Happy 11th Birthday Grasshopper: Where Did the Time Go?

It kills you to see them grow up. But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn't. –Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams

I swear it was only yesterday.

Before he was Grasshopper, he was our Little Pumpkin. You see, his due date was October 31 and I was really excited to have a Halloween baby. But he had other plans. My water broke at 2:45 am on October 19, 1999 {after I had stayed up until 11:30 the night before cleaning the oven because I was sure it wouldn't get done if I didn't do it right then}. October 29, 1999, 10 days old.

Just look at those chubby cheeks! He wanted me to hold him all. the. time. He was a horrible sleeper. He loved to jump — that's why we call him Grasshopper. I was worried about his eyes, so we took him to a really good children's optometrist and had him completely checked out. Fortunately, there wasn't a problem at all. He just needed to grow a bit so that his eyes weren't quite so far apart. April 2000, 6 months old.

Already walking and into a million things. I love the dimple on his sweet, chubby cheek. Aren't those the cutest orange corduroy overalls ever? Baby Gap. I visited them five times before I could bear to pay the $20 for them. But they were a must have for my Little Grasshopper-Pumpkin. October 2000, 1 year old.

Clever and mischievous, always on-the-go and a smile to melt your heart. It wasn't too long after this that he quit wanting me to hold him every waking minute of the day. I kind of missed it. October 2001, 2 years old.

Smart, independent and such a handsome boy. And just a little bit naughty. He didn't want to be in the stroller, refused to hold my hand and spent a lot of time between two and three years old running away from me. I made him a leash that hooked onto his belt loop because I couldn't keep up with him {I was preggers with the LadyBug}. As long as he stayed by me, he didn't have to wear it, but if he started to wander {or run} away, I would get it out. He outgrew the need for it pretty quickly. October 2002, 3 years old.

Adjusting well to being the big brother, good natured, and his own person. He never liked shoes much, and goes barefoot {just like his mom} whenever he can. October 2003, 4 years old.

Getting bigger and smarter every day. October 2004, 5 years old. Already.

Where did my little boy go? He's so grown-up; he'd started Kindergarten, was learning to read, making friends and playing for hours with building toys that were for older kids {he knew exactly how to put them together, but his little hands weren't strong enough to snap them in place so he was always brining them to me to put together}. He could also do math in his head — math that they hadn't taught him yet in school. He's too smart for his own good. October 2005, 6 years old.

First grade and silly school pictures. Doesn't anybody check to see if the kids' hair is combed? And speaking of hair, look how dark it has turned. He's not my blonde little boy anymore. September 2006, {almost} 7 years old.

Second grade and the school pictures just keep getting better. I love that big gap where his front teeth should be. He lost his teeth later than most of the other kids did. September 2007, {almost} 8 years old.

Why did I quit taking the Little Bugs {who aren't so little any more} for professional pictures ? He's so thin; the chubby cheeks have long since disappeared and I worry about him eating enough. Look at those dark circles under his eyes. He's a lot like me in so many ways, only I didn't get my dark circles until I was in my early twenties. September 2008, {almost} 9 years old.

10 already? This really seems like 10 minutes ago. This was kind of a rough day at school; he fell down the stairs just before pictures. You can see the goose egg on his forehead. When he was little we called him Mr. Bonk, because he always had three bruises on his forehead in varying shades of purple, green and yellow. Go back up and click on his one-year old picture for a closer look. He has a bruise in the middle of his forehead. September 2009, {almost} 10 years old.

The birthday boy has his day all planned out. He wanted hash browns from McDonald's for breakfast and he's requested that I bring him pizza from Two Jack's for lunch — but only half of a personal-size pizza, because that is all he can eat. He wants me to save the rest for later. We'll take some Starburst mini-packs for treats for the kids in his class and for dinner he wants to go eat steak at Sizzler. We've tried to convince him that Mr. Bug can cook a waaayyy better steak than Sizzler, or that if he really wants to go out at the very least we should go to Golden Corral {or about five other places nicer than that}, but he's the birthday boy and he's insisting that it be Sizzler. After dinner, he's got his last scout meeting as a Webelos {short for 'We Be Loyal Scouts,' just in case you've never had a boy in Scouts}. His birthday gift of choice is {as always} a LEGO set. Today is all about the Grasshopper, but he's an easy kid to please.

Happy birthday, little Grasshopper. Try not to grow up so fast, will you?