Growing up

I don't know much, but this I do know: Time marches on, and kids grow up.

Last week Garry and I took the kids to Target to spend gift cards they got for Christmas.  They had a great time choosing the perfect things.  Zach also had some birthday money to spend (he'd been saving it for a trampoline), and after briefly perusing the toy aisles, he gravitated towards the clothing section.  Since the other kids were getting pretty wily at this point, I offered to take Zach on a special shopping trip just for clothes.  He readily agreed to this plan.

I was not emotionally prepared for this shopping trip, a fact I did not appreciate until we were standing in the men's department at Kohl's.  For the first time ever, Zach was footing the bill, and he had definite opinions about what he wanted to buy.  I was just the chauffeur for his expedition.  I quickly learned that my opinion doesn't count anymore, and being silent is the best course of action.  (Because if I like it, then he won't.)  Zach still had to abide by the household rules (no skulls, no blood, nothing violent or offensive, etc.), but he still didn't really choose things I would have chosen.  Despite his desperate need for pants, he refused to buy pants.  And so on and so forth.

That's not to say that Zach was unpleasant.  Quite the contrary!  He was a lively and talkative shopping companion.  Our relationship is just shifting, and while I am pleased with the young man Zach is becoming, his desire to grow up outpaces my desire to let go.

Gavin is making great strides of his own.  He has been showing an interest in reading, and yet he doesn't enjoy formal reading lessons like I gave his older brothers.  I decided to check out a series of books from the library to see if those might capture his interest, and they did!  While sitting on the couch in the children's section of the library, Gavin read a book all by himself for the very first time.  It melted my little mama heart.  Another reader is born.

 
Miss Kate is growing like a weed--a smooshy, chunky weed.  Oh, how I love her rolls!  (I'm also loving the freedom of formula feeding, but that's another story!)  Kate is starting to move, too.  She arches her back and cranes her neck and shifts her hips...certainly the precursors to rolling.  She's showing more interest in toys, chews on her fists all the time, and gives the most heart-warming dimpled grins you ever did see.

Kate is also quite the vocal performer.  She is loud!!  We play fun "talking" games with her, and even though most of her "words" sound the same, she is clearly trying to communicate.  We love it.  And we'd better, because in two or three blinks Kate will be the one with opinions about her clothes.

I'm quite certain I'm not ready for THAT.