Where oh where has my baby gone?

It has been said many times that our babies grow up way too fast. And as I watch my sweet two year old little Gracie transform before my eyes I can't agree more. She has the typical "I do it" that comes with a growing baby. But she has now changed from "I'm the baby." to "I'm a big girl.". She can count to 8 already, and loves to tell people that she is two. She loves to pick out her own clothes, and usually does really well at matching (this is a skill her older brothers are still working on). Gracie knows her schedule, and will tell you when things are not quite right. She knows that when she goes to church, she goes to class to play and eat snack - Cherios and Goldfish. Tonight though, she has managed to show me twice that she really is growing up.
I hosted the girls tonight for our monthly Bunco. Gracie hung out with Daddy at his friends. Daddy found some toddler apps for his IPhone for her. She came home to show me how she can find the apps on Daddy's phone and then do games where she identifies shapes, spells words, and make animal sounds. All the while she is operating the IPhone completly alone. She knows how to touch it, she knows how to slide the screens . . . it was downright scary to sit there and watch as my sweet baby had the IPhone mastered.
And then . . . you all might recall that her nightly routine consists of cuddling up with momma after everyone else is in bed. She falls asleep in my arms . . . has for over 2 years now. Tonight, she made a bed for her and her baby and said she needed to sleep with her baby and proceeded to crawl up on the couch and fall asleep without her momma. And Momma sat across the room and cried a little as her baby grew up a little more today.
Hug your babies tight tonight and treasure each moment you have with them. My biggest baby just came home and I remember how I only have a little while with him before he goes off to college. He also was a baby that loved to be rocked and held to go to sleep. And I don't recall appreciating that time together with him as much as I should have. I probably found it to be bothersome to have to sit and rock him every night. And now . . .well, now I wish I could pick him up and hold him tight. Cherish your babies!