I just had to dash out to the car quickly, so I slipped on a pair of flip-flops that were next to the door. When I got back inside, I realized that I had just worn A's flip-flops … and they fit me perfectly.

Cue the ugly mommy crying here. I remember being enchanted with his teeny, tiny baby toes, attached to his little pudgy feet. Oh, who am I kidding? All of my kids were born with feet that never, ever fit into any of those cutesy baby booties. They did have the pudgy baby feet, but they still managed to be longer and skinnier than they were pudgy, with little monkey toes that could have helped them perch on a branch.Now, at the age of 9, A's feet will shortly be bigger than my own, and with more than one size 13 on both sides of the family, he is destined to have a nice big set of flippers by the time he reaches adulthood.At least their feet are proportional. All three of them have been off the "typical height for age" charts since shortly after birth. Both the WH and I are on the tall side, and he spoke prophetically on our second date, when he put his arm around me and said, "Our kids are going to be really tall." It seemed like such a sweet observation at the time, and since I had already picked out our hypothetical kids' names after our first date, I didn't think it was creepy at all. Ultimately we used 2.5 of the names that I picked out and our kids are definitely on the tall side.I didn't realize that 12 years later, having tall kids would mean saying things like "how have you outgrown those pants already" every other week. Or that I would never be able to buy those adorable pre-walking shoes for my daughter, because by the time she was a pre-walker, she would be in "kids" sizes.Or that people would look at me sideways because my 2-year-old was acting exactly like a 2-year-old, only he looked like a 5-year-old, and that kind of behavior was no longer acceptable.Being tall is supposed to be a good thing in life. Every other week or so, some study says that tall people get better raises, or more promotions, or are looked to as leaders, and on and on and on. I've been taller than average for most of my life, and while I can't say it has ever fast-tracked me to success, I can say that my shorter friends look up to me.When it comes to my kids, though, it just adds to the impression that they are growing up too fast. G went through a period where we were all Spider-Man all the time, and there was one particular pair of Spider-Man sneakers that he adored. We bought them one pair after another, until he outgrew the brand. I scoured the Internet for anything remotely Spider-Man and sadly was unable to find anything. When he picked a pair of rather generic running shoes, with no character, I felt that we were closing a door too soon.On the flip side, it has worked to E's advantage. My girl loves her yoga pants and leggings and long T-shirts. However, when she goes to the other extreme, she goes all the way: leave no accessory unworn is her motto.Last year, when she had a starring role as a flower girl in her uncle's wedding, she informed me that she would be wearing high heels as part of her ensemble. Since we were well into kid sizes by that time, we had no problem finding plenty of options for her. Seeing a 4-year-old walk like a boss in teeny, tiny, half-inch heels was another knife in my heart. Now, she is forever on the prowl for higher, fancier heels, and as her feet continue to grow, so do her options.Heels are one thing I never really enjoyed wearing. Having wider than average feet, they were just plain uncomfortable. Being a complete klutz also meant taking my life into my hands … or feet … every time I wore them. I like the fact that E doesn't shy away from her height. Although in the interest of saving her feet and ankles, I've restricted her access to her heels for very special occasions only.We have another milestone ahead of us. A has pretty much maxed out the sizes that "kids" stores carry. We will squeeze this summer, and maybe even next out of his shorts and T-shirts. It will be OK for the shorts that are currently below his knee to be slightly above his knee next year, and we can quickly transform T-shirts into muscle shirts.When it's time to go school shopping, though, I don't think I'm going to be able to one-stop shop for all three kids at one store anymore. On the plus side, I think the boys may secretly be thrilled that I won't be able to buy them matchy-matchy clothes for Christmas and Easter anymore.I hate to tell them that it won't be long until G catches up, and when he does, I can shop for both of them in the men's department once again, and coordinate the WH's outfits, too!Liz Pinkey is a contributing writer to the Times News. Her column appears weekly in our Saturday feature section.