Gracie is growing up....much too fast.

The progression of Gracie. (Look at the drool line on her clothes in this photo.)

I have been feeling that Gracie has been slightly left out the past couple of weeks. She has been acting out in order to get a response out of me in an effort to take my attention away from the baby. I feel that I have become the evil step-mother when it comes to her. My patience is limited, and I seem to snap at her more than I should. I have been feeling awful about this and so have made an effort to be more patient and to be a better mother to her.

On Saturday we went to visit "daddy" at work (Eaglewood Golf Course) and then went to the park to play. Because I was trying ultra hard to give her my undivided attention, I noticed a few small but important changes in her. While we were hanging out at Eaglewood she informed me that she needed to go potty. I took her into the bathroom, ready to go in the stall with her and help her. She stopped me and said she wanted to go in by herself and that she did not need any help. So I stood out and waited for her. She went, wiped, flushed, and washed her hands without me telling her and without any help! I know this seems small to someone who is not a mother but for me this was a monumental moment. She even knows how to lock and unlock the stall doors all by herself!

The next stop was the park. I noticed I had made the dumb move of putting crocs on Gracie to wear at the park. This is dumb because all of the stupid bark chips go in through the holes of her shoes and Gracie gets so frustrated that she can hardly focus on playing! Not that I blame her, it is really annoying to have stuff stuck in your shoes. I was hoping she wouldn't remember that this is something that has really bothered her in the past.

I forgot all about this little issue for a while because she never whined or said anything about it. Then I noticed as she played, every so often she would stop, empty out her shoe, put it back on her foot and return to playing as if nothing had happend. Another momentous moment for us! For all of you mothers out there you understand exactly why this is so huge! In the past she would cry every two minutes about her shoes. It would be a huge ordeal that I would have to help her with. We would both get so frustrated that we would end up just going home. This time however, she never once mentioned it. She simply took care of it herself.

It was that day that I noticed how much she is growing up right befor my eyes. I went home and looked at these old pictures of her and cryed. I feel so terrible for not enjoying every minute with her. Having baby Redd has also made me realize how big she has gotten in such a short amount of time. I love both my kids so much!!!! I've been trying really hard to be a better mommy for both of them.