Simultaneous sentimentality

Sometimes in a precious moment I find myself feeling not only joyful but also a bit sad and somewhat nostalgic about things as they are happening. I've felt a bit overwhelmed by this lately as I see in Archer how Felix was as a baby, which makes my heart ache at how fast time moves. Even listening to Felix speak in complete sentences using a vocabulary that I marvel at, I am both delighted and saddened as I see him so quickly shedding his babyhood and becoming more and more independent. When Grammy brought Fe to the hospital after Arch was born it was like I was seeing him, for the first time, as a boy and not a baby. The contrast between Archer's tiny form and Felix's tall skinny frame brought the staggering truth to light that he had been growing all this time in the gradual day by day millimeter by millimeter way that sneaks right through your human capacity to notice the effects of constant incremental change. Check out this photo of Felix on Father's Day weekend just a year ago!

The passing of the rattle

When Felix passes on a toy it comes complete with instructional demonstration.