The plan was to spend the evening editing pics for a new look book on the site. Yet, I sit here mesmerized by the sweet boy of mine. There is no way this can be Joe I say to myself. No way. It does not even look like him. His sweet face is looking older and I’m not sure what to do about it.
But I do know the thing I can do this very moment. I can turn off this computer and turn off the work that lingers in my head and just stare at him a bit longer before he gets any older. A lookbook, a home page, a FB check can wait one more day. Joe cannot.
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AMEN! I’m doing the same right now! Night!
Its amazing Denise. We think we have all the time in the world to do something with them and we put things off so that we can do something else that we think “can not wait” and the truth is, it all can wait. Every last dish, chore, list, job.. All of it. They dont stop. They dont wait. They keep progressing and keep growing, at a rate I personally dont care for (slow down!!), so stop. Breathe. Take it all in. It’s all gonna change someday, and these are the days, as parents, we will carry with us — when they leave us *sob!*
We moms know, there is just nothing that compares to the love a mother has for her children. Thanks for reminding us all that they must come first always!
So true! Gonna go peek @ my babes deep slumbers. Love their faces as they dream, don’t you? Good night. xo
So Very, Very True. I feel so blessed to have two healthy children that i can watch grow and was reminded of that yesterday when some very dear friends of mine lost a tiny member of their family. A three year old little angel who lost her battle with cancer on Easter Sunday. Let the work wait another day and give your little ones extra hugs and kisses – i think i have squished mine like crazy today.
I totally agree. It’s amazing how we get so caught up in the everyday things in life. We often forget to just enjoy what’s sitting right in front of us! It seems as though our kids are growing up soooooooooooo fast! Thanks for this post! I need to remember this everyday.
Oh, Amen sister! This is absolutely true! Enjoy your Joe & your Gabe!!
How do our little ones grow up so fast without us noticing? It almost seems like a cruel trick when you catch a glimpse of them and realize they are babes no more.
Go spend time with him my friend! Had to keep the Jakester home today…so not ready for them to grow up. It’s happening so fast!
He’s beautiful!
they certainly grow up to fast don’t they?
Wonderful decision!
Denise, this was a blog to save and give to that wonderful boy of yours one day. So true. Enjoy the moments with Joe and Gabe.
so very true!!! You can’t go back in time and redo these moments – but you can always find time to do those other things – or just skip them!! Hope that you had a wonderful night!!! …….and many many more
How very true! Everything else can certainly wait!
Lilly Kate is about to turn 5 and I can already see changes in her face, it makes me soooo sad. Your post caused me to get up early and sneak into her room to snuggle in the bed and talk before having to jump up and rush around to get the day going today! I want to hold onto these days as long as I can.
Wow! Ok in tears right now because I totally know what you are saying. My little boy is turning 6 in a couple of days
Where does the time go and how fast it goes? Wishing we could just slow down time a little bit more. Can’t wait to spend more time with them since summer is coming 
Denise, he is so handsome! Feel free to choose him any day! We wouldn’t have it any other way!
AWww! Denise I understand! I cry often just thinking about my little one growing up any more. They grow up so fast. I just wish I could hold her as a newborn again!!! Enjoy your time with him and Gabe! Hugs
AMEN, sister! This is the reason I love you and your company. Oh, and what a heartbreaker! He looks like someone famous…can’t put my finger on it…
So handsome- was wondering if you do arranged marriages…my Bella’s is a doll and how much would I love to be in your world
))) haha…they do grow up so fast…my oldest just lost her first tooth a few weeks ago and I was just watching the DVD of going to the hospital to have her 
enjoy every minute!!!!
I agree Denise they do grow up way to fast. I re-call the 1st time I saw the boys. Gabe was just tiny and Joe wasn’t even looking like the little man that he is today. They seem to grow up in leaps and bounds. As a child I couldn’t wait to be grown-UP.
lol~ No one warned me about the stress pain and struggles of being an adult, a mom, a wife, well all of you know the drill.
I so my 4 kids so much but I hope they enjoy being a child as long as they can. He is handsome (you and David have to be proud)
xxxx
Wish I could stop time at moments that is for sure.
