headed off. It was kind of slow going (he has short legs still), but he made it the whole way.

Let that sink in. My 18-month-old was able to walk about a half-mile, mostly uphill on his own.

My favorite shadow buddy.

We stopped a couple times so I could ask if he wanted to keep going or head back home, and he legit got upset the one time I tried turning around before we reached our final destination. Safe to say my child is strong-willed (at least he comes by it naturally).

Granted he was wiped after going down the slides twice and I had to carry him the whole way home. Worth it. I got baby snuggles, and we made it home much quicker than we made it to the park.

It's amazing how big he's gotten.

The day we went home from the hospital. Pre-buckling up or even getting near a car.

The days are long, but the years are short. No freaking joke.