The kids are growing and changing before our very eyes these days.

D had his first “sleepover” last weekend. We had arrived home from our trip to Maine, and before we even got into the house, the little neighbor boy from two doors down bounded over with an invitation to his 7-year birthday party that very night, a sleepover party.

We have become very fond of this family in the nine months we’ve lived in this neighborhood and thoroughly trust their parenting and supervision, so without any time to consult one another in private, Paul and I agreed to let D try it out. We figured that if he wanted to come home, we were just a few steps away, and we fully anticipated a middle of the night phone call.

But D surprised us both by staying the entire time, and when Paul went over to retrieve him the next morning to come home and get ready for church, he cried because he didn’t want to leave. I guess his first sleepover can be considered a success.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t nearly as painful for me as I’d feared. I actually got a full night’s sleep and didn’t worry for more than a moment, but that could be from the sheer exhaustion of traveling all day, rather than maternal peace of mind.

And in other news, R is talking now. She clearly says “Mama” when she wants me, which is often as she’s pretty clingy lately. She also has begun waving and saying a very garbled “bye-bye”. I am also pretty sure she says “Dada” and D.

But it’s not all so cute. She has developed one nasty temper, the likes of which I’ve never experienced in a child of mine this young. In fact, neither of my older kids are particularly prone to tantrums, a blessing that I now realize I’ve taken for granted. I have NO FRIGGIN CLUE how to deal with such a display from a 10-month-old.

And the worst part is, I sheepishly admit to finding her dramatic antics more humorous than the defiant display of temper that they truly are. So instead of exercising discipline and correction, I often find myself laughing at her.

And so it begins. The tough-love parenting part, that is. The honeymoon is over. The innocence of infanthood is officially behind us, and an opinionated toddler is being born before our very eyes.

And what can I say about the C? She tells everyone we see that she is going to school next week, and if she’s not talking excitedly about school, she’s anticipating our trip to Disney in November. She loves dresses and pink and baby dolls and Cinderella and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and her latest obsession, Mary Poppins. She’s not all girly-girl though. She can keep up with her big brother on her “big wheel”, and she climbs on anything that will support her weight and is amazingly agile for such a klutzy kid. Therefore we signed her up for the fall session of gymnastics.

So that’s the latest on the home front here. I’m beginning to feel like my house is coming together after being gone for over two weeks, and it’s finally starting to register with my chlorine-soaked brain that summer is on its way out and fall is on its way in. I think we might actually be ready when the school bus rolls down the street next Tuesday. I’m still way behind on reading and commenting on my favorite blogs, so if you haven’t heard from me in a while, put that coffee back on the burner for a bit and keep it warm for me. I’ll be stopping by soon!