You are absolutely right… spend as much time with your boys as you can. I have a hard time dealing with my baby turning 10 this year!!!
Soooo true! I feel the same way..my son is 5 going on 35, where does the time go? They grow so fast and sometimes it’s hard to just sit back and enjoy the valuable time we have with our families! Nothing more important then them, because without them what would we be? God Bless you and your sweet boys!
Amen. On so many levels, amen.
just took a walk around the block w/ my own “litttle” boy.. 9 years old hand in hand and yup.. i don’t wanna let go… only one more day of spring break… i may have to watch him sleep for a bit tonight.
My oldest Drives me around every day! She turns 16 on May 8th and will be able to drive herself around! This will be one heartbroken Momma… They grow soooo fast, It’s strange because it is really neat to see them grow up, but also so very sad at the same time!
I know exactly what you mean. My sweet boy is now 16 and just got his license! It goes too fast I tell you! Enjoy every moment of it!
Oh,and I just looked at the lookbook today and it brought me smiles to see such fun pics from our fun adventure!
Time seems to slip away faster every year. I remember when the days were long and the nights were sleepless. Now the days are a blur and the nights are quiet. I miss my little ones as babies
This is absolutley sooo true. They grow up way to fast and I say to myself all the time. What happened to that sweet little baby boy that I used to hold in my arms. Bittersweet it is!
Make them stop growing. All of them. Yours. Mine. Please!
Joe is SOOOOOO HANDSOME. I have wached him and Gabe grow over these last few years. What a treat!
Yes, stop it.
This post is why I love Matilda Jane, you Denise are REAL,! I love the clothing but I love the way you love your children more!! Thank you for helping me stay REAL too!
That handsome young man really does look older. You are right, all that can wait, but our kiddos just grow right before our eyes. I sometimes wish I could freeze time so I could get the things done that I need to do without missing a second of my littles lives.
I’ve been completely consumed with this notion, myself, as of late…the notion that all of the trivial pleasantries we fill our days with are really just a distraction from the huge, indescribably amazing gift that our babies are to us. They’ll always be our babies, won’t they?
No matter how much they age…
Belle screamed from her bed the other night, an ear-piercing, painful scream. I ran to her. She was crying, choking, drooling…managed to stammer out (several times before I could makes sense of it) that she had “coins in her mouth. I ran her to the bathroom, tried to help her get whatever it was up, got only mucous and blood. She said her neck hurt, I was panicked…5 minutes later she was fine and riding her ‘bullseye” (what she calls her stick horse) around the house.
Fast forward 5 days and my not quite 3 year old passed a nickel AND a quarter, and it occurred to me how easily that night could have gone so much differently than it did and how incredibly lucky I am. Lucky she survived, lucky that somehow, with a quarter in her tiny throat, she was able to scream for me. Bigger than that…lucky just to know this amazing little girl, let alone be the one who gets to be her mommy. Life is just so…well…there really aren’t even words that do it justice, but when you look at Joe and you will him to stay just that way, just a little bit longer…it’s THAT. That is what makes every mother, every one who looks at her baby and feels that, one of the luckiest people alive.
Happy almost Mothers’ day, Denise!
xxoo ~ jen kraydich
That is so true! When my first child was born, I chuckled at the people who told me to “enjoy my time with my child because they grow so fast”. (In my defense, all I wanted to enjoy was sleep!) But after just a few months, I totally understood what they meant. My kids are now 8 and 5 and I often have to remind myself to stop and enjoy them because I get caught up in other things. It’s good to stay grounded with what’s important–your family!
When my “babies” were born several of us were doing cross stitch. I made the one that said:
“Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow…for babies grow up we’ve learned to our sorrow…..so quiet down cobwebs and dust go to sleep……I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep”. My children now have their own babies, the newest one less than l month old!!! I hope that they will take the time with their children because that is what is important. Enjoy Joe and Gabe.
w.o.w. he looks so old Denise!! He’s becoming a little man…
Give him a huge hug for me! See you soon sister!