Keeping Time

Every once in a while it occurs to me to look back at pictures from one year ago and just marvel at how much Annie has grown and changed.  I don't do this quite as much as I used to (who has time with a toddler to chase around the house?), but it always amazes me when I look back at how much has changed over the last year.  With all the pictures I've seen on Facebook the last couple of days of my friends' children going to their first day of Kindergarten or First Grade or middle school (eek!) or (gulp) high school (double eek!), I have been inspired yet again to look back at where we were a year ago.  Because I know I will be a picture poster myself before I know it.  And I know there will come a point when I don't do this any more...I mean, I seriously doubt my mom thinks, "Oh, I wonder what Sarah was doing this time last year." and pulls out a picture.  But for now, looking back serves as a constant reminder of how fast time moves, how quickly my little girl is changing, how impossible it is to stop time from moving at such a frenzied pace, and how much I should treasure the now...because it will be "this time last year" before I know it.

So in the spirit of looking back, here are a couple of pictures of our sweet girl back in early August 2011...

August 8, 2011 - Napping on Mommy.

August 10, 2011 - Celebrating her 6 week birthday with a fist pump.

I remember telling myself in those moments when I felt the weight of Annie on my chest, sleeping so peacefully, albeit relatively briefly, that I needed to pack up that feeling and put it in a special part of my brain because there would be a time when I would wish I could have it back.  Well, that time has definitely come.  But what I didn't think about back then was how many other great feelings I would pack away daily for a future time.  The feeling of Annie's hand in mine as she walks down the sidewalk, choosing her steps carefully but increasingly confidently.  The feeling of her body leaned back against me after she crawls into my lap and settles in.  The feeling of her little arms wrapped around my shoulders when I pick her up and ask her to "give Mommy a hug."  My mental storage room gets a new box of good feelings almost every day.

So while I catch myself getting nostalgic for the days of August 2011 (funny how you forget the hard parts after a while), I spend much more time reminding myself to relish the moments of August 2012 and this little sassy pants that tiny baby has become...

Blocks are immensely popular in the Noble house right now.

It's harder and harder to get a clear picture these days, because she is always on the go.

I know this is sort of a recurring theme on this blog - this whole Annie-is-growing-up-and-I-can't-believe-it thing.  And some of you may be wondering what exactly I thought would happen as she got older.  But it's not that I didn't know she would grow up...it's that I didn't know it would happen before I could turn around twice.