My Baby Big Girl - How Time Flies!!

I have come to the sad realization that my baby isn’t a baby anymore. She is a little girl. As sad as I am to see her baby-ness slowly fade away, I absolutely love each new thing she does! The hardest thing for me is that my family never saw or knew my “baby.” They will know Julia, but they will know the little girl that I love.

Don’t get me wrong…I am NOT rushing away the baby!! I am clinging to everything “baby” that I can! I look back, as I am sure most moms do, and I kick myself for not documenting her life and little achievements better. It feels so sad that that time is gone and I can’t get it back!

This time last year, I carried her everywhere! How did I end up with this little girl who walks everywhere on her own?!

This time last year, I was cutting soft foods into tiny pieces and being very careful about what I was giving her to eat. Now, she chomps away on big people food and I cook the same meal for both of us.

This time last year, I never left the house without a change of clothes, a bottle, extra diapers and a bib. Right now, I have a pair of big girl panties, a few picture books, some fruit snacks, and Little Girl’s sunglasses in my bag!

I soooooo wish I had done a better job of keeping up with Julia’s baby book. (And please tell me I am not the only mom who feels that way!!!) In all honestly, I was afraid to do too much “mommy” stuff early on, too unsure of the future. By the time reality set in and I had a peace and confidence in what God was allowing to happen and felt the freedom to delve into full mommy-hood, I was already behind on all that cutsie mom stuff I had wanted to do. And once I am behind, it is so hard not to get overwhelmed. Rather than just starting where I was and going from that point, I kept wanting to go back and start from the beginning. Mistake. It snowballs.

So, while I work on going back and completing her baby book, I am also forcing myself to do better to document the “here and now.” This is a time I don’t want to forget! There is still so much uncertainty and so many questions about our future and when we will ever make it back to the States. I want my family to know her now. Not just see pictures, but really know her.

But most of all, I want to remember this time I have with my little girl. I don’t want to look back at another year and not remember the “little things.” And she is SO funny and says so many adorable things, I have to find a better way of remembering them! She shocks me with her advanced conversational skills and thought processes. I absolutely love watching her grow and develop into such a bright little girl.

So, Sundays is going to be my “Mommy time” day on the blog. The rest of the week will be focused on the rest of life and ministry here in Kenya. And Sundays is our least-read read, so I am pretty sure it is just Kris and my mom who read on the weekends, anyway! Ha! :-) Of course, you may see Julia occasionally thrown in there throughout the week sometimes, but Sundays are going to be my time to share our life with our family and to tell Julia how much I love her and treasure the blessing of being her mommy….for such a time as THIS.