My Little Man

Last night, we stumbled upon some old video footage of our son Daniel. We adopted Daniel from Russia in May 2004. This particular video was shot sometime that Fall. With our very verbal and animated almost 4-year old sitting in our lap, we watched a much younger baby on the screen doing his best to sing the words to "You Raise Me Up"--his favorite song. His little pudgy legs barely extending past the edge of his car seat, we stood amazed at just how far he has come in a short period of time. The baby-ish tone of his little voice was so sweet as he uttered phrases like "lub you mommy" and "wanna go ride in daddy's beep-beep."

Where did that little person go? Here in my lap sits a lanky child whose hair has turned from white to more golden tones and whose once round face has thinned into the profile of a young boy. The Wiggles and Barney have given way to more grown up movies like Polar Express while his language skills often resemble that of a teenager. "Hey Mom, when I get home from school, can I ride my Gator? Or is the yard still too wet from the rain? If it is, can we put on Dragon Tales and have a popsicle instead?" I can hardly get a word in.

This child had grown 9 1/2 inches since we brought him home as well as gained 11 pounds. He outgrew the carseat and is now in a booster and, when I pick him up out of the tub, his long, lean legs stretch so far it's getting hard to carry him.

I'm sure in just a year from now, we'll look back at just how small he is right now. But, that's hard to imagine. Time is flying by and, as each day passes, I realize what my Mom felt as she wrote a poem about my hand slipping out of hers as I left home to go to college. One day I'll be writing that poem with a tear in my eye...wondering where the time went as Daniel ventures out into the world on his own.

For now, I'll try not to take for granted each little moment with my little boy. The unsolicited hugs and kisses and the giggles as he runs naked from the bath down to his room. These are special moments. This is what parenthood is all about.

Oh how I love my little man.....