One thing I never expected about parenthood is how those little milestones can sneak up on you...how your child uses a potty just once and then it seems she's been doing it for years...how one step so quickly turns into hundreds...

And now that I expect this slow, steady crawl towards maturity, it surprises me when it comes all at once.

Case in point:

Two nights ago, Veronica and I were at Target, buying her a couple new swimsuits. We ended up looking around for some more items and in doing so, wandered into housewares and decor.

We walked down the aisle with the items for children's bedrooms when Veronica suddenly said, "I want my bedroom to be all princess. I don't want it to look like a baby room anymore." She wanted a lot of items but we settled on a set of sheets; a frilly little lamp; a Disney Princess poster; and a wall hanging featuring Snow White.

Once we got home and dinner was eaten, we headed upstairs to remove the "baby items." The cross-stitch with baby footprints and her name and birthdate - gone. The little lamp by her bedside, a desk lamp once purchased because it was the only one her tiny fingers could flip the switch on - gone. Her Dora the Explorer sheets - gone. Her Winnie-the-Pooh framed prints - gone.

Then we came to the Winnie-the-Pooh lamp, decorated with a plush Pooh and a design of letter blocks.

"Let's take that stupid old thing down, Mommy," she said. And I did, remembering five years ago as I purchased that lamp, cooing over how sweet it was and how it would light up baby's room so nicely. How carefully those little prints had been hung on the walls in her first room. I almost cried.

Once the lamp was removed from the dresser, she stood up on her bed and put her two little flavored lip glosses in its place. And I sighed, looked around, and told her:

"Veronica, this looks like a kid's room. This doesn't look anything like a baby's room anymore."

She smiled proudly and I did too, blinking back tears as I did so.