Bye Bye Baby

On Friday, we grew up.

Ok, maybe not completely.  Josh and I are pretty immature sometimes, I'm not sure we'll ever really grow up all the way (growing old: required, growing up: optional).  But this weekend our family grew up a bit.  We got rid of the crib which has been happily settled in our home for over eleven years.  It has been a necessary feature but now that Ellie is sleeping on a normal bed (sometimes, when she doesn't sleep on the floor or the night stand) we have no need for this well loved, old baby bed.

It was a semi-nostalgic moment for me.  Josh took the thing apart and the kids helped haul it outside.  We bought it when we were pregnant with Bryce so it is now considered a death trap because it has drop sides and all that.  None of our kidlets was ever maimed during the use of this crib, but we threw it away anyhow.  This is the end of an era for our family, just another sign that we are growing up.  Sometimes I wake up in the morning and think, "How did all of this happen?  I'm not old enough to have a house or be the mother of six."  Sometimes it feels like I am too little to be the mom or to have to be responsible for things like bills and yard work and laundry and nutrition. 

But then I have moments that remind me how much our family has grown since it's inception nearly twelve years ago and I can't help but smile because we've come a long way, baby.  We've got a long way to go, but hopefully it will continue to be a fabulous journey.

Also on Friday, PJ must have had a rough day at school because when he got home he fell asleep.  First while sitting at the kitchen table.  Then laying on the living room couch with his backpack still on.  That is a bit out of character.  It made me chuckle just a bit (and pull out the camera for some fabulous candid shots).Then the younger kids were jealous that I was taking Parker's picture and not theirs, so we took their picture too (they are easily pleased...but so am I so they come by it honestly).

Life is good.  It has been a week full of craziness, but that's just the way things are here.  It can be a madhouse, but the smiles out number the tears so I guess we are doing something right after all.