Where did my baby go?

And where did this toddler come from? Where did this wonderous little human being come from? It seems as if almost overnight the little baby I knew has been replaced by an amazing little boy with a mind, knowledge and personality that come into being in the blink of an eye.

I witnessed this new little person do things on his own twice tonight and my heart is just so full at his accomplishments.

Tonight Jacob had prunes and apples after dinner. Not a glorious feat in and of itself. Well, since he doesn't eat fruit I guess it is. What makes it truly amazing is he fed himself using his own spoon! He wouldn't let me have the spoon so I figured, "why not" and dipped the spoon into the container with him still holding onto it. Next thing I know he's dipping the spoon, with my help of course, and feeding himself! And, he finished the whole container! Where did he learn this? Where did he figure out using the spoon is how you eat? It boggles my mind that after me showing him just a few times and him watching us eat he's figured this out. No formal instruction at all. What a smart boy!

Then, the moment that melted my heart. Just a 1/2 hour ago I carried Jacob upstairs to bed. I fully expected to rock him to sleep and put him in his crib completely passed out. Not tonight. He had other ideas. I stood at the crib straightening his sleep sack with him balanced on one hip and all of a sudden he reached for the side rail. He practically dove in head first! Again, figuring "why not" I laid him down and he was instantly in his spread-eagle sleeping position looking up at me sleepily. He looked at me as if to say "Okay mama, I'm ready for you to tuck me in now". So I put him in his sleep sack, rubbed his tummy and in a matter of minutes he rolled over into dreamland. I just can't get over this big boy development.

All these things make me so proud of the boy he is becoming. Yes, I find it a bit sad to see my baby isn't around much more and my toddler is here to stay (at least for a while) but honestly, I'm not that sad or hearbroken or longing for the days when he was smaller. This is the future. I look forward to seeing him learn all these new things and develop his sense of self. These are good things.