Here they grow again

As anyone who has had kids can attest, they are constantly growing and changing, sometimes in what seems like the blink of a eye.

I have a mat at Elijah's place at the table that helps keep the table clean. I have a glass covered table and the mat keeps food from getting under the glass. You can see the blue mat in this picture.

A few nights ago at dinner, I noticed that Elijah had moved his plate off of the mat and onto the table close to my place. I didn't say anything, but waited to watch the next night, when the same thing happened.

He's decided that he doesn't need the mat anymore. Why? Because he's noticed that no one else eats with a mat. (Notice I didn't say that they didn't need one, just that they didn't have one. Big difference!  A few of us could certainly use a mat like Elijah's)

Abbey loves to draw and paint on her easel. I happened to look at it the other day and saw something that amazed me.

Unprompted by anyone, she had written her name and Elijah's, and drawn a picture of them together. The "j" in "Elijah" is backwards, but it still is pretty cool. She has just picked up on writing his name all by herself.

Of course, I called her in and made a big deal of her accomplishment.

Proud Mom that I am, I am thankful for the signs that they are developing normally. But, part of me wants to turn my head and pretend not to see the obvious.... that they are growing up ever so fast.