"Mommy, I better start calling you mom," Elena quietly said to me as she tied her shoe before school one morning. 

"Why?" I asked, trying to not let the panic I felt rising show. 

"Because I’m getting older."

It's a mixture of pride and heartache to see her grow up. To be honest, I don't necessarily miss the baby days but I do feel like I'm in this little bubble of time where it's perfect and I want to squeeze and hold onto it forever, but we all know what happens to a bubble that's squeezed.

But here we are, saying good-bye to five. I'm actually kind of sad because it was such a great year. Moving away from three and four were not hard for me--they were hard years and I was ready to get on the next. But five...so many good memories. 

I'm a big fan of Lil' Kickers and how they teach the fundamentals of soccer in a way that is fun and age-appropriate. But I'm an even bigger fan of the gift the coaches gave to my son. They taught him that trying is the most important part of learning anything.