The Biggest Girl

In less than a month, Keira will officially outgrow the title of "toddler" and become a "preschooler." Apparently this transformation takes place regardless of whether the child in question actually attends preschool (she doesn't yet). Or maybe the time she spends watching Noggin counts--hey, "it's preschool on TV"! In any case, she's growing up entirely too fast.

This morning, she disappeared into her room and emerged 5 minutes or so later, fully dressed. And when I say "fully dressed," I don't mean that she was wearing a flowered shirt on backwards over inside-out underwear on top of striped pants...that's SO three months ago. Nope, she was actually wearing a green top and coordinating green flowered skirt, both of which were on correctly. She's successfully dressing herself pretty often lately, as a matter of fact.

But wait--there's more! Not only am I no longer needed as a fashion consultant; my potty-assistant services have also been determined to be unnecessary. Lately, she just heads to the bathroom on her own, does her business, and if I try to tag along, informs me that I should "go wait out in the living room." Does she occasionally come out with her legs through the waistband of her Sleeping Beauty underwear? Yes. But, overall, she's big on the "I do it all by myselfs" principle, and is getting better at it every day.

And then there's the reading. I've been leaving her a note each morning that I work, and Bear reads them with her when they get up an hour or so later. Apparently, she's a fast learner, because she announced to me in the grocery store checkout line the other day that "M-O-M-M-Y spells Mommy," and she read the words "Mommy" and "Daddy" from an unfamiliar story this afternoon. Before long, I'm sure she'll be bypassing storytime and just take latest John Grisham novel back to her room for some independent bedtime reading. Sob!

The most disturbing and poignant example by far, though, is the fact that she hopped into bed with me this morning, lay down between Ellie and me, and said, "Your two little girls!" Not "girrrr's," as she's always pronounced it. "Girls." I'm clinging desperately to "spoon-boon" and the fact that she calls mushrooms "marshmallows" as her last ties to kid-speak, and she's not even three yet!

It's a good thing I have Ellie around, depending on me day and night, or I'd be feeling increasingly useless these days. Am I proud of our little Kiwi-Fruit? Big time. I'm just a little wistful as she takes each new step toward becoming, as she calls herself now, "the biggest girl." I know that even when she no longer needs us to help with clothes and potties, there will always be things she does need us for. I'm sure that when the time comes for us to tackle issues like bullies at school, having her heart broken, or how NOT to get escorted home at 3am by a police officer, we'll realize that changing diapers and tying shoes were really just the beginning for Bear and me. The real work (and more fun, I'm sure) is yet to come!