Thursday afternoons have become my “break”. My parents take my son for the afternoon so that I can get things done around the house without interruption. Today I realized, amongst the mountain of laundry I still have to do, that I needed to immerse myself in even more clothes. I decided that it was time to go through my son’s drawers and closet to put away all the little outfits he’s outgrown.

I have done this in the past, but didn’t organize it well and never labeled the boxes. So, today I unpacked his entire dresser, closet and previously packed away clothing and put things in piles. Each pile had a note that said either newborn, 3-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-18 months, or *gasp* 18-24 months. I cannot believe my baby has already outgrown his 18-24 month things!!!!

I also cannot believe how much clothing the kid his. It’s insane! There were even some things that still had tags on, never worn. I told my husband that if we have a girl next time, she’ll be wearing some cute boy outfits. I can throw a pink bow in her hair or some purple socks or something, but it’d be a shame for all these adorable, hardly worn outfits to go to waste. I guess if we have a boy, we’re in luck. He won’t need anything new.

As I was going through the clothing and folding each precious little piece, my mind was flooded with memories of the times when my baby was actually wearing these things. The outfit he wore on the plane to Europe when he was 5 months old. The outfit he wore to the first birthday party he ever went to. The size 6 month onesies he wore every day when he was barely 3 months old. The outfit he wore to our first mommy and me class. The outfit he wore when we took him out to dinner for the first time. His first pair of jeans. His first sweater. His first little hat. Those socks…..

Everything was so small! In a way it made me sad to think he’ll never ever fit in them again and that that stage of his and our life is over. On the other hand, it just makes me happy to be able to reminisce on those beautiful moments and know that I have so much more to look forward to. It makes you realize that you have to cherish every single moment with your kids because they grow up so fast and time goes by quicker than we anticipate.

It’s nice to take the time when you just look back and smile at your memories.