don't blink

it is amazing how fast life goes by. if you blink your eyes, you might miss it.

once upon a time there was a two year old that was obsessed with the veggie tales movies. this child was particularly fascinated with larryboy. if you know the story line, larryboy defeats the bad apple and claims victory over temptation. larryboy also happens to be a cucumber. this two year old wanted to watch larryboy over and over and over and over.... you get the idea.

one day the daddy of this two year old discovered a larryboy watch for sale at the jewel/osco around the corner. knowing it would delight his babe, he bought the watch and presented it to his little one. the little one was elated beyond measure. not really understanding the concept of time or having a grasp on the purpose of a watch, this two year old became creative. once the watch was placed onto their adorable chubby wrist, this two year old declared their new name to be larryboy. (apparently, the two year old had decided that this watch was a name changing, superman cape like device that transformed them from charming two year old into the amazing larryboy, defeater of temptation and lover of chocolate.) everywhere that they went, the watch was on the wrist and the name announced HAD to be larryboy. people that had known this child for a lifetime suddenly found that the child no longer responded to their given name and were a little stunned when this precocious toddler announced that the new name they would like to be called was larryboy. the parents of this little one found themselves doing a lot of explaining. while the veggie tales series is known, it isn't THAT well known. and so they would go out into the world. larryboy would announce that they were, in fact, larryboy. the parents would tell a brief little story of how this came to be and people would nod, laugh and try to use the new name (and probably exchanging looks over the heads of the parents).

but like all things with kids, one day it's in and the next day it's out. it was almost as if it had never happened.

a few months passed and the parents were secretly thrilled that larryboy had retired from being a cucumber super hero. they were delighted to have their babe back and a little bit relieved to not have to explain the saga of larryboy countless times a day.

fast forward a few months. this family took a much needed vacation to jamaica. they were greeted by the concierge and taken to their rooms. while walking from the front desk down to their room, some chit chat was exchanged. it was the normal stuff... "where are you from?" "what sort of things do you enjoy doing while on vacation?" etc. and then the lady turned to the almost three year old and asked for their name... there was a pause. there was an indication that the child didn't want to speak and was extremely tired from the hours of travel, but the parents gave the child a gentle nod and encouraged them to share their name with the lady...

"go ahead, honey, tell her your name."

the child hesitated and began to say their name, but suddenly paused. and then out of no where they declared: "larryboy!"

well the jamaican concierge just thought that was a hoot. she laughed out loud, gave larryboy a fist bump, and then looked at the crazy american parents like they had lost their minds. the parents just stood there dumbfounded for they had thought that this name had been retired. and in jamaica, it's difficult to explain the whole veggie tales, bad apple, cucumber, watch that transforms a kiddo into a superhero thing. and so the parents just laughed and nodded and went along with it. for the rest of the week, every time the parents left their room with the toddler, the concierge would pop out and yell, "LARRYBOY! good to see you!"

it's hard to believe that happened over three years ago! i was reminded of this story last week and took a long hard pause. how is it possible that larry boy is now almost six? how is it possible that larryboy (who thankfully goes by HER given name now) has just finished kindergarten? is it really true that the parents of larryboy now find themselves to be the parents of two more precocious children? it has passed in the blink of an eye. but this week, this momma (proud momma of larryboy) found herself at the last day of her sweet baby girl's first year of school watching the infamous larryboy perform for the parents. on sunday, larryboy (aka "e") moved up to the first grade room at church...

here she is, larryboy the singing wonder (and a bunch of other cutie patooties from her class):

note to self: don't blink!

*facebook viewers need to hop on over to http://www.diaryofasuburbanmomma.blogspot.com to view the video

*pause the music player on the right to hear these muffins sing.