My Big Little Boy

Today at bathtime, Cade informed me that he was going to take a shower instead of a bath. Since past attempts at showering have resulted in him darting in and out of the shower changing his mind about whether he actually wants to be there or is afraid of the water, my first instinct was to refuse the request.

But something about him seemed more determined this time, so I acquiesced, and to my surprise, all went well! When I asked him if he was ready to get out, he pulled the shower curtain shut and said he wasn't "clean enough" yet! This from a child who spends the bulk of bathtime trying to dodge the washcloth and my hand with the shampoo in it?!?!

He seemed so grown up that I felt sad. There was a time when I was eagerly anticipating the day that even one child would self-sufficiently bound into the shower instead of leaving me to micromanage every aspect of personal hygiene and the tsunami of water on the bathroom floor afterwards. But now that another Big Boy Moment is here, I just want to press "pause" on all of it. Maybe because Cade has had a string of Big Boy Moments these past few weeks, including:

• He dresses himself. Underwear is always backwards, but who can see it anyway?
• He makes his own oatmeal in the morning. He isn't allowed to use the microwave, but he mixes it all and puts it in the microwave and then calls us to heat it up.
  
• He now swims the width of the pool with his face in the water and is able to tread water when he gets tired.
• He has FINALLY started to peepee standing up. Which I have mixed feelings about. I feared he would get beat up in the locker room if he didn't learn this skill before high school, but it is such a messy skill to learn that I am really missing the days when my bathrooms didn't all look like gas station restrooms.
• He has started calling us "Mom" and "Dad" instead of Mommy and Daddy. Which made me sad until I realized that he is still one step behind Drew, who calls us "Cara" and "Aaron".
  
• His absolute favorite pastime is listening to music on his CD and tape players. Really loud. Every time I scream up the stairs at him to turn the music down, I have a flash forward to the teen years and wonder how I got there so soon.
• He has eclectic taste in music. He loves everything from The Wiggles to The Nutcracker (year round) to Tom Petty. He has totally raided our music collection for his favorites, leaving Aaron and I with just The Bangles and some Billy Joel. He is desperate for a record player like they have at school. Yep - the vinyl kind. Next thing we know he will be asking for an Atari.
  
• Speaking of music, he commented to a lady at the pool the other day that he liked her cool I-Pod.
• His made his first attempt at a curse: "Holy Drat, Mom! I think this is broken now!"

Of course I am proud to see him getting so big and things are certainly easier to manage in the day to day since he is getting so self-sufficient. But in the grand scheme of things, it's going too fast for me - it seems like just yesterday I was anxiously awaiting Baby Cade's arrival.

I'm not sure if it's just pregnancy hormones or if all moms feel this way. I just know that I'm grateful that at least Drew is still afraid of the shower.