From babies to big girls

It’s strange how I view the development of my two girls.

For Carolyn, I perpetually am waiting for her to get to that next step. For Penny, I’m always hoping she waits just a little longer.

Even though I’m aware of this, I’m eager for Carolyn to start talking in complete sentences. And while her inability to roll over until she was nearly six months old had me freaking out -— I told my mom I’d probably have to go with Carolyn to college to roll her over at night — I was just a little sad yesterday when Penelope both rolled over and sat up for an extended period for the first time.

Well, that’s what happens, I guess. They grow up.

They grow up, start rolling over, crawling, walking, talking, running, talking back, running away and dating good-for-nothing hooligans who smoke dope and skip school. And it’s all over. No more babies for me.

A women told me once: “You can’t wait for them to start walking and talking. When they’re 3, you can’t get them to sit down and shut up.”

How true that turned out to be. And even so, I encourage Carolyn’s counting. I think about preschool and how mandatory it’s become to raising children today and wonder how in the world we’ll be able to afford it. I find myself debating between getting a family membership at the pool and getting Carolyn swimming lessons.

And finally, I dream of a day when I’ll be able to trust a babysitter.

How blue this makes me. And even I push my CareBear out of her nest, I cringe a little when I think about how she’s taken to calling me mom, as in “Hey mom.”

That’s right. Toddler to teenager. Thank God Penny still is only rolling over in one direction.