Farewell La La and AJs...

So often I find myself staring at my babies in true and utter disbelief. I feel like they have grown up in the blink of an eye and I don't even know where the time has gone. In many ways I feel like it was just yesterday that Steve and I buckled two tiny, pink bundles into our car in the parking lot of Mercy Medical Center and headed off for home...completely petrified because we had no idea what to do with these new creatures.

Yet now here we are, 21 joy-filled months later and I sit here amazed by how much they have grown, how much they have changed. Each day now they are learning more and more new words and tricks. With each new thing learned or discovered, I feel a little pang of sadness for much of what we have left behind us.

This morning, as I was getting Madison settled into her car seat, I listened as she called out for her sister. "La La" has been Madison's name for Olivia for as long as I can remember. It was one of her very first words. I hear her cry of "LA LA!!!" in the mornings over the monitor when Madison wakes up first and is trying to get her sister up as well. Every time Olivia steps out of Madison's sight, "La La!" can be heard coming from Madison's mouth.

Until this morning that is. Today, Madison called for "Liddie". My heart stopped when I heard her say it and I quickly asked her, "Who do you want?" Without missing a beat, Madison repeated the name again.

"Liddie"

And just like that, the name "La La" was put to rest. As happy as I am to hear Madison's words forming clearer and more correctly every day, and as cute as it is to hear her sweet voice say "Liddie", I am still sad. My babies are growing up.

Similarly, this past weekend we bid a sad farewell to the AJs. And no, I'm not talking about a person here. For weeks, Olivia has been calling the alphabet "AJs". She has confused many different people by politely asking for more AJs over and over again...not understanding why no one seemed to know what she meant. Then suddenly, over night in fact, she started asking for ABCs and I found myself wanting to scream, "Not ABCs! They're called AJs!!!!". Funny, but while I'm mourning the loss of the AJs, Steve is thrilled. He honestly was concerned that she would get made fun of in kindergarten for calling letters AJs. No need to worry honey.

So many stages, gone....just like that. So many new stages...right around the corner.

All of this just leaves me wondering, will there come a time when I'm mourning the loss of the constant questions Olivia asks? "Where Ginia go mommy? Where Gamma go? Where Daddy go mommy? Where Syd go? What's that mommy?"

I'd put money on it.