it slips away too fast

Every morning when I go in to get Owen out of his crib, he smiles and raises his arms. I then pick him up, hug him and sit for a few minutes, rocking him in the chair by the window.

He's a toddler now, his body is growing long. But when his head is on my shoulder and his hands are around my neck he still feels like my baby.

He'll shift sometimes, to sit snuggled at my side while we rock and he'll smile at me and giggle if I tickle him and just say things like, "Good morning" and "Would you like some breakfast?"

The time is flying. In a few weeks, we'll have an infant to take care of and he's going to have to share his mom and dad and limited amount of attention we have to give. But I hope he realizes that our love has no limits. My heart swells every time I see him and every time I feel him.

There were times, pre-parenthood, when I used to want to feel like a kid again. Like I was being taken care of, protected and that some rational adult somewhere was going to worry about the bills and the house and cooking dinner. But now, I don't think like that. The feeling of holding your child and being the one to take care of them and protect and love them is greater than that feeling of security I had when I was the child.

There really is nothing quite like it in the world. I have YEARS of this ahead of me but I know someday the kids will be grown and gone and I'll just have the memories of these moments. They're strong enough to last.