At least their jeans still fit

The fancy growth chart just decorates Evan's bedroom and we've never really gotten around to starting a pencil marked wall. I'm notoriously lousy at remembering the measurements my pediatrician's office painstakingly records at each well child appointment. Growth is noted around here primarily when pants get a little too short or tummies protrude from underneath t-shirts. "You're just a tiny bit too big for that outfit now," I'll say as we pack things away. Nothing too dramatic. Just the passage of time.

Today was the first day that's felt like spring around here, and my kids were delighted to reacquaint themselves with our outdoor world. As we all spread our wings in the unexpected warmth of a premature spring day, I watched them play on our swingset for the first time in nearly 6 months.

Feet dragged on the ground as a swing that had been just the right height before now suspended Julia way too close to the grass below. A climbing apparatus that had felt way out of reach the last time Evan attempted it was scaled with nonchalant ease. Both kids still wanted my attention as much as they had last fall, but they no longer seemed to require my help, turning instead to each other as playmates. New games and ways of using the equipment were invented as they built on each others' ideas and suggestions to make their own fun.

Physical growth, seen in the height of the swings. Growth in capability, evidenced by the conquering of new tasks. Cognitive growth, measured in the give and take of a new form of interactive play. Just the passage of time, yes, but incredibly dramatic nonetheless.