Sam is "Gwoing Up"

Sam has been doing a lot of responsible things lately without being prompted. He brings vitamins up to Lena every morning when I'm dressing her, he helps her take off her shoes, he feeds Miles, he lets Henry out when he rings the bell, he's very interested in brushing his teeth (thanks to a lesson at school about it). When I praise him for doing these things, he says this to me:

"Tanks (thanks), Mommy. I'm a big boy now - I'm gwoing (growing) up!"


To which I smile and sigh, because he is growing up...way too fast in my opinion. Excuse me while I bust out in virtual song for a moment, hearkening back to "Fiddler on the Roof"...

Is this the little girl I carried? Is this the little boy at play? I don't remember growing older. When did they?

This is Sam's very first school photo. He really is gwoing up.