How fast they grow...

As parents, we always find ourselves looking at our kiddos and wondering where our little babies went, don't we? I know I do. All the time. Time just goes by so fast and I'm left wondering if the next time I blink, my kids are going to be driving, or starting college, or getting married, lol.

Why am I all sniveley and reminiscey (yep, for now, those are real words)? We spent some time this week talking about our upcoming school year. Braeden is going to be in the 4th grade and Bailey in the 9th.

Fourth and ninth grades.

Gulp. Whimper. Gulp.

Fortunately we now have a solid plan for both boys. Up until recently, we were still looking for a program that fit with both Bailey and myself. I know I mentioned last week how excited we were that Time4Learning had just announced they are going to offer a homeschool high school curriculum. That excitement hasn't waned a bit. :D

Bailey, even though he won't officially start the next grade level until right after Labor Day, is so excited he's asked if he can spend some time in the high school courses, just to see how they are going to be. Blows my mind that the kiddo is asking to do additional schoolwork, lol.

High school. Man. It was just yesterday when we started our homeschooling journey and he was in 1st grade.

And Braeden...gosh...my baby is going into 4th grade. He's going from a "lower school" login to an "upper school" login in T4L and that is a very big deal for him. I remember when he was 2 and 3 and begged to do school like Booboo (to this day, this is still what he calls his older brother and I love it). Now, *I'm* the one doing the begging. He's much more excited about the idea of school, than he is about the actual doing of school, lol. Ah well, it's a cycle. I hit it with Bailey, so at least I was prepared to hit it this time around.

Even though I wouldn't say he's stoked about schoolwork, he is looking forward to trying different things. He will now be able to take the art lessons in T4L, and he seems genuinely interested in taking an elementary online writing course. I'm shocked, but he's spent so much time lately talking to his dad about his writing, and talking to Bailey about his writing, that I guess he wants to explore the creative writing parts of his own brain. I'm alright with that. ;)

Growing up is a good thing. I know that. I'm excited about what their futures hold and I can't wait to see how their lives unfold.

But sometimes it's just so hard to let go of those "little boys" so they can become "big boys."

Fall 2007, so Bailey (turning 14 next month) was 8 and Braeden (turning 9 next month) was 3.