Life is full of milestones and accomplishments. While birthdays and holidays provide a great opportunity to acknowledge those events, I find that the big changes are often more subtle. They sneak up on me over months and years. Then one random Wednesday, I look up and realize that life is truly different.

So it happened today. I looked up and realized that no babies live in our house. Yes, Sarah and Jaley will always be “my babies.” I am sure fellow blogger, Diane Neer, will argue that at four and two they are still babies. However, I hold strong there are no babies in our family anymore. Our cabinets are unlocked and our stairs are without gates. We own no bottles and the only swing is in the back yard. The signs are small, but everyday new ones confirm that my babies are now kids.

My case in point, Jaley decided two weeks ago that she was done with diapers. Peer pressure apparently starts early these days. One of her buddies at daycare switched to big girl panties and Jaley had to follow suit. The fact that I was recovering from major surgery and couldn’t help her in the bathroom didn’t matter. The fact that I barely had energy to take myself to the bathroom never mind take her every thirty minutes didn’t matter. The fact that we just had the carpets cleaned didn’t matter. She was done with diapers. Scott and I had no say in the matter.

Since her decision, Jaley has been wearing panties. You notice I didn’t say potty trained. With little opportunity for Scott or me to help, Sarah (yes, the four year old) has been the one doing most of the “instructing.” And while for her age Sarah has done a fabulous job helping her sister, we have also given the SpotBot quite a workout. However, this week, Jaley made huge strides. More tinkles landed in the toilet than on the tile (or the carpet or the front porch or on the floor at an unnamed store). We are moving to a diaper-less house, at least during the daylight hours.

Then there was the phone call yesterday. We ordered a twin bed back in June, expecting delivery in two weeks. They finally called to schedule delivery for next week. The furniture store obviously counts weeks differently than me, but regardless, next week Jaley is moving to a big girl bed. The crib which kept both my girls safe, at least until they started climbing out of it, is for sale. After next week, we will live in a crib-less “crib.”

As I mentioned, today it hit me. I no longer have babies, I have kids. While I look forward to them growing up, a little piece of me was sad to say good-bye to the baby stage. Then, I realized I can use all the diaper savings to buy new shoes. After that revelation, I immediately felt better.

Gigi appears every Friday on TriangleMom2Mom. To read more about Gigi, go to her blog Stroller Lane.