My baby girls are 4!

I was in a cab the other day and a song came on that perfectly captured what I have been feeling lately as you two started school and your birthday was approaching.

Five years later there's a plumber workin' on the water heater
Dog's barkin', phone's ringin'
One kid's cryin', one kid's screamin'
She keeps apologizin'
He says They don't bother me. 
I've got 2 babies of my own. 
One's 36, one's 23.
Huh, it's hard to believe, but ...

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These Are Some Good Times
So take a good look around 
You may not know it now 
But you're gonna miss this
You're gonna miss this
Yeah, you're gonna miss this

Time is just going by too fast!  A second ago you were my tiny babies, and now you are strong, independent, smart, beautiful, sweet little girls.  As much as I am loving every minute of our time right now, I want to hit the pause button on life.  With all of you being in school and joining activities, not to mention dad and I's full time jobs, our lives move pretty quickly.  Most days I am just making sure I am getting you everywhere on time, getting healthy food inside of you, reading some books, doing "homework" and making sure you get enough sleep to be able to do it all over the next day.  I am often too frazzled to really sit and listen as you tell me about playing "monster" on the playground with Tabatha and Grayson.  Or how one of the boys, it always seems to be one of the boys, was asked to sit in the quiet chair until he was ready to make better decisions.  Or listen to the new song you learned in Mr. Yaple's music class or the craft project you did with Miss Patty.

This year I am making a vow to enjoy the quiet moments.  The moments when Sabine jumps into my arms, wraps her arms around me and gives me a big kiss.  The moments when Lourdes asks me to carry her downstairs to breakfast in the morning because she is having a hard time waking up.  The moments when you show me your art work and insist I put it in my purse right away so that I can take it to work with me.  The moments of watching you both act out Frozen and dance to Let it Go.  When you both are on my lap, under a blanket, watching our Friday movie.  The nights we have some extra time and fit in a game of Sneaky, Snacky, Squirrel before bed.  When you are both sleeping in our bed and I wake up and roll over and fall asleep cuddling you.  The nights I came home from work and you both scream at the top of your lungs, "Mommy's home" and proceed to tell me something funny that happened at school or that you did with Rosa.  Marvel at how, uncoaxed, you both decide to count to 100 while you all are in the bath.  Appreciate Sabine's ability to write her and Lourdes' name, without assistance, or how Lourdes has started to sound-out 3 letter words.  Because I know that not too long from now, I'll be sitting in our house thinking of all these moments with tears in my eyes while you are off to college.  And I will most definitely want this back.  I love you both so much and I'm going to cherish what time I have left where I am your whole world before you take flight and become the amazing women that I know you are destined to be.  Happy 4th Birthday, sweet babies!