The monster at the end of this book

One of my favorite books when I was little was called "The Monster at the End of this Book." As Amazon says, furry Grover begs you not to keep turning the page, for fear of the monster that is at the end of the book. Yet, you keep turning, with rising suspense as you get closer and closer to the climax ending, enjoying every page turn with building anticipation. Grover is begging you not to turn the page, constructing brick walls to try to stop you but you keep doing it anyway, giggling your way to the end (*Spoiler alert* - the monster is really Grover himself. Hope I didn't ruin this book for anyone!)

That's how I feel about my little one's babyhood. I am trying to hold on with all my might to keep him from turning older and he keeps on going, with a big smile on his face, crawling off to the next milestone. Silly Mommy! I wish I could put up a brick wall to keep time still for just a few extra weeks. His first birthday is a mere 2 months away and I can barely believe it's nearly here.

He's transitioned into the bigger kid room at daycare - still considered infants, but the kids that are mobile, the crawlers and walkers. He was starting to be a bully to the littlest babies - stealing pacifiers and pushing their bouncer seats along the floor - little bully Barrett! In his new room, I set him down and he's off to explore the new toys and new sights, with barely a look back. He pulls himself up and stands at his little music table and looks like such a big boy, I can barely recall when he was that 7lb baby with no teeth and dark hair in snuggly newborn pajamas and teeny diapers. Now he barely lays still for diaper changes and wants to flip over and crawl away, leaving me to try to keep up. He feeds himself and crunches cheerios in his teeth and gets annoyed when I get my hands in his way. I can barely believe that this little blond boy is the same one we brought home from the hospital and is going on a year. I see the next 18 years in a flash forward and wish I could somehow block the passage of time from going too fast! Too bad brick walls won't keep out the inevitable!

My little man at his music table