Memory Lane...

I took a little walk down memory lane recently and came across this picture. One of my favorites. I love how the girls are entwined( for lack of a better word) in this photo. There love for each other is evident in this picture. I don't see that much now that they are older. I know it is there but I don't get to witness it as much. Here are ten things I miss from that age.

1. All three of my girls lived in my home.  We all slept under the same roof.  I miss that so much now that Sydnee is away at school.

2. Natalie and McKenlee were best friends at this age.  They did everything together.  It was always Sydnee and the little girls.  Now it seems that it is the older girls and McKenlee.

3.McKenlee in our bed every night.  I know that sounds crazy because when she was little we couldn't wait to get her out of our bed.  (She slept with us every night until she was eight, please don't judge. lol)  But now I would love to go back in time and cuddle with that tiny little thing.  That tiny little thing is 5'7 now and I can usually only manage about a 15 second hug before she is off doing her thing.

4.Watching my Natalie drag her white blanket around.  In this picture Sydnee is 10, Natalie is 6 and McKenlee 4.  Natalie carried her blanket around consistently until she was about 11.  It went every where with us. The times when I would have to wash it she would stand at the garage door and cry until it was done.  She called it "bumpy."  She still has it on her bed but it is no longer her constant companion.

5. Sydnee bossing her sisters around.  When Sydnee was around this age she went through a stage where she thought she was the Mom.  She would constantly tell her sisters what to do and even tell me how I should respond to their behavior.  Of course, at the time it drove me nuts but now when I look back it makes me smile.

6. Watching them play with the neighborhood girls.  It was around this age that I started letting them play outside with the neighbor kids unsupervised in our two front yards. (ours and the neighbors)  Of course they had to be together, they were not allowed by themselves.  Back then though it wasn't an issue because they wanted to be together all the time anyway.

7. Natalie being taller than McKenlee.  Up until about 2 years ago Natalie was taller than her younger sister and always out weighed her by exactly 10 lbs.  Two years ago that all changed and now McKenlee is four inches taller and out weighs her sister by exactly 10lbs.  Sydnee still has an inch on McKenlee but I know that is only a matter of time.

8.  Being 33.  When this picture was taken I was only 33.  I would love to be 33 again.  LOL

9. Christmas mornings.  I miss the Christmases when my girls believed in Santa and all the magic believing entails.  We used to follow the Nordic Santa Tracker every year on line to see exactly where Santa was throughout Christmas Eve and leave out milk and cookies.  We used to make reindeer food with oatmeal and glitter for Santa's reindeer. Oh how I miss that.

10. I miss their little voices.  Whenever we watch home videos of the kids when they were small it is their voices that melt my heart  the most.  Their sweet little voices.  Funny things they say or words they would mispronounce.

Yes, while I love the young women my daughters are becoming everyday. I miss the little girls they used to be.  I'm so thankful that pictures and videos and memories allow us to re-visit those time.