The Dreaded "B" Word

Ann Catherine said the "B" word. She's only three-years-old. How can she know it?

Yep, she said it all right.

Boyfriend.

We were driving down the road the other day and she said, "Mommy, Travis is my boyfriend." Now, here's the funny part: "Travis" is Travis Kauffeldt, her favorite player for the Huntsville Havoc. (Yes, I see the irony of my little girl saying a hockey player is her boyfriend :) But, at that moment, the name didn't really matter. She could have said Pope Benedict was her boyfriend for all I cared. The point was, the said the "b" word.

"Your what?" I asked. Surely I hadn't heard her right.

"My boyfriend," she said matter-of-factly.

"Ann Catherine, do you know what a boyfriend is?" I asked.

"No," she answered.

Well, thank goodness. At least she's not sure what it means yet.

I told Chris later that night. "What???" he said and looked at me like I had three heads. "There's no way," he said, just like any father who realizes his daughter is growing up. When she told him the same thing later that night, he had this look on his face like "you have got to be kidding me."

Ever since our daughters were born, we've heard it a million times: Enjoy every day because they grow up too quickly. When they are babies or toddlers and life is so crazy, you think "yeah, right."

But now I realize how true it is. I realize that Ann Catherine has moved from being a toddler to being a little girl. If I had it up to me, I would bottle this all up and keep her in this sweet stage forever.

I can't, though. Growing up is a part of life. And that precious little girl who thinks you and her daddy are the coolest people in the world soon begins to realize that other people are pretty cool, too. Even boys.

That's okay. She still says her daddy is her prince. As long as she never forgets that, Chris and I will be okay.