What new shoes do to my emotions

This is my baby; you know the 9lbs 1 oz 20 inch long little guy I held in my arms over 27 months ago? The one who had fewer than 5 teeth on his first birthday and didn’t know what it meant to sleep through the night for a very, very long time. Well here he is sitting on the sidewalk at parent drop off this morning; hands on his knees as he gives me a silly smile.

 Yep, he’s rockin’ an FSU hoodie like he’s in the freshman class of 2031 already…that’s if he doesn’t drag out his college days win another National Championship for the Seminoles. And those new shoes on his feet…they’re a size eight. Not a 5 or 6 or 7 but a size 8. Holding the shoe in my hand in the shoe department of Target I couldn’t believe his foot would actually fit into a these size 8 boats. There was a tiny matching pair sitting next to him that he quickly explained were “for Baby Lyla” (his newest cousin) and the big ones “were for Mosey”.

We’ve finally broken all middle of the night waking up and have mastered the art of snuggling in the morning. If he’s up too early but not tired enough to fall back asleep on his own he’ll crawl into my side of the bed. My arm still curls around him nicely and he lets me tuck him deep into my chest. Sometimes he’ll fall back asleep but most of the time he’ll lay there quietly and enjoy the last little bit of peace before the alarm goes off. He constructs sentences and knows how to climb into the bathtub. He remembers to pray for every person (and sometimes non living things) he knows nightly and spouts off every store he knows as we drive down the street. He swings a bat like a champ, throws a ball harder and farther than any 2 year old I know, and has even taken up golf. I’ll continue to say it every week of my life I cannot believe how grown up my baby is.