It's not possible!!

I seem to have lost a few years of my life. Wasn't it just yesterday that I brought this sweet baby boy home from the hospital?? He was jaundiced and had lost so much weight that he looked like a baby monkey with his wrinkly skin, and that's what I called him - my little monkey boy. We struggled to get him back up to his birth weight, and rejoiced with every ounce he gained. I spent 18 hrs of each day nursing, pumping, and nursing some more. When Ezekiel finally started gaining again (only after I gave up nursing and just pumped and supplemented instead), it was such a relief. He went from being in the 80th percentile at birth, to the 8th percentile at 1 month, to waaaay off the charts and 20lbs at 4 months old! He sure didn't waste time catching up, and then some, when we finally got things figured out.
And wasn't it just yesterday when my sweet baby was learning to "commando crawl" and blow raspberries, and discovering the joys of solid food? Poor Ezekiel has always had major texture issues... oh, the faces he makes when we encourage him to try new foods! To look at him now, you'd never guess he's such a picky eater and lives on cheese sandwiches and applesauce! His first taste of cereal was NOT a bit hit, as you can plainly see. It took him awhile to warm up to the idea! And wasn't it just yesterday that we discovered his penchant for climbing? At 11 months, he couldn't yet walk, but boy could that baby climb! I will never forget the day I found him in the middle of our dining room table, with the salt shaker emptied all over the place. I think that was the day I realized we were in for a bumpy ride! My sweet baby turned into a whirling dervish before my very eyes! I simply could not keep him out of trouble. We got rid of any toy that stood taller than 6", as Ezekiel would use it as a stepstool to reach things we had, well, put out of his reach. Cupboards, drawers, and the refrigerator were all fitted with child safety locks, most of which did a better job of keeping adults out than my smart boy.

And wasn't it just yesterday that I cried every day, just wanting Ezekiel to be able to speak like a typical child his age? Diagnosed with a significant speech delay at 18 months, communication was a constant struggle. The tantrums were frequent, because he simply couldn't tell us what he wanted. So many times I held him while he cried, and cried along with him. I wished for a magic key to unlock the words so desperate to pour out of him. During our year long wait to get into "the system" (one-on-one speech therapy covered by our health care), we did several courses encouraged to help children with speech delays. Each time, I watched in dismay as the other children in the class progressed so quickly, while Ezekiel struggled to put two words together. When we finally started speech therapy, I was given hope. Our wonderful speech language pathologist gave me the tools I needed to help Ezekiel, and now at age 4, while still difficult to understand, he speaks in complete sentences and most days I wish he'd not talk quite so much! And I am so thankful to be in that place.

Yesterday, I registered my baby for the 2010-2011 kindergarten year. It seems so early, but they do several assessments and parent information meetings during the school year in order to prepare us for this transition. I simply cannot believe that in less than a year, I will be sending my little boy off to school. Although there are days when I say I can't wait for him to start school full time, in the quieter moments I realize how much I will miss that sweet child. His sense of humour fills my days with joy and laughter, even when I am completely exasperated with him. He has turned into a sweet, sensitive, funny little boy and I cannot imagine my life without him. I know he will thrive in kindergarten and I am so excited for him to begin his journey, but I am glad we still have a few months left before I must send him off into the big, wide world.