Happy Birthday...

How could this happen
How can it be
My baby is no longer a baby
Today he turned … thirteen…

*sigh*

Where on earth has the time gone? Wasn’t it just yesterday I was changing diapers and warming bottles? Drying tears and kissing boo boos? Now I have to remind him to close the bathroom door and put on his deodorant in the mornings.

It used to be his biggest dilemma was whether to watch Blues Clues or Little Bear. Now he wants to stay up and watch Two and a Half Men or just that one more quarter of the Monday Night Football game. And when did he go from playing with Hot Wheels and Power Rangers to being interested only in his DSi and the Wii?

I know it was bound to happen one day, but I just didn’t think it would be so soon. I miss the cuddles and the kisses just because. Now it’s “aw jeez mom”, an eye roll and a smart aleck remark for just about everything.

No more bedtime stories, no more footie pajamas, no more cartoon character underwear. He’s a boxer short type of guy and wears a t-shirt and pajama pants for sleeping. He handles homework on his own and takes out the trash. His friends call and he runs out the door with a “later mom” instead of the “bye mommy” it used to be.

I was lucky enough to see his all important firsts: the first words, the first step, the first day of kindergarten. I wonder how many other firsts I will witness through his eyes. I know the first girl is out there waiting for his first date and the first dance, the first time he drives the car by himself. I can’t make time stop, but I sure wish it would slow down just a little.

I miss the little boy he once was and while it makes me a little sad to see him growing up, I am looking forward to seeing him become the man he is destined to be.

I want to say Happy Birthday Little Man, but that title doesn’t quite fit him anymore. He’s nearly as tall as me now (I’m 5’6”), so I guess it’s time for a new moniker for him. Then again, he’ll always be my baby so I guess I can continue to call him “Little Man” for a while longer, right?