I have two kids -- a three year old, Theo, and Brieza, who is one.  It's been amazing watching both of them grow. What's funny about little kids growing is how it seems to happen in spurts.  Everything will be going along, normal day to day, and then all of a sudden you stop and say "holy cow -- I can't believe he can do ___", whatever that is.  For instance, the time when Theo, then 18 months, said "too tight" as I strapped him into the car.  At the time, that blew me away, as before then he has only been muttering simple half-words. This past week was another watershed moment in growing.  It's been hot, and we've naturally spent as much time in the water as possible.  We live near a lake, so we went swimming there on Saturday, some friends of ours are part of a pool club, so we spent the 4th of July there, and we spent most of yesterday at a birthday party where there was a pool to swim in. What's amazing is the way Theo -- all of a sudden, over the past few days, really -- loves being in the water more than anything.  He can't get enough of it.  At the pool party yesterday, he spent at least 2 hours bobbing up and down wrapped in an inflatable yellow duckie.  On Wednesday, he went down the kiddie water slide probably 30 times. I can hear you saying -- "and...".  The amazing thing is that before the past few days & weeks, Theo was terrified of water.  Would scream bloody murder if we tried to bring him into a swimming pool.  We were worried that he'd never learn to swim and might not ever even take a shower. Now, he is a water bug.  Not afraid, can't get enough, charging ahead, rubber duckie in hand. I guess the point of all of this is to remember that it's possible to push our limits, learn new things, and conquer new territory.  Of course, toddlers are specifically engineered for this purpose, so maybe they have it easy.  But despite that, they're still great inspiration for the rest of us.  

I have two kids -- a three year old, Theo, and Brieza, who is one.  It's been amazing watching both of them grow. What's funny about little kids growing is how it seems to happen in spurts.  Everything will be going along, normal day to day, and then all of a sudden you stop and say "holy cow -- I can't believe he can do ___", whatever that is.  For instance, the time when Theo, then 18 months, said "too tight" as I strapped him into the car.  At the time, that blew me away, as before then he has only been muttering simple half-words. This past week was another watershed moment in growing.  It's been hot, and we've naturally spent as much time in the water as possible.  We live near a lake, so we went swimming there on Saturday, some friends of ours are part of a pool club, so we spent the 4th of July there, and we spent most of yesterday at a birthday party where there was a pool to swim in. What's amazing is the way Theo -- all of a sudden, over the past few days, really -- loves being in the water more than anything.  He can't get enough of it.  At the pool party yesterday, he spent at least 2 hours bobbing up and down wrapped in an inflatable yellow duckie.  On Wednesday, he went down the kiddie water slide probably 30 times. I can hear you saying -- "and...".  The amazing thing is that before the past few days & weeks, Theo was terrified of water.  Would scream bloody murder if we tried to bring him into a swimming pool.  We were worried that he'd never learn to swim and might not ever even take a shower. Now, he is a water bug.  Not afraid, can't get enough, charging ahead, rubber duckie in hand. I guess the point of all of this is to remember that it's possible to push our limits, learn new things, and conquer new territory.  Of course, toddlers are specifically engineered for this purpose, so maybe they have it easy.  But despite that, they're still great inspiration for the rest of us.