When did this happen?

The other day as I was getting Taylor ready for preschool, I had one of those moments in which I was amazed at how fast she has grown up! Once she was dressed, I told her to go find her shoes so I could put them on. She ran into the living room and said: "I found them, Mommy". As I reached for them, she said "No, I put them on, Mommy, me help, OK?" And then as I stood back and watched, she put her running shoes on all by herself. There wasn't a single part of that moment that was amazing, in and of itself. She's been pretty independent for several months (well, since birth, really!), and she's been able to fasten the velcro straps on shoes for quite awhile, too. I didn't realize she had mastered the ability to actually get her foot into a closed toe shoe, but even that isn't what was amazing in that moment.

What was amazing is that it seems like it was just yesterday that she was born. Wasn't it just yesterday that we mastering the art of nursing? Wasn't it just yesterday that we were spending hours everyday attached to each other with me wearing her in the sling? Wasn't it just yesterday that she was still sleeping in our room and we were worried at every squeak we heard (or worried that she was sleeping too deeply and that she was too quiet). Wasn't it just yesterday that she started eating solid foods, sitting up and then crawling? That seems like it was all yesterday.

Of course a lot of other things have changed in our lives since Taylor was born (moving, job changes, etc) but when I think only about her, all of that seems like it was just yesterday. And, she has grown sooo much in the last few months. Her language skills have exploded, we're making major progress in potty training, she's doing all the art stuff I dreamed of doing with her that seemed so advanced for her a year ago, and she is just becoming so grown up, overall. It really is amazing and it just leaves me wondering...

When did this happen?