Where did my baby go?

I don't think you've seen this picture yet. It's already a couple weeks old.

At some point in the past couple months, my baby girl has turned into a communicating, almost walking, opinionated, silly and focused toddler. Seriously....when did that happen? I'm having a moment today because we tried one nap instead of two and she did great. Are you kidding me? ONE nap? Any day now she's going to be starting school and driving a car and leaving for college? I know, I know....slow down, right? Well, it seemed like the time between birth and crawling moved at a reasonable pace. Then suddenly self motivated moving seems to have sped everything up.

She climbs the climber at the park and slides down on her own. The only thing I have to do is help her get situated at the top of the slide. It's like she doesn't need me anymore. HA! I'm just kidding. She graciously tells me how much she needs me in between her independence spurts when she desperately needs to climb up on my lap or be held for just a moment before she practically leaps from my arms to whatever object has caught her eye.

Speaking of things catching one's eye...do you know what I found today? A GRAY HAIR!! 4 days before my 33rd birthday and I have found a gray hair! At first I thought it was just a beautiful blond highlight that was reminding me of how much time I've been in the sun this summer. Then I looked closer and thought, it must be a piece of Jack's dog hair to be so white. Then I looked closer and decided to wake up to the reality that I have a gray hair. It was kind of funny actually. I actually don't mind too much. I'm curious to see what I look like. Maybe I'll finally get the volume and body I've always wanted!! As far as I'm concerned....BRING ON THE GRAY! Ok, well at least today. When they start multiplying I may have a different opinion. But for now, I will embrace the only physical manifestation of age that I have experienced thus far. HAHAHAHAHA I love denial!!!

As for my toddler...I will soak up the snuggles and maybe even feed her with a spoon every once in a while. She doesn't need complete independence yet. And besides, if we don't hold on just a bit, they won't have anything to be annoyed by when they are teens!!