How Time Flies

Alexander-7 months.

I know all parents say it, but time really does fly when you have kids. I was sure I only came out of hospital with Alexander the other day but look, he’s 7 months already this Saturday.

How, I ask you is that even possible. My friend Vicky only commented today that she’s not sure quite sure why time seems so accelerated with little ones, especially with the early blur of motherhood and little sleep which at the time, never seems to go by quickly enough! And then before you know it, your babies are no longer tiny, little fragile bundles of joy but small children with big personalities and more than likely a strong desire for Peppa Pig on repeat whiles scoffing grated cheese sandwiches.

June 2011

April 2013

The photos above are of Oliver aged 17 months in June 2011 and then aged 3 and 3 months in April 2013 on the very same play horse in the same park in Ilkley; a park I frequented myself as a child and adored.

It’s funny to reflect on the little boy he was in the first image; I, protectively helping him balance on the horse as he chuckled away in glee, the wind on his face, flying through his hair, to now 2013, a lively, talkative, confident little boy with an infectious laugh and the smartest of minds (it’s tough trying to manipulate a clever kid-nobody warned me of that before babies).

Above all, what the photos really scream to me is my first born, my little Oliver is no longer a baby and soon enough my second, Alexander will be three years old balancing on that same horse himself. I wish I could just bottle up the baby years: the smell of my babies’ sweet skin, their first giggle, the look of adoration and unconditional love for their Mummy-the memories fade a little but of course they never go away; they but evolve and every stage is as wonderful and life affirming as it is tough and challenging.

I look at these pictures and feel truly blessed to have such amazing boys in my life. They are my life. Thank goodness for photos; memories immortalised so that when time seems to zoom past as the kids grow up quicker than I’d like, it can stand still for just a moment as I look back on my little boys as they were then, and now.

Photographs by my talented husband ©Peter Broadbent (the other incredible boy in my life).