Life Moves Pretty Fast

If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.

Today is Skylar's eighth--yes, eighth--birthday.  Even though she hasn't physically grown all that much (she still fits into some of her clothes from last winter), she has still grown up a lot in one year's time.  Her interests are beginning to change, and her mannerisms have gone from childlike to adolescent.  As her second grade teacher put it in parent-teacher conferences last quarter, "Skylar is seven going on thirty."  However, she's not overly mature.  She still maintains quite a bit of innocence--remarkable considering how quickly kids pick up curse words and information about adult subjects these days.  Unfortunately, I'm sure we've had our last Christmas featuring the magic of Santa, at least for Skylar--we can still keep the magic alive for Dexter, and I'm sure Skylar will have just as much fun doing that considering how much she loves him.  I have Tara to thank for Skylar turning out so well.  Coming from a conservative, traditional, and Christian household, Tara was instilled with those American values which I have espoused in my adulthood, and I can't thank her enough for being such an excellent mother to our children.

Skylar isn't the only one who has changed this year.  Dexter is no longer a baby; he's a full-blown toddler.  His development over the past few weeks and months has been impressive.  Tara works with him every day, teaching him new words and actions.  As long as he can keep himself from destroying his classroom and classmates, I have a feeling he'll be quite the academic star in a few years, just like his sister.  Incidentally, raising a boy is very different from raising a girl.  Where Skylar was mild-mannered and only spoke when she had something to say, Dexter thrives on destruction and jabbers and yells the entire time he is reveling in his rampages.  Don't get me wrong, he's a very good boy, but his idea of fun right now is more in line with Wolverine's than Professor Xavier's.

Now that I have fulfilled my obligatory movie and comic book references, my inner geek has been satisfied--I must be off.  We have a big day of errands, capping off our evening with a trip downtown for another Blues win.  There's about thirty of us going to celebrate Skylar's birthday and Larry and Anne's 25th wedding anniversary.  It promises to be quite a time.

Until next time, I'm all in.