my big kid

this past sunday we celebrated grant's upcoming 5th birthday with a monster truck bounce house party at valley park. yet another combo party with his 9-days-older best buddy walker, we had amazing weather (amazing for this gloomy summer, anyway) and such a good turnout. thanks to everyone who made it out! i have a bazillion photos to go through and post - someday...

i sit here and wonder...where did my baby go? minutes and hours and weeks go by and it's so easy to get caught up in the daily tasks, the classes, the dinners, the bathtimes, the bedtimes. but then i catch little glimpses of him - skillfully climbing a tree or driving a remote control truck with such concentration - and i realize: he's not my baby anymore. he is a kid. a big kid. and i want to make time stop. i want to lift him down from the tree and hug him so tightly that he stops growing.

today was one of those bittersweet moments. i peeked in on him as he was building another incredibly intricate rocket or airplane or bug out of trio blocks. he was listening to green day (naturally - he's a rocker) and as his favorite drum section came on he stopped building and started banging his head along with the music. in that moment he seemed to leave little kid behind and become a teenager. but then the song ended and one of their ballads came on and he snapped back to kid: "MOOOOOOMMMMMMM! this song is too quiet! i don't like this one! i want jay-z or black crowes!"