Growing up

Our To Do list this weekend had one very important task on it - get Nathan a new pair of shoes. We drove out to the Stride Rite outlet and ended up with an adorable pair of navy and orange sneakers. As cute as they are, I couldn't help but feel a little sad when we tried them on. What happened to my baby who used to roll around on the floor in onesies and socks? Who is this boy, wearing jeans and sneakers??

At almost a year and a half, I find myself referring to Nathan as my "toddler" more and more often. But deep inside, I miss my baby. I miss the toothless smiles. And the bonding time we shared when I nursed and bottle fed him all his meals. I miss having a sleeping baby lying across my chest. And anytime I see a mom walking down the street with a tiny baby, feet dangling, in a carrier, I am overcome with nostalgia.

Of course, now that he's a toddler, he's SO much more fun and interactive. We knock down towers of blocks and he laughs and yells "Oh no!!!". We sing songs and read books together. He can tell me what he wants, (in a language probably only Will and I understand but that's good enough for now).

But I do miss having a tiny little baby. Before we left the outlets I stopped in at Carter's and found an adorable cardigan on their clearance rack. The size was 24 months.... the last Baby size before entering the Toddler sizes. It's grey with brown edging and a sweet little brown bear at the chest. I scooped it up knowing it might be one of the last "baby" items of clothes I'll buy for him. You can only pull off a teddy bear sweater for so long...