Where, Oh where, has my little girl gone?

    Having a toddler and a preteen is weird. There, I said it, and I can't take it back! I look at Charlotte and see her tiny little face and cute little nose. Just as I'm getting lost in her innocent big brown eyes... "MOM, CAN I BORROW YOUR SHOES?" jolts me back to reality. I whisper softly in her sweet little ear "Please don't ever be a teenager". Then Amber walks into the room, almost dressed for school, reminding me that we need to go bra shopping... soon... again!

    I can't remember a lot of Amber as a baby... I don't know why. I know that she had lots of curly red hair and big blue eyes. I remember her first tooth, first words, and first steps. I just feel like I'm watching a movie of some one elses baby. My feisty redhead is almost 12 and is growing out of clothes and shoes weekly. It seems so long ago that I was changing diapers and nursing her to sleep. I feel guilty that my memories of her babyhood are so fuzzy... So I dig into the photos!
     There she is! 7 lbs. 9 oz. 19 1/2 inches long with a head full of red hair! The same button nose that I now gaze upon in Charlotte's face! I remember taking all of these photos and slowly regain the feeling of amazement at her ability to memorize everything around her. She watched every single thing and it was almost as if she was filing it away.
     Even the pictures from the last 2 years show a completely different girl young woman. Her hair has changed, along with her face. That little button nose is looking more like mine and unfortunately so is her skin. Although the dimple in her chin that reminds me of her dad will never go away! We talk about periods and choosing good friends and I explain why her teacher punishes the whole class when one kid misbehaves. Our conversations are more purposeful and I hope I'm sharing the right stories from my youth.
     Every day I look at my 2 girls and think that someday very soon Charlotte will be Amber's age and Amber will be my age (not at the same time of course) and I will wonder the same things all over again with Charlotte...

Where, Oh where, has my little girl gone?

If you have enjoyed reading this post please hop along to the other posts in the Manic Mommy Monday hop and even post your own: