LITTLE PINK BOOTS

These little pink boots are sweet and shabby and covered in

dirt, scuffs and lots of memories.

They belong to a special little girl who worn them absolutely

everywhere...

what seems like it was just yesterday.

When my daughter was born

it was so different than when each of my boys were born.

I remember how much every little 'new' thing that my boys did

when they were babies was so exciting.

When they took their first steps, I marveled at how quickly they learned to walk.

When they ran, I saw little boys turning into bigger boys and loved it.

I couldn't wait for them to do the 'next' thing and

eagerly awaited those milestone achievements.

When they went to school, they ran off, made friends

and for the most part seemed to have hardly any adjustment

to that new world.

But with Ansley...

I felt different about those milestones.

She is my baby-baby.

Maybe it's because I was a little older when she was born.

Maybe it's because as I looked at Ryan and Cullan sometimes,

I could hardly believe they were so big already.

Watching them grow,

I knew how those precious moments went by so fast.

While I marveled at each new step Ansley took

and was so very proud

at the same time,

I sighed a bit inside and had to catch my breath sometimes

knowing just how quickly she was growing and how

fleeting those young child moments are.

When Ansley went to kindergarten,

I went with her and held her hand for as long as

the teacher would let me.

Well, it was the whole year.

The teacher knew that I wasn't ready for my baby-baby

to be at Kindergarten yet.

She was fine- it was me that had to adjust to the new step she was taking.

These little pink boots are Ansley's very first pair of cowgirl boots.

We bought them for her before she turned 2

and she absolutely loved them.

Rain, snow, sunshine...

she stomped around in them and wore them literally everywhere

as she tried to keep up with her big brothers.

I remember when the day came that they wouldn't fit

on her little feet anymore.

Reluctantly, I set them aside...

and left them covered with all their scuffs,

dirt and memories.

They found their way to a bookshelf in the sitting room

and sat atop a vintage book.

The other day as I walked down the hall to look for something

to inspire a vignette

I saw them sitting there and smiled.

Precious, sweet & perfect.

Just like that baby girl has grown up to be.

Even though she's a teenager now,

I see that same little sassy girl stomping around

and telling her big brothers how things are.

(Those big brothers are now 16 and 19 and Ansley says

they are 'SO irritating!' ; )

She probably thinks that her little scuffed up pink boots

inspiring a post about my babies growing so quickly

is 'ridiculous'

but that's okay with me.

And....

I'm thinking maybe I should find some teenage girl size pink boots for

her for Christmas this year to go with her teenage sized attitude

hehehe

;)

Yes, and the boys had little black cowboy boots when they were little too...

I'm thinking I might have to put all 3 pairs of them on a little shelf

for the next vignette.

:)