My son went to primary school this week. He’s young for it, only 4 and a half, but he’s also wild, very independent, and nursery would not have suited him for another year. So this Monday we got up early, had our breakfast, brushed our teeth, and got him into his uniform. As I looked at him standing there in his shirt and tie, I wondered what had happened to my little baby. The 6lbs 5 tiny wrinkled ball that I bundled into a car seat on a cold February afternoon was now bouncing about my living room telling me “When I come home I’ll sit right down and do my homework, and then I can play while you cook dinner OK mummy?”

This week while he’s been at school I’ve taken his little sister to his old nursery without him. I miss his chat in the car, hearing his commentary about the buildings and the comics he was “reading” (he likes the LEGO pictures), and playing our own version of Plants VS Zombies (he basically just tells us what he would plant and we make zombie noises). Walking the dog today I felt like I was watching ghosts of us on that same path just 2 years ago, with his little chubby toddler legs running along beside me, shouting about everything he could see. Then the inevitable “legs tired mummy” and I’d get him on my back for the rest of the walk in the emergency carrier I would bring. I still take a carrier to get him from school though, as his legs seem to tire when he realises mummy or daddy can give him a lift.

When I had my son my dad said to me “Get ready – someone’s just pressed the fast forward button”, and he was right. I have no idea where these last 5 years have gone – I think I blinked and missed my baby becoming a little boy. This isn’t a post to tell you to cherish every moment, trust me there have been plenty of horrible and tough times along the way, but more to say that it can sneak up on you how fast they grow. He’s so grown up, yet still such a little boy and this week has been a good reminder to me to cuddle and kiss him while he wants me to. And as he keeps telling me “You have another baby mummy. And when she grows up, you can just have another one!” I’ll think on that one for a while son, but in the meantime please stay a wee boy for a bit longer!