Time flies

I'm so often amazed by the changes I see in my son that I sometimes forget that the rest of the world is changing too. Case in point, every summer for the past five years, my niece has come to visit. This year was no exception.

The first year she came, we did all the typical touristy stuff. She was 13 and looked like this:

The two summers after Milo was born were a little less exciting for her. The first summer, I had a 3-month-old and was exhausted from the every-two-hours 24/7 breastfeeding. But we still had some fun. And my then-15-year-old niece looked like this:

This summer, her visit was shorter (mostly due to our living arrangements at the moment) but it was probably the most fun since that first visit. She and I went to Paint the Town for some girl time without Milo or the S.O. We also did some shopping and made our annual trip to the zoo.

My little niece has grown into a young woman. She's smart and confident and totally opinionated. She's also beautiful. And loves her little cousin so much.

He loves her too, though you can't tell from this photo

I love this kid like she were my own. Her dad should be one proud papa. (I'm sure he is.) Too soon, she'll be all grown up, out in the wide world on her own. And she'll do great.